Does the word "Maven" have a female connotation to it?

Question

I am a male in the marketing field and am working on a project that I want to call "The Marketing Maven." I am basing it on the definition as someone who is an expert in the field, and that is good at digging up information. My primary source is the widespread use of the word in Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller, "The Tipping Point."

However, several people have told me that when they hear the word maven, they think of it as referring to a female. Although it doesn't infer that in dictionary.com or wikipedia, I'm wondering what the general consenus is.

Answer 1

Technically it is genderless. Functionally it is feminine.

I'd think long and hard about your use of it since marketing is all about impressions and expectations. The last thing you want to do is confuse people. You can be entirely right and it won't matter if your clients are off balance.

It's like the old British expression: Do what you like, just don't scare the horses. Never, ever scare the horses in marketing.

Answer 2

Maven Meaning

Answer 3

Yes, maven has a female connotation, though that may be changing among young and/or those who have not read many books published prior to "The Tipping Point." Similarly, "master" implies masculinity (it is/was the younger equivalent of "mister").

Answer 4

A Maven is like a Guru - expert, knowledgeable. I've never heard of it having a male or female connotation.

Answer 5

No, maven is unisex. I'm sure. Your friends probably don't know that it's a Yiddish word meaning expert, and just think that Maven sounds like a woman's name.

Answer 6

Obviously, my first impression is that your project is like the marketing guru.



However, to be honest, I do somehow picture a female behind it, or that the maven is indeed female.



I dont know why, since there is no "sex" to that word... but it does sort of sound like raven, and raven to me has a female connotation to it because I think of a dark haired beauty

Answer 7

Maven refers to anyone with black hair, male or female. Although some women have that name, a few men do too.

Answer 8

no it is a trusted person in any given who seeks to share knowledge