Gender Predictor Test. Boy...?

15 fun baby gender predictor tests to try
Jenny Des Jarlais
By Jenny Des Jarlais
| March 23, 2021

What am I having?
fortune cookie message with text it's a girl

Sure, your doctor can tell you the sex of your baby, but where's the fun in that? Even parents who choose not to find out like guessing whether they're expecting a boy or a girl. That's where these baby gender predictors come in. After all, even highly unscientific methods have a 50/50 chance of being right.
Notice your cravings
woman eating fried chicken
Photo credit: iStock.com / stock_colors

If you constantly reach for meat, cheese, or other salty foods, then you'll be having a boy, according to this old wives' tale. Yearning for sugar and spice and every sweet thing in the store? The baby must be a girl.
Consult the Mayans
aztec calendar sculpture
Photo credit: Thinkstock

According to the Mayans, gender prediction comes down to calendars and basic math. Just take a look at how old you were when you conceived and the year it happened. If both numbers are either odd or even, you're carrying a girl. If one is odd and the other is even, it's a baby boy.
Watch your partner's weight
pregnant woman's belly next to her partners chubby belly

It's healthy and normal for a pregnant woman to gain weight, but has your partner been packing on the pounds? You may be expecting a girl. Are both of you nauseous? Some cultures believe if the dad is experiencing morning sickness too, you're expecting a boy.
See how the ring swings
ring attached on a necklace
Photo credit: Thinkstock

For this old-school gender test, you need a wedding ring: String it on a necklace and hold it over your belly. If the ring moves in circles, the baby in your belly is a girl. If it swings back and forth, it's a boy.
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Check the directions
gender symbols drawn on two eggs

According to one Chinese gender test, your fetus is a boy if his right hand pushes on the left side of your belly after the seventh month. Opposite side means you're carrying a girl. In some parts of the southern United States, people believe if you ovulate from the left ovary it's a girl, while an egg from the right ovary makes a boy.
Take the Chinese gender test
chinese calendar, candles and a dragon head
Photo credit: Thinkstock

You only need two pieces of information to determine your baby's sex using this Chinese gender predictor: your age and the month your baby was conceived. Let us calculate it for you!
Try baking soda or salt
salt in the glass bowl and a spoon with salt
Photo credit: Thinkstock

Put some baking soda into a disposable cup, then pee in it. If the baking soda fizzes, it's a boy. You can also put salt on your breast before you go to sleep. If it's moist in the morning, you're having a baby girl. Reality check: Any acidic liquid will fizz when mixed with baking soda, and chances are the salt will fall off into your sheets by morning. It’s still fun.
Ask a little boy
mother and toddler lying on grass
Photo credit: iStock.com / fatihhoca

If this old-fashioned gender test is to be believed, a little boy will show interest in your pregnant belly if you're having a girl. If he doesn't seem interested, you're having a boy.
Observe your curves
pregnant woman's belly

Does it feel like your face is getting rounder by the hour? According to this traditional Latin American belief, you should get ready for a daughter. If your face is unchanged, but your behind is growing big and round, you'll have a son.
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Plant some corn
corn on a plate

For this one, you'll need access to a garden and a tolerance for bodily fluid. Go out and plant two corn seeds. Water them with your pee. If the ears of corn that grow are black, it looks like a boy is on the way. Yellow corn is a sign that you'll have a girl. Either way, don't eat the corn.
See what the kitchen can tell you
fork and a knife laid on a napkin

Have someone tape a spoon under one chair and a fork under another without you seeing which is which. If you sit on the chair with the spoon, you're having a girl. The fork? It's a boy.

Another old gender test claims that if an expectant mom picks up her napkin by the edges, a boy is on the way.
Check the phases of the moon
fool moon on a night sky
Photo credit: Thinkstock

Trying for a baby? In some parts of the United States, people believe if you conceive after midnight it will be a girl, while making love during the new moon means you'll have a boy.

Did your partner seem a little distracted while you were doing the deed? This theory says if he was busy looking over his right shoulder at the full moon during baby-making time, he will father a boy.
Have a say before you conceive
horse carriage on the village road
Photo credit: iStock.com / Lokibaho

Can you influence the sex before you conceive? These elaborate and bizarre methods say yes. For a boy, have your partner sit on the roof near the chimney for several hours before intercourse. Pining for a girl (and own a buggy)? An old American myth claims you can shake off your baby's "extra equipment" by taking your buggy over rough roads.

Note: We're using the word gender here because people often use this word when talking about their child's sex. However, the two are not the same. A child is generally assigned a sex at birth based on biological characteristics, such as their genitals. But their sex designation may not match the gender identity (based on feelings and behaviors) that they assume later.

Related articles

Try our Chinese gender predictor

What the statistics say: Are you having a boy or a girl?

Video: Other parents discuss finding out their baby’s gender

Video: See your baby’s gender in the womb (warning: graphic content)

Sources

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

McFadden, Tim. 1987. Gender prognostications in pregnancy. Brigham Young University. http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/archival_objects/85974 [Accessed March 2021]
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Jenny Des Jarlais
Jenny Des Jarlais

Jenny Des Jarlais is the associate director of digital content strategy at the University of California, San Francisco. Previously, she was a senior editor and managing editor at BabyCenter, as well as a health researcher, writer, and editor.

Des Jarlais lives in Oakland with her husband and two children.