Brother for Abigail and Ethan

My wife is due with our third and final child in [name]August[/name]. We had a great name picked for a girl … we agreed … there was no debating. Then we had the ultrasound and it’s boy!!

Our current kids are [name]Abigail[/name] ([name]Abby[/name]) and [name]Ethan[/name]. So we need a name for baby brother that goes with the other two (always liked the “fitting in, standing out” list in “Beyond [name]Jennifer[/name] and [name]Jason[/name]”.

We’re pretty much set on [name]Elias[/name] for the middle name. Some first names we’ve come up with are:

[name]Wyatt[/name] (I’ve liked this name for a long time, but wife has never loved it in part because she thinks it’s too Western … I don’t like Western either but I haven’t stereotyped it the way wife has)

[name]Henry[/name] (Wife likes it a lot, my mom hates it …not that I care, I’m just not completely sold I think because it sounds like a grown man’s name … also going for it is its [name]German[/name] history since wife has extensive [name]German[/name] ancestory)

[name]Cormac[/name] (I’m a fan of the author, wife is warm to it, but not sure I could pull the trigger on it since the name is so rare … I do like the idea of using literary names in general)

[name]Holden[/name] (literary … haven’t seriously debated it with wife)

[name]Carter[/name] (This seems like a fall-back name for us… we both like it … but it’s down on the list because it seems trendy)

[name]Draper[/name] (Another artistic/very rare name … we love Mad Men and our last name is similar to the ad man [name]Don[/name] [name]Draper[/name] is somewhat modeled after. ([name]Draper[/name] [name]Daniels[/name])

I would love to hear thoughts on these names and or any other suggestions for brother names for [name]Abby[/name] and [name]Ethan[/name]. We’re about halfway there and the baby name game is fun for us!

First of all, I think you should drop [name]Draper[/name] immediately. It’s just a couple of letters off being a disaster. You don’t want something like ‘[name]Draper[/name] the raper’ plastered around the school yard.
[name]Wyatt[/name] is my favorite from your list. [name]Henry[/name] is a nice classic name as well, but rising quite a bit in popularity. [name]Carter[/name] is also nice, but a little plain. [name]How[/name] about [name]Cooper[/name] instead? Here are some other ideas:

[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]August[/name]
[name]Liam[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Oscar[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Sebastian[/name]
[name]Toby[/name]
[name]Jeremy[/name]
[name]Ashton[/name]
[name]Milo[/name]
[name]Charlie[/name]
[name]Niko[/name]
[name]Orion[/name]
[name]Dante[/name]
[name]Cash[/name]
[name]Harper[/name]
[name]Hunter[/name]
[name]Crispin[/name]
[name]Tristan[/name]
[name]Emmanuel[/name]

Congrats on little one on the way! Some thoughts:

[name]Wyatt[/name]: This is a nice name. It’s not quite as popular as [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name], but getting there and certainly familiar. I certainly think of [name]Wyatt[/name] Earp when I hear it though. A good option in any case.

[name]Henry[/name]: Familiar like [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name] and not really an old man name as much as it used to be…on the rise for the young ones. It is of a different feel, though, you’re right. Personally, I love the name but don’t love its nicknames, but if you’re fine with them, then a nice match.

[name]Cormac[/name]: This is really much further out there from [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name]. It really is strongly associated with the author. If the other kids had more Scottish names, it would be less so. [name]Malcolm[/name] is a nice Scottish name with nn [name]Mac[/name] that is a little closer to [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name]. Tied to the TV show, but that’s more kid friendly than the books and fading anyway. It is kind of trending down for what that’s worth.

[name]Holden[/name]: Again, [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name] are names, but [name]Holden[/name] is the character. I think “hold” lends itself to some teasing, too, and I don’t think the character’s the best role model. In the end go with what you love, but [name]Wyatt[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] are still better.

[name]Draper[/name]: Yes, please drop this. I didn’t think of [name]Draper[/name] the raper, but I did immediately think of “does the carpet match the drapes”. And people will just be confused, especially when siblings are [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name]. If you want to honor [name]Don[/name] [name]Draper[/name], [name]Donovan[/name] might be a perfectly reasonable choice.

[name]Carter[/name]: Fine, but trendier than the others. Also, I work with kids and am thinking of teasing…just change the c to an f. Doesn’t have to scratch the name off, but it’s there. I have the same concern with the suggestion of [name]Cooper[/name] as a replacement…change the c to p. [name]Carter[/name] is far preferable by that mark : D.

I think [name]Wyatt[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] are your best choices, and recommend you consider [name]Malcolm[/name] and [name]Donovan[/name].

Here’s another thing. [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name] are actually both Biblical names, along with your middle name [name]Elias[/name], and even your last name [name]Daniels[/name] alludes to it. Other Biblical names in the top 100 excluding those that are, too my ear, too overlappy with [name]Ethan[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], or [name]Daniels[/name] include, in descending popularity (I think, my computer reordered a few at one point somehow).

[name]Jacob[/name]
[name]Michael[/name]
[name]Joshua[/name]
[name]Noah[/name]
[name]Matthew[/name]
[name]David[/name] ([name]David[/name] [name]Daniels[/name] kind of gets that [name]Don[/name] [name]Draper[/name] thing going on…)
[name]Joseph[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]John[/name]
[name]Jonathan[/name]
[name]Caleb[/name]
[name]Isaac[/name]
[name]Isaiah[/name]
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Jeremiah[/name]
[name]Adam[/name]
[name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Josiah[/name]
[name]Levi[/name]

Also, I bet some of these are more familiar in Germany than others, and you might explore that if you want to honor your wife’s heritage

I think my favorites of these with [name]Ethan[/name] and [name]Abigail[/name] and last name [name]Daniels[/name] are [name]Caleb[/name], [name]Luke[/name], and [name]Nathaniel[/name]. [name]Luke[/name] is probably the most accessible to Germans currently - [name]Luca[/name]/[name]Lucas[/name]/[name]Lukas[/name] has been in the top 10 in Germany for a while now.

All best!

Thanks to both the responders so far. You guys are very helpful. Jesba, I really appreciate how much thought you put into your post. I think we’re on the right track with [name]Wyatt[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] as the top contenders. Wife is sleeping A LOT, but we’ll definitely look over the other suggestions this weekend.