[name]Hi[/name],
My husband and I are struggling with boys names for our second son. Our oldest is [name]Samuel[/name] (always called [name]Sam[/name]).
We love classic boys names with nicknames.
Our final 3 are:
[name]John[/name] (nicknames either [name]Johnny[/name], jake or jack)
[name]Isaac[/name] (nickname zeke)
[name]Nathaniel[/name] (nickname [name]Nate[/name])
Few issues: 1. Husbands last name ends in -[name]Zac[/name].
2. Is [name]Nathaniel[/name] ending in -el too much with brother [name]Samuel[/name]!
Thanks so much!!!
[name]Nathaniel[/name] gets my vote. I know brothers named [name]Samuel[/name] & [name]Daniel[/name] and they don’t get any trouble with the similar endings. I think it’s cute that they’re similar sounding. And if they go by [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Nate[/name], I don’t think there’ll be any trouble at all 
I like [name]John[/name] 2nd. It seems a little plain next to [name]Samuel[/name] but it’s still handsome. I especially like [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] as brothers.
I don’t like [name]Isaac[/name] for you at all. Although it’s lovely with [name]Samuel[/name], it clashes too much with your surname. [name]Isaac[/name] …zac is too much, and [name]Zeke[/name] …zac dosn’t sound too good either.
I would pick [name]John[/name] nn [name]Jack[/name]. [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] sounds adorable. My second choice would be [name]Nathaniel[/name] - I like the nn [name]Nate[/name] and I don’t think [name]Nathaniel[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] are too matchy. [name]Isaac[/name] would be my last choice - both because of your surname and because I don’t care for the nn [name]Zeke[/name]. I also don’t really think of [name]Zeke[/name] as a nn for [name]Isaac[/name] and much prefer the nn [name]Zack[/name]. If I met a [name]Zeke[/name], my first guess at his full name would be [name]Ezekiel[/name].
My vote still goes to [name]Isaac[/name] despite the surname thing and the nickname [name]Zeke[/name] - which I’m not crazy about - the way I say it [name]Zak[/name] would make more sense as a nickname. He could even be called ZakZak what with the last name?
I would vote [name]Nathaniel[/name], if the ul/el endings matching bother you could go with [name]Nathan[/name] instead and still get the nn [name]Nate[/name].
Second I would vote [name]Isaac[/name], this would have been first but I had to rank it second because of the last name, I would use the nn [name]Ike[/name] or [name]Zack[/name] though.
I really don’t like [name]John[/name], I think it is way too overused, and I completely prefer [name]Jake[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] as stand alone names, [name]Jack[/name] in particular. In the UK it is much more popular than [name]John[/name] and I can completely see why, it’s just so lovely and strong at the same time.
Ugh!! So confused! Now my husband tells me that he loves the name [name]Julian[/name] (nn [name]Jules[/name]) - more than he likes [name]Nathaniel[/name].
What do you guys think??
I was going to go for [name]Nathaniel[/name], because that is my favourite from your list and if [name]Samuel[/name] always goes by [name]Sam[/name], then I think [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Nate[/name] is adorable for brothers. However, [name]Julian[/name] nn [name]Jules[/name] is really cute too and goes very well with [name]Samuel[/name]. [name]Samuel[/name] and [name]Julian[/name] or [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Jules[/name]. All sounds good to me! Good luck!
I like [name]Nathaniel[/name]!
If [name]Samuel[/name] is always called [name]Sam[/name], I wouldn’t worry about the -el ending.
Plus [name]Sam[/name] and [name]Nate[/name] are super cute together
good luck!
I like [name]Isaac[/name] the best but I don’t think it will work with your surname. Go with [name]Nathaniel[/name], the nickname [name]Nate[/name] is super cute.
I would choose [name]John[/name] (nn [name]Jack[/name]). Other ideas:
[name]Benjamin[/name] (nn [name]Ben[/name])
[name]Edward[/name] (nn [name]Ned[/name])
[name]Henry[/name] (nn [name]Harry[/name])
[name]Joseph[/name] (nn [name]Joe[/name])
[name]William[/name] (nn [name]Will[/name])
[name]Nathaniel[/name] love [name]Nate[/name]!
what about [name]Ezekiel[/name] nickname [name]Zeke[/name] or [name]Ezra[/name]?
I’ve always been a fan of the nn [name]Nate[/name]! I like [name]Nathaniel[/name] best & [name]John[/name] 2nd best.
Other names I think that could go with [name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name] ([name]Ben[/name])
[name]Peter[/name] ([name]Pete[/name])
[name]Joshua[/name] ([name]Josh[/name])
I like [name]John[/name] (nn [name]Jack[/name]) the most!