My all-time favorite boy names have been [name]James[/name](my grandfather’s name) and [name]William[/name]. Our children are [name]Caitlin[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Ethan[/name], and a baby boy on the way. We’re hoping to have more children in the future. I let my husband have the honor of naming our first son, [name]Ethan[/name] [name]James[/name], who is currently 23 months. Now I am having difficulty naming our son that is on the way because [name]James[/name] was used as the middle name of our oldest son and [name]William[/name] was recently used for the first name of my sister-in-law’s son who is almost 2 years old. I have looked over lots of boy names but I don’t love them like [name]James[/name] or [name]William[/name]. I have even toyed with the idea of changing my oldest son’s middle name(although my husband and I love the combination of [name]Ethan[/name] [name]James[/name] and saying it together) so that we can name his new brother [name]James[/name]. I have considered having one son with the middle name [name]James[/name] and giving the other [name]James[/name] as a first name(but that could be akward). I have thought about giving our youngest son the name [name]William[/name] and dealing with the confusion at family gatherings and the stigma of “stealing” my nephew’s name. None of this is ideal. What would you recommend?
I wouldn’t change [name]Ethan[/name]'s middle name. Does your nephew go by [name]William[/name]? There are so many nn options for [name]William[/name] that I’m sure you could come up with a different one to call your son. Or, use [name]Willam[/name] as the middle name.
Other names you might like:
[name]Owen[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Davis[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name] ([name]Teddy[/name])
[name]Grant[/name]
[name]Evan[/name]
[name]Dean[/name]
[name]Miles[/name]
[name]How[/name] about [name]Jack[/name] instead of [name]James[/name]? [name]Jack[/name] [name]William[/name] would be so handsome.
That is a tricky situation. I think [name]William[/name] could be off the table because of your s-i-l’s son. Was her son from a previous relationship, or is it with your brother/brother-in-law? Also depends on how close the two families are. [name]How[/name] often the children would really be together. And the personalities of her and her husband, in general. [name]William[/name] is also such a well used name that it wouldn’t be as bad as choosing [name]Mercer[/name], and a close family member already having a [name]Mercer[/name], for instance. With Very popular names the idea of “stealing” diminishes. [name]Even[/name] less if one goes by [name]Will[/name] or [name]Bill[/name], and the other by the more formal [name]William[/name].
Changing [name]Ethan[/name]'s mn would be a big step, the size of which would depend on how old his is. Since he is younger, it’s not as big of a deal as it would be if he were older, but it’s still a major decision to make. If you don’t always call him “[name]Ethan[/name] [name]James[/name]”, I think you could get away with naming your other sons [name]James[/name]. But, it’s not ideal.
You may have to settle on coming up with a different fn and using [name]William[/name] as a mn.
[name]David[/name] [name]William[/name] sounds lovely.
[name]Noah[/name] [name]William[/name]
[name]Andrew[/name] [name]William[/name]
[name]Charles[/name] [name]William[/name] (I love [name]Charlie[/name] as a nn)
Or any other family names, from your or your husband’s side that you like, since [name]Ethan[/name] got a grandfather’s name.