My husband and I have both loved the name [name_m]Julian[/name_m] for years (with nickname [name_u]Jules[/name_u]). We are now pregnant with our first child and it’s a boy! My husband is sold with the name but I’m now having reservations due to the fact that my sister had a baby boy last year and named him [name_u]Adrien[/name_u]. I fear that naming our son [name_m]Julian[/name_m] will seem like we copied them or aren’t very creative! I hoped that using [name_u]Jules[/name_u] would give him his own identity since it sounds nothing like [name_u]Adrien[/name_u], but I’m now worried that it’s too feminine? Lastly I want him to have his own strong name in our big extended family but I fear that my family will always mix up the [name_u]Adrien[/name_u] / [name_m]Julian[/name_m] names because they will be very close in age and (hopefully) very close friends over the years!
My husband thinks Im overthinking and that the two names sound like two different names!
Would love your thoughts!
I definitely agree with your husband on this one, despite the similar name ending they really are very different names. I love the NN. [name_u]Jules[/name_u] for [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and don’t think it’s too feminine.
I don’t think [name_u]Adrien[/name_u] and [name_m]Julian[/name_m] are too similar at all. I don’t think anyone would feel that they are too similar for cousins - I wouldn’t have even thought anything of it at all if you hadn’t expressed your concern.
I don’t find them too similar at all. [name_m]Julian[/name_m] is a great name. I think you’re probably just focusing on it pretty hard right now, which makes it easy to think of problems with the name. If you really go off the name, you can always look for another.
They do sound similar, but if you’re close with that part of your family I assume that most would call your son by the nickname [name_u]Jules[/name_u], which I don’t think is too feminine. If you love [name_m]Julian[/name_m], go with it! Plus the boys won’t care if their names are too close. In my family we have cousins [name_m]Christian[/name_m] and [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] that enjoy having similar names. Also a few cousins with [name_f]Ann[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as middles and they all just think it’s cool because they’re kids! 
I might be way off, but there’s a chance pregnancy hormones are adding to indecisiveness and anxiety — if you still really like [name_m]Julian[/name_m] (I very much do!). They’re similar-sounding names, [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and [name_m]Adrian[/name_m], but only if you think about it and make it a bad thing. Most of my brothers and cousins have two syllable -on/an ending names and it’s all fine! It’s nice!
They’re not too close, [name_m]Julian[/name_m] is a great name and love the nn [name_u]Jules[/name_u]. Pregnancy hormones have alot to answer for with us second guessing ourselves!!
[name_m]Julian[/name_m] is such a handsome name. I’ve loved it for years, and so have you, so you should use it.
[name_m]Julian[/name_m] and [name_u]Adrien[/name_u] rhyme, and that would probably make me pause and reconsider too. Because I’m an overthinker. But here’s the thing. Nobody is putting the amount of thought into your baby’s name that you are. I really doubt when people hear your son’s name they’ll compare it to what you sister named her child. If anyone does notice they rhyme they won’t think less of your creativity because of it… they’re very different names. Anyone would assume the slight rhyming is a coincidence. And honestly, does it matter if a few people who don’t know you well enough to know you’ve had this name picked for years think in their small mind it’s too close to your sisters? It really doesn’t. What matters is your son gets the name you and your husband agree is the best name for him. This is his identity. For his whole life. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t base it off worrying some might roll their eyes that it rhymes with his cousin’s name.
As for confusion, I don’t think they’re similar enough that anyone would have trouble remembering which name belongs to which child.
And I don’t think [name_u]Jules[/name_u] is overly feminine. It is perfectly unisex. And [name_m]Julian[/name_m] is very handsome and masculine.
While the two names do share a syllable, they are pretty distinct names. [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], [name_f]Megan[/name_f], [name_f]Erin[/name_f], and [name_f]Kristen[/name_f] also share ending sounds, but many families have sisters with two of these names and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
They’re very different names, and I much prefer [name_m]Julian[/name_m]! It’s cool, sophisticated and international, and [name_u]Jules[/name_u] is a great nickname too. Go with what you love.
Names ending in -n are really popular now, so no one will think these two are very similar at all.
However, if you are still concerned, you might consider [name_m]Julius[/name_m]. It sounds quite different from [name_u]Adrien[/name_u], has a classical Latin ending, and still leads quite logically to the nickname [name_u]Jules[/name_u]. Which, by the way, is an outstanding nickname!!
[name_m]Julian[/name_m] is wonderful, and definitely not too similar to [name_u]Adrien[/name_u]! In my family, there are three cousins born within a year of each other, whose names all rhyme, or almost (think [name_f]Cora[/name_f], [name_f]Laura[/name_f] and [name_f]Tara[/name_f]). Nobody bats an eyelid.
I hope this post is exactly what you need to stop doubting yourself and go with the name you love.
I agree that [name_m]Julian[/name_m] is an excellent name (one of my tops), [name_u]Jules[/name_u] is the best nickname, and [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and [name_m]Adrian[/name_m] are not too similar.
These responses have been amazingly helpful and thank you all for putting my fears to rest! I should have tapped into this awesome community months ago and spared myself the past few weeks of anxiety over this name! 
I don’t think [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and [name_u]Adrien[/name_u] sound too similar at all! In my family, there was a [name_m]Lochlan[/name_m] and a [name_m]Landen[/name_m] born within two months of each other, and no one thought anything of it. About [name_u]Jules[/name_u] - as a [name_f]Julia[/name_f] nn [name_u]Jules[/name_u], I’ve never thought of it as too feminine and wouldn’t be too surprised at all to hear it on a boy. I think it’s adorable!
Julian is absolutely gorgeous as well - I’ve always loved it myself and am so sad that I obviously won’t be able to use it!
I agree with everyone. [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and [name_m]Adrian[/name_m] do have similar endings, but they’re not too similar overall to be usable. I honestly wouldn’t even think twice at seeing brothers or cousins with those names.
Not similar at all. And I agree with the pp who suggested [name_m]Julius[/name_m]/[name_u]Jules[/name_u] for another option if you were concerned.
I think [name_m]Julian[/name_m] is a great name and you should definitely go ahead and use it. It’s not to close to [name_m]Adrian[/name_m], although I do agree with you on the feminine nickname [name_u]Jules[/name_u].
I love [name_m]Julian[/name_m] and do not associate it alt all with [name_m]Adrian[/name_m].
In terms of [name_u]Jules[/name_u], I know a [name_f]Julia[/name_f] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] that are both called [name_u]Jules[/name_u] from time to time though. Not as an official nickname, but in passing, like “Hey [name_u]Jules[/name_u], what do you think of…” I think [name_u]Jules[/name_u] is unisex.
I much prefer [name_m]Julian[/name_m] over [name_u]Jules[/name_u] for that reason.
I agree!
Good luck!