We have an unusual last name that sounds French, although my husband’s heritage is actually Italian. Our first son has a very unusual name that ends in “o” and I’d like to choose a name for our expected baby boy (due in a few weeks) that is also unusual but does not end in “o” to avoid a matchy-matchy sound. I’ve been thinking of [name]Esai[/name], but I’m wondering if that’s OK to do since we have no Spanish or Latino heritage. It seems all the Italian boys names end in “o”! We also have Irish and Scottish ancestors, but many of the Irish or Scottish names are too common and/or sound wrong with our French-ish last name. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Hm. I don’t think it would be too weird to use [name]Esai[/name], I suppose. [name]How[/name] are you pronouncing it? EE-sye or ee-[name]SAY[/name]? It reminds me of the Biblical [name]Esau[/name], to be honest with you.
As for other suggestions, you might like [name]Dante[/name] - great literary connection and a fun (Italian-esque) name with a cool meaning, “enduring.” [name]Ignatius[/name], [name]Felix[/name], [name]Florian[/name], and [name]Magnus[/name] are neat Latin names, too. Or, maybe you want to experiment with a French name? [name]Didier[/name] comes to mind - it means “much desired” and is pronounced, according to NB, as dee-DYAE. My dad worked with a [name]Didier[/name], and we always said it a bit like did-ee-ay. Something Greek might work, along the lines of [name]Atlas[/name] or [name]Hermes[/name], which can be pronounced like the god (HER-meez) or the designer label (ayr-MEZ).
[name]Lemon[/name] 
I actually [name]LOVE[/name] the name [name]Esai[/name], it’s one of my favorites And I think it could work on any child, it’s short but substantial, easy to say, and a great name over all.
[name]Esai[/name] would be an unusual choice but some people may have trouble with the pronunciation. As long as the name you choose works well as a pairing with your eldest son’s name, I think the sky is the limit! Here are some other suggestions for boys names that don’t end in “o”:
Spanish
[name]Agustin[/name]
[name]Andres[/name]
[name]Angel[/name]
[name]Anibal[/name]
Bernabe
[name]Blas[/name]
[name]Carlos[/name]
[name]Cesar[/name]
[name]Clemente[/name]
[name]Cristobal[/name]
[name]Damian[/name]
[name]Eloy[/name]
[name]Eneas[/name]
[name]Enrique[/name]
[name]Esteban[/name]
[name]Felipe[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Fermin[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]Gaspar[/name]
[name]Hector[/name]
[name]Jaime[/name]
[name]Javier[/name]
[name]Joaquin[/name] (cool)
[name]Jonas[/name]
[name]Jorge[/name]
[name]Jose[/name]
[name]Juan[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]
[name]Leon[/name]
[name]Luis[/name]
[name]Manuel[/name]
[name]Miguel[/name]
[name]Moises[/name]
[name]Nestor[/name]
Nicanor
[name]Nicolas[/name]
[name]Noe[/name]
[name]Ponce[/name]
[name]Rafael[/name]
[name]Raul[/name]
[name]Rey[/name]
[name]Roldan[/name]
[name]Ruben[/name]
[name]Salvador[/name]
[name]Tomas[/name]
[name]Vicente[/name]
Italian
[name]Baldassare[/name]
[name]Cesare[/name]
[name]Dante[/name]
[name]Ercole[/name]
[name]Ettore[/name]
[name]Felice[/name]
[name]Gian[/name]
[name]Giovanni[/name]
[name]Leone[/name]
[name]Michele[/name]
[name]Pasquale[/name]
[name]Salvatore[/name]
[name]Vitale[/name]
French
[name]Alain[/name]
[name]Anselme[/name]
[name]Armand[/name]
[name]Aurelien[/name]
[name]Barnabe[/name]
[name]Barthelemy[/name]
[name]Bertrand[/name]
[name]Christophe[/name]
[name]Claude[/name]
[name]Emile[/name]
[name]Etienne[/name]
[name]Fabrice[/name]
[name]Florentin[/name]
Francois
[name]Gaetan[/name]
[name]Gauthier[/name]
[name]Gilles[/name]
[name]Guillaume[/name]
[name]Gustave[/name]
[name]Jerome[/name]
[name]Jules[/name]
[name]Loic[/name]
[name]Maxime[/name]
[name]Olivier[/name] (I love)
[name]Pascal[/name]
[name]Raoul[/name]
[name]Remy[/name]/[name]Remi[/name]
[name]Rene[/name]
[name]Rodrigue[/name]
[name]Romain[/name]
[name]Sebastien[/name]
[name]Stanislas[/name]
[name]Tanguy[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]
[name]Thibault[/name]
[name]Thierry[/name]
[name]Urbain[/name]
[name]Yves[/name]
Irish/Scottish/Celtic
[name]Alastair[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Fergus[/name]
[name]Gregor[/name]
[name]Laird[/name]
[name]Leith[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Angus[/name]
[name]Aidan[/name]
[name]Brendan[/name]
[name]Cillian[/name]
[name]Colm[/name]
[name]Cormac[/name]
[name]Declan[/name]
[name]Donovan[/name]
[name]Duff[/name]
[name]Eamonn[/name]
[name]Flynn[/name]
[name]Keir[/name]
[name]Lorcan[/name]
[name]Niall[/name]
[name]Patrick[/name]
[name]Rory[/name]
[name]Ronan[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Seamus[/name]
[name]Vaughan[/name]
[name]Wynne[/name]
[name]Esai[/name] is a very rare name–way out of the top 1000. Although I have come across one [name]Esai[/name] and one [name]Isai[/name] in the past few years (I’ve been a substitute teacher), and both were Latino, the name is so rare that I think you can safely ignore the ethnicity issue. The pronunciation is difficult, and probably one that will be hard for other people to learn. On the other hand, it’s a short name, so spelling it wouldn’t be too burdensome. I have a difficult name to spell & pronounce, but I think it’s worth it because I have a great name. [name]Do[/name] you think [name]Esai[/name] is worth it? If so, then I say go for it!
Thanks for your feedback everyone! I do really like [name]Esai[/name] (which I’m pronouncing EE-sigh), so it’s still in the running. But I appreciate all the alternatives that were offered. Many thanks!