Hello all! I’m due in [name]April[/name] with my second boy. My first son is [name]Donovan[/name]. Middle name [name]Michael[/name] after my fiance. We are having a really tough time naming baby #2. Last name is very common, one syllable starting with Br. These are the only names we’ve liked so far…
[name]Gabriel[/name]- I do like it, don’t quite love it. I think mostly because of popularity, especially because the last name is so common. My fiance is one of many with his exact name. It also doesn’t feel very masculine to me, I kind of worry it could be confused with [name]Gabrielle[/name]? The repeating letters Br also bother me, it feels a little hard to say. And I don’t love the nickname [name]Gabe[/name] with the last name. ([name]Gabe[/name] [name]Brown[/name]).
[name]Xavier[/name]- Pronounced EX-ay-vee-er. My brother mentioned this name over [name]Christmas[/name] and I really like it. I like that it is known but not very popular, although it is still in the top 100. My fiance also likes this one. Is this a name he can grow with? The letter X kinda worries me as far as professionalism. I also worry about it being hard to pronounce or long (4 syllables)? Would it be mistakenly pronounced Zay-vee-er? Or am I overthinking it? I’m looking for some opinions, it may be the one
Middle name will probably be [name]Tate[/name] after my dad. Or another option is [name]Mitchell[/name] after my fiance’s dad, which I don’t love quite as much.
Some names we considered but got shot down,
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Sullivan[/name]
[name]Jameson[/name]
[name]Anderson[/name]
[name]Enzo[/name]
[name]Cooper[/name]
[name]Grady[/name]
[name]Evander[/name]
Thanks for the help, other suggestions are welcome! Sorry so long and for any mistakes, I’m on my phone.
I love [name]Xavier[/name]!! Was just thinking about it a few days ago! But, I think with [name]Donovan[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name] may sound better. What about [name]William[/name]?
[name]William[/name] [name]Tate[/name] or [name]Liam[/name] or [name]Ian[/name]???
I prefer [name]Gabriel[/name], personally. I think [name]Donovan[/name] and [name]Gabriel[/name] are perfect together. I’ve heard [name]Xavier[/name] as much as (if not more than) [name]Gabriel[/name], but both are nice. I rarely come across either, actually. I went to school with a [name]Gabriel[/name], I met one through a ministry in my church, and a grandson of one of my church members is named [name]Gabriel[/name], those are the only ones I can think of. It’s a very handsome name.
From your reject list, I really like [name]Jude[/name], [name]Sullivan[/name], and [name]Grady[/name]. Have you considered [name]Micah[/name]? It has that same Biblical, handsome/timeless feel while being much less common than [name]Gabriel[/name]–I think [name]Donovan[/name] and [name]Micah[/name] would be very cute together.
Thanks, I’ve only met one [name]Gabriel[/name] but looking at the Ssa list it was #24 last year. [name]Xavier[/name] was around #77 I think. I just wouldn’t want him to have a common first and last name. We have a very close friend with a son [name]William[/name] and it’s a bit popular for me too, it’s a great name though. [name]Micah[/name] is nice too but I think it’s too close to my fiances name [name]Michael[/name].
I am from Cincinnati, OH where there is a college called [name]Xavier[/name] University (the basketball team sometimes makes it to the NCAA tournament). It is pronounced Zay-vee-er, and that would be my default pronunciation. However, with the character from the X-Men comic/cartoon/movie named [name]Charles[/name] [name]Xavier[/name], I believe that the X is pronounced. I don’t mind the name [name]Xavier[/name], but he would likely have to explain the pronunciation every time he met someone.
I like the name [name]Gabriel[/name] and the nn [name]Gabe[/name]. I actually think [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Brown[/name] has a very nice flow to it (the “br” repeat doesn’t bother me at all). This would be my choice.
I really like both names. [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Brown[/name] sounds great to me, and even [name]Gabe[/name] [name]Brown[/name] sounds fine. [name]Xavier[/name], on the other hand, I do really like the look and sound of the name, however the pronunciation is so varied. Personally I pronounce it the way you do with the “x” at the beginning, but I know others that pronounce it zay-vyer, and some that even pronounce it like [name]Javier[/name]. I would get tired of correcting people I think, but if the pronunciation issues wouldn’t bother you, then I say go for it.
Ahh, right, I forgot about that when I suggested it. I think [name]Josiah[/name] has a similar feel, too, as [name]Gabriel[/name], but doesn’t have the connections to [name]Michael[/name]? [name]Josiah[/name] [name]Tate[/name] would be very handsome! It’s within the top 100, but less common than [name]Xavier[/name]. I think [name]Donovan[/name] and [name]Josiah[/name] would be lovely, too.
ETA: [name]Just[/name] thought of this, as well–just because a name is popular in the country doesn’t mean it’s popular in your area, kwim? Out of the top 20 for each gender in the US, I don’t know a single [name]Sophia[/name], [name]Mia[/name], [name]Chloe[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Avery[/name], [name]Samantha[/name], [name]Aubrey[/name], [name]Sofia[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Mason[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Jayden[/name], [name]Michael[/name], [name]Ethan[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], [name]Daniel[/name], [name]Anthony[/name], [name]Matthew[/name], [name]Joshua[/name], [name]Liam[/name], [name]Andrew[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]David[/name], or [name]Logan[/name] under the age of 10. That’s the majority of the top 20s! [name]Just[/name] because its popular doesn’t ensure that there will be hundreds of them. My name is [name]Ashley[/name] and I didn’t attend school with another [name]Ashley[/name] until my junior year of high school. [name]Just[/name] something I thought I’d bring up, if you’d like to love [name]Gabriel[/name] but the popularity’s holding you back. And like a PP, I say [name]Xavier[/name] as ZAY-vyer.
Hmm… I was hoping it was much more common to pronounce [name]Xavier[/name] with the Ex sound. I definitely don’t want that to be an issue. I always felt bad for kids at school that had to correct their name all the time.
[name]Gabriel[/name]- I really love this one. I agree, it’s on the softer side of names, but it is clearly masculine. It seems like you’ve talked yourself out of it and don’t truly love it, so I say trash this one.
[name]Xavier[/name]- I pronounce it the same way you do. I think you’re over thinking it. [name]Xavier[/name] is a name he can grow with and I don’t see it being a problem at all in the professionalism aspect. [name]Xavi[/name] is an adorable nickname. I would go with [name]Xavier[/name] [name]Tate[/name].
Sorry for any misspellings, I’m on my phone as well! Good luck!
I really like [name]Xavier[/name] with brother [name]Donovan[/name] but having said that I pronounce it Zay-vee-uhr which is the pronunciation I love the most. [name]Xavier[/name] [name]Tate[/name] sounds really cool though I just can’t imagine people saying it as Ex-ay-vee-uhr like you want and I do think you would have to correct people all the time. [name]Xavier[/name] [name]Brown[/name] also sounds better than [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Brown[/name] [name]IMO[/name].
I love the name [name]Gabriel[/name], it’s a favourite of mine! [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Tate[/name] [name]Brown[/name] sounds fine, but here I prefer [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Mitchell[/name] [name]Brown[/name].
I don’t know which to vote for here because I prefer the look of [name]Donovan[/name] and [name]Xavier[/name] but I don’t like the pronunciation you want.
I love both [name]Gabriel[/name] and [name]Xavier[/name]! These names are quite popular in my area right now. They both flow very nicely with [name]Donovan[/name]. The nn’s [name]Gabe[/name] and Ex are also all the rage. You can’t go wrong with either name. Good [name]Luck[/name] to you and your family!
I kinda feel like [name]Gabriel[/name] is the “safe” choice but [name]Xavier[/name] is the one I prefer. I thought the pronunciation with the X was the most common. When I looked up the name it seemed like it is the primary way to say it. Maybe because it doesn’t really “change” the name too much it won’t be that big of a deal? Does that make sense?
I actually prefer [name]Xavier[/name] over [name]Gabriel[/name]. Although both are handsome, I agree that [name]Xavier[/name] sounds better with your last name. [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Brown[/name] or [name]Gabe[/name] [name]Brown[/name] sounds very blah to me. Too much “Br” sounds to it. I wouldn’t worry about the pronunciation issues, really there is such a small difference between Zayv-yer and X-zayv-yer when the name is spoken quickly. [name]Just[/name] correct people if need be. I am also a huge X-Men fan! From your list, I also like [name]Sullivan[/name] and [name]Cooper[/name]! I think [name]Cooper[/name] and [name]Donovan[/name] sound great together!
I couldn’t remember how it was pronounced. Thanks for that info.
Spelled Jesiah…