• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Request a Name

Appellation Mountain

Where every name has a story

  • Baby Name Advice & More
  • Master List: Girl Names
  • Master List: Boy Names
  • Private Baby Name Consulting

Name Help: A Brother for Margot and Xavier

December 3, 2021 By appellationmountain 18 Comments

Name Help: A Brother for Xavier and MargotName Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.

We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!

Amber writes:

We’re expecting a baby boy at the end of January.

Girl names are easy for us. We agreed on Margot Evangeline weeks before our daughter was due.

It took us until the night before I went into labor to settle on Xavier James.

My girl list (that my husband is pretty much on board with) includes Cecilia/Celia, Esme, Phoebe, Sylvie, Willa, and maybe Gwen/Gwendolyn. There are other names that have gone on/off over the years, but I’m sure we could name another daughter. (And maybe we will!)

But right now we have no boy names.

We’d like something that’s traditional, but not like James/David/John/Ryan traditional. Preferably something we don’t know lots of kids already named.

Also, we’d like the spelling and pronunciation to be obvious. It surprises me how many people leave the T off Margot or pronounce Xavier with an extra X, like X-ZAY. It shouldn’t be hard, but every time I think I like a name, there’s a problem. We almost agreed on Elliot, but then realized it could be Elliott. (Or even Eliot?) And that ruined it for me.

Our last name sounds like the name Louis, but spelled differently.

Can you help?

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new son!

I know what you mean about boy names. And it’s not just you, either.

In 2020, 77% of newborn boys received a Top 1000 name, while only 67% of girls did.

That suggest that parents feel like their options are a little more constrained when naming a son.

The good news, though, is that you know exactly what you want AND you’ve identified a key priority: straightforward spelling and pronunciation.

There are some great choices to consider.

A BROTHER FOR MARGOT and XAVIER

ARCHER #160

Maybe, strictly speaking, Archibald is the more traditional choice? But no one is using Archibald – not really – while Archer balances nicely between familiar and too common.

AXEL #72

Axel could maybe be misheard as Alex. But it really only has one possible pronunciation, and I think it has just enough edge to be a perfect brother name for Xavier. It sounds modern, but it’s actually a traditional Danish form of the Old Testament Absalom.

FINN #178

There’s something high-energy and smooth about Finn. But it’s tradition-adjacent, too, the kind of name with plenty of history, just below the surface.

GRIFFIN #241

Or maybe Griffin, for something Finn-like but with an extra syllable?

HUGO #424

Hugo repeats Margot’s bright ‘o’ ending, but I’m not sure that’s a problem. It’s a classic, but unexpected, choice – just like your older children.

JONAH #128

A Biblical boy name that feels mainstream, but still far less popular than Noah.

MAXWELL #146

Strictly speaking, Maxwell is a surname. But it feels like a well-established first. And it shares sounds with Margot and Xavier, in a very subtle way.

ROMAN #77

The ancient empire and enduring city lend Roman plenty of strength. It’s a current sound, too, substantial and on-trend.

Overall, I’m most drawn to Archer. If the priorities are a familiar, not common, name with a clear spelling and pronunciation, it’s hard to do better than Archer. It’s distinct and different from Margot and Xavier, but still a style match.

Readers, what would you suggest as a brother for Margot and Xavier?

More names you might like:

  • Name Help: A Brother for Arden and ArcherName Help: A Brother for Arden and Archer
  • Name Help: A Brother for OliverName Help: A Brother for Oliver
  • Name Help: A Brother for SkylaName Help: A Brother for Skyla
  • Name Help: A Brother for Mae ElinorName Help: A Brother for Mae Elinor
  • Name Help: A Brother for Asa and OonaName Help: A Brother for Asa and Oona

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

Comments

  1. JMV says

    December 5, 2021 at 9:20 AM

    You have so many great suggestions here. Thought I’d add Joel, Ezra, or Rufus.

    Reply
  2. Cece says

    December 5, 2021 at 7:38 AM

    So we also have a Margot! (Margot Josephine). And my name is Celia. Our second child is a boy, he’s called Nathaniel and we call him Nat. Would that work with your style? Nathaniel is traditional but not super over-used, at least where we live.

    Reply
  3. RJ says

    December 4, 2021 at 11:26 PM

    Ambrose, Arthur, Felix, Fergus, Nolan, Nathaniel, Oscar, Zachary, Isaac, Silas, Theodore, Ignatius, Dashiell,

    Reply
  4. Dutch says

    December 4, 2021 at 1:27 PM

    • Winston
    • Tristan
    • Hector
    • Emeric
    • Ashwin
    • Neville
    • Wilfred
    • Anton
    • Evander
    • Truman
    • Dorian
    • Tobias

    Reply
  5. Alyssa says

    December 3, 2021 at 10:09 PM

    Vincent
    George
    Dominic
    Damien
    Bruno
    Gabriel
    Julian
    Simon
    Zachary

    I think my favorite is Julian, followed by Gabriel, Vincent and Simon!

    Reply
  6. Bree says

    December 3, 2021 at 10:05 PM

    Arthur, Felix, Dashiell, Piers, Clive, Albin and Nolan are my suggestions! Love Margot and Xavier.

    Reply
  7. FE says

    December 3, 2021 at 8:16 PM

    Was going to suggest Oscar, but I see I’ve been beaten to it. Maybe Isaac? Or something like Quentin?

    Reply
  8. Iris says

    December 3, 2021 at 8:15 PM

    Arthur
    Sebastian
    Felix
    Frederick
    Oscar
    Blaise
    Edmund
    Victor
    Leonard/Leo
    Simon/Simeon
    Tobias/Toby

    Reply
  9. Erin Beth says

    December 3, 2021 at 8:06 PM

    I love the suggestions of Blaise and Basil. I would add Virgil, Ambrose, Dominic, Ignatius, Emmet, Augustine, and Nathaniel.

    Reply
  10. Candy says

    December 3, 2021 at 6:48 PM

    It hasn’t been mentioned here but Benedict feels and sounds like a good fit with Margot and Xavier and you last name. It is recognizable and not over used.

    Reply
  11. emily says

    December 3, 2021 at 3:57 PM

    “It surprises me how many people leave the T off Margot” – perhaps I’m missing something obvious, but isn’t the “T” in Margot silent? At least in French and English? I’m happy to learn more, but this is news to me… Mar-GOT or Mar-GOAT?

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      December 5, 2021 at 3:09 PM

      I read it as a spelling problem, not a pronunciation one. Like you introduce yourself as Margot, and someone writes it Margo. Sort of the opposite of the whole ex-zay thing, where it’s a pronunciation challenge.

      Reply
  12. A says

    December 3, 2021 at 1:37 PM

    Congrats on your new addition! I love Margot and Xavier, they really compliment each other well. For what it’s worth, I think Elliott is a great choice but I totally understand the hesitation to use a name with multiple spellings.

    Some suggestions that feel traditional but not too common…

    Elias (similar to Elliott)
    Blaise
    Peter
    Gideon !
    Malcolm
    Felix
    Abram/Bram
    Solomon
    Ronan
    Oscar
    Jude
    Adrian
    Calvin
    Jacoby
    Cormac
    Wesley (Wes)
    Everett (similar to Elliott)
    August !
    Reid
    Duncan
    Anthony
    Patrick

    And probably not your style but I’ll throw it out there anyways because they sound nice along with Margo and Xavier: Atticus and Atlas

    I really like Gideon the most. It’s strong and handsome on its own but also sounds fantastic with Margo and Xavier. Margo, Xavier, and Gideon.

    Same with August (even if he’s due in January; I think it’s a non issue). Margo, Xavier, and August. I like how each name has its own initial and ends in a different sound

    I hope this helps, good luck!

    Reply
  13. Renee says

    December 3, 2021 at 1:02 PM

    If you almost agreed on Elliott, how about Elijah? I really love that name and I never heard it. I know it *might* come with some spelling errors, but until Margot and Xavier which legitimately have different spellings and pronunciations, Elijah just doesn’t?

    I like the three-syllable pattern for your boys, so how about:

    Sebastian
    Julian
    Sullivan
    Abraham
    Solomon
    Adrian

    (and love suggestions of Caspian and Damian above!)

    Reply
  14. Marisa says

    December 3, 2021 at 12:52 PM

    My first thought was Bosco. I also like the suggestion of Damien, but that would be the same name as a famous actor. Caspian or Gideon would sound great too. Cedric? Edmund? Edwin? Harvey? Sebastian?

    Reply
  15. Istas says

    December 3, 2021 at 12:18 PM

    Caspian
    Peregrine
    Moses
    Raphael
    Adam
    Basil
    Josiah
    Oscar
    Clark

    Reply
  16. Megan says

    December 3, 2021 at 10:26 AM

    With Xavier, my first though is always Mary Frances Xavier Warde (the US founder of the Sisters of Mercy) which leads me to Frank and Ward/Edward (I would go with Ward). If those are TOO traditional:
    Arthur (it just feels a bit more traditional than Archer)
    Damien (I’m not sure i really qualify this as traditional, but it goes very nicely)
    Jasper
    Ivan
    Hugo works well as a middle for most of these.
    Arthur, Jasper, and Damien go nicely with the other girl names you like.

    Reply
  17. Alison Doherty says

    December 3, 2021 at 10:03 AM

    I think Archer is perfect! Or Arthur if you want to be even a bit more traditional.

    I also thought of Felix and Calvin, for under used classics. I also saw a baby named Franklin the other day and thought that was very cute!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


POPULAR POSTS

Tweets by @appmtn
Visit Appellation Mountain's profile on Pinterest.

Copyright © 2023 · AppellationMountain.net on Genesis Framework · Privacy Policy · Log in