Name 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.
Arthur
Sebastian
Felix
Frederick
Oscar
Blaise
Edmund
Victor
Leonard/Leo
Simon/Simeon
Tobias/Toby
I love the suggestions of Blaise and Basil. I would add Virgil, Ambrose, Dominic, Ignatius, Emmet, Augustine, and Nathaniel.
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.
“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?
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.
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!
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!)
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?
Caspian
Peregrine
Moses
Raphael
Adam
Basil
Josiah
Oscar
Clark
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.
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!