Baby boy - James, Robin, Fredrick, or Francis?

We also have a James-he's 22. From the moment we knew he was a boy, he was always going to be a James and we both agreed on it instantly! It's a classic, timeless name and suits him perfectly. He's never given us a moment's bother either! 🤣

Love all your names. I wanted Sebastian too and my husband vetoed

Jimberly for the win😂

James - i really like it. Prople often say its popular and boring but the youngest James I know is 8. Would love to meet a little James.

Robin - like but I know 4 under 5s called Robin and then 1 girl Robyn too

Fredrick - love Frederick but dislike Freddie and am neutral on Fred so wouldnt be my choice

Francis - love as long as not shortened to Frank / Frankie

Laurence - nice. Love Laurie though prefer the spelling Lawrence

Names I like but DH doesn’t sometimes for spurious reasons:
Tristan - like, also like Tristram
Fabian - OK just not for me. I lile Florian and Dorian, similar feel
Jasper - OK but I know quite a few
Cedric - love it
Sebastian - love but dislike Seb

I love James too!
We have family members called James and it’s a timeless classic unlikely to become dated.
I haven’t yet met a nasty James .

Daniel
David
Mark
Benjamin
Joseph
Joshua

When my son was in primary school someone tried to call him Jamie. He turned and said 'it 's not Jamie, it's James! " He would never let it be shortened.

I like all of the names on the list you both like - my favourites are James and Frederick (although Freddie’s are everywhere round here).
It’s a shame he doesn’t like Sebastian- such a great name, not to overused, and Seb is a great nn. Jasper and Tristan are also great names.

Cedric is the only name you’ve listed that I dislike.

How about

Nathaniel / Nathan / Nate
Lewis
Ellis
Evan
Luke
Reuben
Toby
Benedict
Zachary
Hugo
Dexter
Leon
Dominic
Isaac
Jonah
Thomas
Max / Maxim

I love Francis, Sebastian and Tristan.

Suggestions…

Elias
Fraser
Angus
Kurt
Samuel

James. It’s my favourite boys name, along with Alexander, so is an easy top pick for me.

I also like Francis, Laurence and Frederick - though I come across so many babies called Freddie and Teddy that it puts me off a bit.

Robin and Sebastian are OK, but less to my taste. And I’m afraid I’m with your husband in disliking the other options.

I like a classic name, but I also think variety of possible nicknames is an advantage (I know some posters on MN are very much more in the 'it has to be exactly the name I chose' camp). I'd pick James from your list because it is nice as it is, but could also be Jamie, Jim, Jimmy, Jem, Jay and even Jake (James is related to Jacob). From your other list, Sebastian also lends itself to lots of variations.

What your list that DH doesn't like all have in common is they're leaning more towards the 'slightly posh' whereas the top list you both like is more neutral.

Will you want to shortern the name or not?
This would help me decide.

Robin often becomes Bobby
James, Jimmy etc.
Sebastian, Seb

Some don't easily shortern to a NN.

If you use the Frederick spelling, it's OK. Fredrick isn't OK.

James - great but might be Jim, Jamie or Jay
Robin - ok will be Rob
Frederick - ok but will be Fred or Freddie
Francis - OK but will be Frank, Fran or France
Laurence - Larry or 'Lorry'. No.

James - not as a middle name as it seems to be every boy's middle name
Francis - great as a middle name as it avoids shortening

Robin is on our shortlist if this baby is a boy and is my favourite from your list. My husband vetoed Jasper and Francis which I also love and I was the one to veto Tristan for spurious reasons (it just didn’t feel right, even though I like the name). James and Frederick are overused for my taste. Also on our boys shortlist is Cillian, Felix, Hector and Patrick.

Definitely James.

I love James. My James is 30 this year. It's a timeless name. I'm slightly biased I think. He's never caused me any problems 😂

I like Robin, Fabian and Tristan.

How about
Quentin
Magnus
Reuben