8 days old and at this rate we're going to be stuck with "Nigel". Help!

[Sparklies]

This is DC3, we have two DDs Bethan and Catherine. We've been calling the baby "Nigel" as a joke since we found out he was a boy but at this rate it's going to stick, especially amongst our DDs, unless we name him properly and soon!

He has red hair like his daddy and one of his sisters, and his surname is two syllables starting with "Th". We don't like very popular names, but at the same time we don't want to go too far out there. Think position 60-250 in the baby boy name charts - the further down the better.

We really liked "Flynn" but it sounds too close to "Catherine" his sister. We also liked "Ethan" and "Nathan" but they sound too close to "Bethan" his other sister At one point we considered "William" but already having a "Catherine" and being born the day before the royal wedding.. yeah. Not good.

Our shortlist is currently:

Raphael
Gabriel (DH's favourite, but I worry over the "Gay" nickname possibility?)
Ellis
Elliot(t)

Other ones we've considered (but probably ruled out) are:

Asher
Elias
Myles
Griffin

Thoughts on the top four especially appreciated, but any other ideas welcome as you never know. However we've been running around in circles with this for months so I doubt there's a name we haven't considered!

Thanks!!

I like Raphael and Gabriel. Also like Jonathan and Peter.

Elliott is my nephew's name and he's awesome!
Evan? It's almost Ethan but not quite :)

I think I'd go with Flynn - it doesn't sound like Catherine to me. I agree that Ethan is a bit close to Bethan - how about Nathaniel, would probably be shortened to Nate but that's not a bad nn .

Gabriel - I personally wouldn't think "Gay" or that there's anything funny about the name BUT my 13 yr old son does class it is a "gay name" unfortunately (not to anyone's face you understand ). Therefore, whether there would be any problems at school later on I'm not sure.

Elliot wouldn't be my personal choice but there's nothing wrong with it - I prefer it to Ellis, which seems to be a girl's name around here .

How about Jude? love this name

Or Ruairí - which means red king?

Rowan?
Austin?
Morgan? (or is that a girl's name?)

I like Raphael, nn Raff (not Rafe). I also like Griffin but there is the Nick Griffin connotation.

out of the names you have said I prefer Elliot

Oh, and Raphael is quite sweet - there is a little Raphael at DS2's school & although I was a bit sniggery when I first heard it, it really suits him & now seems like a great name!

If you like Elias- what about Elijah- similar.

Rory always strikes me as a good name for a red head.

Why not just stick with Nigel? Not in fashion, but a perfectly good name.

I like Raphael, Ellis and Elias.

How about: Iain, Neil, Rupert, Ivo, Piers, Gregory, Lemuel, Martin, Angus, Dominic?

Love Gabriel Children will find a nasty nn whatever name you choose, it's their nature!!!

Raphael is lovely too, Ellis sounds 'surnamey', Elliot(t) is okay but a bit bland for me.

Some further suggestions for you:

Alexander
Amadeus
Bay
Cassian
Crispin
Damien
Inigo
Joaquin
Phineaus -Phin
Rafe
Rufus
Sebastian
Seth
Theodore -Theo /Teddy
Wilf
Willow

I love Gabriel.

you should go for Rufus

Gabriel is a lovely name. Alexander is also a good one - or Iain, nice Scottish name!

Rory is the tiger from Haven Holidays. So many people on here seem to love it, but, as a family who generally holiday at Haven parks, there will always be an association. And we are not the only ones as little Rory at DS2's school is nicknamed "Tiger" by the children. Not a bad nn, but perhaps not what the parents were intending .

And, no, my son did not start it . Thankfully.

I like Gabriel, Elliot and Elias best from your choices.

snice Rufus would be a lovely name if they were naming a puppy .

How about Henry after Henry VIII - I think he had red hair?

Love Raphael - I wanted it for both ds3 and ds4 but was vetoed by dp.

Also considered ruairi, lovely and unusual and has meaning for you.

Actually I considered all of your top 4, did think about the gay thing with Gabriel but think its a lovely name and Gabe is a cool nn....

Ooooh tis so hard!

Ellis and Elias are both nice. Raphael is a bit pretentious IMO (sorry).

My DD is Bethan and my DS often gets called Nigel by certain friends as an affectionate play on his real name, which is Elijah!

From your list, I love Elias and Gabriel, both of which were vetoed by my DP

Agree, why not stick with Nigel - while not 'fashionable' at the moment it is a perfectly good name, classic and easy to spell/pronounce. And with not many other small Nigels around, he probably won't have to share his name with too many others in class.

Go with Flynn. I think it goes nicely with Catherine.
Catherine, Bethan and Flynn.
Cute.