Raphael vs Sebastian

[jwwh]

Mini poll: Our baby boy is due in a couple of months and we're really stuck for boys' names. DH and I have finally managed to (sort of) agree on either Raphael or Sebastian, but I'm not really sure about either, and he keeps changing his mind too. I love Raphael and that would be my first choice but DH has a very Irish surname so I'm not sure it would go well. Or would it? Which name do you prefer?

Raphael is lovely and would be my first choice out of the two. Without knowing the surname it's difficult to tell whether it "goes" well with it.

I like Raphael and adore Sebastian, but the potential nickname "Seb" (reminds me of sebaceous glands) puts me off.

Raphael

Two great names though - could you use them both? Raphael Sebastian sounds lovely.

Similar suggestions: Gabriel, Leo, Benedict

Thank you! Guess we'll go for Raphael then. Was worried that the names are a bit pretentious, but I got over that quickly. The nns don't sound pretentious if the kid doesn't like the full name.

Was wondering if I'm reacting to pregnancy hormones and not hearing that Raphael sounds too much like a flamenco dancer, and Sebastian like a camp hairdresser. I hope not.

The surname is an O'xxx name, so that would rule out Leo (nice name though). Gabriel also nice but DH wouldn't agree. Benedict not so much for me.

Baby will have my surname as a middle name, so DH has outlawed giving him another middle name.

I adore both and both were top of my list! Sebastian is my newborns middle name, I couldn't give him it as first name as it's an ex boyfriends name, but he is named after a place (a city called San Sebastián) not a person. I prefer Raphael actually! Sadly my DH didn't like that so he has a completely different first name :-(

Raphael O'Brien/O'Neill/O'Flaherty sounds great!

Wait till your baby is born. We had two names one of which was the same as yours and as soon as we saw him we just knew that one fitted and the other didn't. He's got an Irish surname too. :)

I'm planning to call baby Rafael at the moment (could change mind but just indicating how much I like it!).

Thanks for the encouragement and great tips! True, might change our minds when we see the little creature. Next challenge is Raphael vs Rafael...

Rafael. Easier to spell

I don't really know why I think it's spelt Rafael - I just always thought it was spelt that way!

Adore both