Gabriel or James

[Dontwaketheneighbours]

I like Gabriel, my husband loves James. I really like James but there seem to be so many of them about. My 2 other boys are Jude and Finlay and I think Gabriel goes better with them. Any thoughts?

James

I have a strong dislike of the name Gabriel. It sounds wet.

I am biased because I have one but I much prefer James

Why are girls' names never described as 'wet'?

Gabriel makes me think of rugged cowboy types for some reason.

James is Zzzzzz

Love Gabriel.

His sibling names are irrelevant. He's a person in his own right.
I much prefer James. The Gabriels I know get Gabe. It also sounds a bit effeminate to me.

@CPtart - yes, he is his own person, so shouldn't need to share post. We always have to open each other's and we have middle names.

Gabriel. Never met one, know loads of men and boys called James.

James

Thanks all - still completely torn. Although I dislike the nicknames for both James and Gabriel. I'll be one of those annoying mothers who constantly corrects people who shorten his name

I think if you don't like shortened names James is the best option, being one syllable, Gabriel much easier to become Gabe,

I love the name James but I think it's too similar too Jude (same initial and both have one syllable).

Turquoise Exactly!

I know a Gabriel who gets called his full name. It's lovely and easy to say.

The problem with same initials is when the same gender siblings share the same initials. Eg post addressed to Mr J Smith or debit/credit cards being in the same name Mr J Smith.

This can be avoided by giving your sons different initials. So I'd choose Gabriel

Gabriel. Yes it is rising in popularity but nowhere near to how popular James is. I also like James but not as much and I think goes better as a middle name given one of your sons is Jude. I don't think Gabriel sounds feminine at all.

I really love the name Jude!

Gabriel will almost certainly get shortened. Most James I know go by James rather than a shortened version. If you don't like the short versions, James is a better choice.

James Gabriel sounds lovely

Are there any other names you and your DH are/were considering? Just thinking that ideally it would be a name you both really like if possible.

Yes Name maybe there's another name that's better.

Did you have any others on the list?

Some suggestions:
Leo
Toby
Reuben
Max
Elliott
Elijah

Gabriel. James is dull.

Ethan
Isaac (could be Zac)

Some other suggestions

Nathaniel
Benedict
Felix
Caleb
Dexter
Byron
Samuel
Tobias
Nicholas
Miles

I have a Gabriel (funnily enough middle name James!) and it is shortened to Rae. I do agree though if one of you loves a name it probably let should trump a name one of you 'likes'.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, but we're kind of set on Gabriel and James. And I do love the name James, I just prefer names that are a little different. two boys having the same initial doesn't really bother me tbh. Thanks again

The good thing about James is, while popular, it's not super faddy (like Noah, Teddy etc), it's classic. You can't always predict name trends. Someone first picked Arlo and Albie thinking they were unusual, but popularity spread everywhere and now they're quite well known.

The ONS stats come from 2015, anything could have happened in the last 18 months, happening right now and over the next year or two, and you wouldn't know about it yet.

An unusual name can rocket up the lists unexpectedly. No, Gabriel is unlikely to be the next Oliver, but it is rising in popularity and I think it'll have moved up the list when the next ONS stats come out.

All I'm really saying is, if you love James then don't be too put off by the popularity thing. It's a classic name and you can't know what naming trends are currently happening.