Need opinions on boy’s name please!

[Rtmhwales]

Due with a baby boy in a few weeks and can’t quite decide on a name so thought I’d ask for help narrowing down my list.

A little backstory-
Split from Welsh husband two weeks before discovering I was pregnant. I’m Canadian-American and had already returned to North America, so baby will be raised there. Giving baby a Welsh middle name (think it’s natrowed down to Rhys) to reflect his Welsh heritage and my last name of Hunter.

Now my conundrum is this - names that people love in the UK (think Harry, Arthur, Stanley, George) do not fare well over here. It’s pretty much unheard of to give your baby a name like that. And then vice versa, I don’t want to saddle him with an overly Americanized name that his father and grandparents cringe at when they hear (though at this point I don’t think they’re planning to be involved, but that’s a whole different saga) so I’m trying to steer clear of the names that get dragged on here like Mason, Jackson, etc for being too American and “common”.

Thus my current list is:

Xavier
James/Jamie
Samuel
Adam
Alexander

Any of those I should exclude for being decidedly un-British? If not, which do you prefer the most? I’m beginning to think this baby will remain completely nameless!

Thanks x

All sound good, except Xavier, which is definitely not British, Samuel Rhys is my favourite.

I love all those names and they work really well in Britain too. My favourite is James/Jamie. But I love Samuel, Alexander and Xavier too.

Good luck with your fresh start!

Yep Adam Rhys Hunter is a really excellent name.

I thought James before I had scrolled down far enough to see your list. :)

Oh I love Jamie but I am currently rewatching outlander so I'm biased.

Agree with others I'd avoid Xavier which I see as mainly a Spanish name, and yes not pronounced like in the X-men :) All your other ideas would be fine.

We are an English family that moved to Canada and my son's very popular in England (in the top 10 for the last 20 odd years) name raises a few eyebrows here. Likewise I think his peers have pretty weird names, although the surname as first name trend has taken off in the UK since we left (doubt there have been many kids called Thatcher though!). Having said I looked at the top 20 boys names in Canada last year and compared to the same list for the UK and there are a fair few names that are on both: Oliver, Noah, Jackson, James, William, Jack, Jacob and Logan all popular in both countries.

Thanks all!
Think I will avoid Xavier then, despite how much I love it, because the pronunciation doesn’t quite travel well.
I swear that’s how we actually pronounce it though and it’s not just me bumbling it. Think Charles Xavier of the X-men.

I love Adam and Samuel and both go great with Rhys mn. The nn Sammy is just so cute too.

If your baby's father is going to opt out of his life and his parents aren't likely to be involved then I'd really not worry too much and call him whatever you like. I don't think that they would be likely to object to Xavier on the grounds of it being American as I don't think that's the association most British people will have with the name. Likewise it doesn't really matter if they use a different pronunciation should they ever meet your son. However if varied pronunciation bothers you then it might not be the best. It's probably more likely that he'll get people using the Spanish pronunciation in the States or the French pronunciation in Canada perhaps.

Wow good for you being so thoughtful about his family! I didn’t give much thought as to how my MIL would feel about our kids’ names and we’re still married. Rhys Hunter is a fab combination as middle and last name. I think Samuel and Alexander are my preferred first names, but they’re all nice. I like Xavier too. We are English but live in the States and I know two little Xaviers, both pronounced EX-avier. It sounds fine to me now. Like pp’s have said, American kid = American name, all good. However if you prefer slightly more unusual names I would go for it, no need to sound specifically British. Thinking about it, just Rhys Hunter sounds fab to me!

All of your name choices are lovely! I have an Adam so that's my favourite from your list :-)

I also like James and Alexander from your list.

I like all of your names apart from Xavier, but maybe I'm just not used to that.
Also, your chosen middle name is great.
Good luck :)

I love the name Adam. Perfect.

Not Xavier.

It’s a nice name pronounced properly, but Ex-zay-vee-er sounds awful and ridiculous.

All the others are great names though.

Alexander

I have an Adam too. My favourite by miles. Then Alexander.

They're all nice but I think Alexander goes best with Rhys.