Ask Ava to Zeke: A Name for Boy #4

Hello!!

I am pregnant with our fourth (and probably final!) boy and my husband and I just can’t seem to find a name we both love this time. I love all of our current sons’ names and we are having a hard time agreeing on a name we both love just as much.

Our 3 boys are:

Rowan Louis

Ellis John

Avi William

All of our boys have family names for their middles but we’ve agreed to let our oldest 2 select a middle name this time (with veto rights of course). They are currently leaning toward Jacob but of course that could change. Our last name starts with an S and ends in -man.

My husband is Jewish and we both like the idea of another Jewish name so Avi doesn’t stand alone but that’s definitely not a must. We also both lean towards softer boy names and tend to throw out names we already have associations with so we tend to choose less common names. We don’t like anything that sounds made up or overly trendy. Names we have considered include Leo (doesn’t excite me but my husband’s favorite), Shai (pronounced Shy, my favorite but we have a dog named Shea so my husband can’t get on board) and Adler (just not quite right). Names I like that my husband has vetoed include Lane, Graham, Flynn and Remy. Names my husband likes that I’ve vetoed include Noah, Ian and Everett. Names we can’t use because of other family members include Nolan, Max, Miles and Samuel. We prefer the new baby to have his own first initial but that’s not a must!

I feel like I’ve read every name list out there and we are at a loss! Please help us!

Thanks for reading,

Megan

Megan,

Thanks for your question, and congrats on your fourth boy! 

Before I go on, I must comment on how much I love your sons’ names. They’re great individually and perfect as a set! I can detect a style preference here, and yet all three names are different enough to really complement each other. So we’ll try our best to stick to what you’ve got going with your sons’ names thus far while considering some of your other wishes. 

First, you say that you’d ideally want a Jewish name with a soft sound, nothing made up or trendy, and a name with its own initial. While baby name decisions ultimately come down to what you “like” and may or may not check all your boxes on paper, it can’t hurt to try! So given these criteria, here are some options we’re loving for baby #4:

Names That Have It All

Bram

I’m not sure what your husband doesn’t like about Graham, but maybe Bram would sidestep the issue? We love the cool of Bram (we like longer-forms Abram and Abraham, too), and it gives you all the preferences on your list, as a Hebrew name that isn’t trendy or made up and offers a new initial. 

Judah

Judah has that soft -ah ending that complements your other sons’ names so well, and the completely different long U vowel sound. We’re fans of the name Judah because it gives you the great nickname option Jude. We’d also suggest Jonah and Jonas for you, though their sound might be too similar to Rowan? 

Lev

Pronounced “leev,” Lev is a Hebrew name (check!) and it’s also the Russian form of Leo, your husband’s favorite name (double check!). I know that Leo “doesn’t excite” you, but Lev might give you that little something different. And it would give your fourth son his own initial and the only one-syllable first name in the group.

Meyer

Meyer is a bit of a wild card style-wise but I really like it in this sibling set. It’s a Hebrew name, so you’ve got the tie-in to Avi, but it also has a surname-y feel like Ellis, which I think works. I’ve never met a kid named Meyer, nor even seen a birth announcement for a Meyer. It’s not in the top 1000 names in the US. Yet it’s super handsome and recognizable.

Micah

Micah is a Hebrew name like Avi that is about as popular as Rowan, has a soft sound, is not trendy or made up, and has its own initial. We love that all the boys’ names in your family end differently, and–like Judah–the -ah ending of Micah would just continue that nice pattern. 

Zev

I know, first Lev and now Zev. But we love them both! Zev is pronounced like it looks and is a Hebrew name meaning “wolf.” It fits the criteria on your list, but we also like that it ties in the “v” of Avi but in a name with a completely different feel. You and your husband seem to tend toward shorter names, and Zev is as straightforward as it gets (though the Z makes it anything but ordinary!).  

Shai actually came to my mind as an option for you, too! I understand the concern that it’s too similar to your dog’s name, but I also don’t think it’s a deal breaker if you and your husband both love it. I’d say that Shai and Shea are too similar for brothers, but for a dog and a kid, you can get away with it. Don’t give up on Shai!

We liked but left out Davis and Tobias, for their similarity to Ellis (though we don’t think they’re TOO similar to be usable!), and Oren, for its similarity to Rowan.

Uncommon Hebrew Names

Here are some other underused Hebrew names that we like:

Names Like Others You’re Considering

Next, we’ll give you some suggestions that are similar to other names you’ve considered.

Some of our favorite alternatives to Leo are Arlo, Eli, Enzo, Leon, Levi, Lionel, Lowell, and Otis. We’re actually really loving Lionel with your other sons’ names, Rowan, Ellis, and Avi. It’s not used very often, but it’s timeless, with a long history of famous namesakes.

If Adler isn’t quite right, what about Abbott? It’s a Hebrew name with the same meaning as Avi: “father.” Another option is Alder, which has a tie-in with Rowan, as both are names of trees! Or there’s Asher, which is also a Jewish name (it means “blessed; happy”). They all share a first letter with Avi, but the sounds are so different I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker (in the way that something like Ari might be).

Lane and Graham remind us of Brent, Bryant, Clay, Dean, Ford, Grant, Keane, Pierce, Reid, and Rhys. Keane is really standing out to me. It’s unusual, bold, just as handsome as Lane and Graham, has positive associations (from “keen”), and complements your other boys’ names. Plus, one of the name’s meanings is “fighter,” and a fourth child is gonna have to have a bit of fight in him! 😉

Names that strike us as similar to Flynn and Remy are Blaine, Chase, Cormac, Dell, Devin, Finlay, Foster, Gage, Gannon, Jasper, Leon, Quinn, Riley, Ryder, and Sorrell. Flynn and Remy both feel a bit whimsical to us, as do the others on this list. Sorrell and Jasper have sweet tie-ins to Rowan (which means “little redhead”), in that Sorrell means “reddish brown” and Jasper is a reddish-colored gemstone. 

Noah might be more popular than what you’re looking for, but luckily, there’s a whole slew of great biblical alternatives. When a name becomes popular, people look for other names that are similar in sound and style, so lots of Noah alternatives have been recently unearthed. We’re loving Asa, Caleb, Elias, Evan, Ezekiel (Zeke), Ezra, Gideon, Nathaniel, Noam, Saul, and Seth.

Ian and Everett make us think of Barrett, Beckett, Damon, Dermot, Emmett, Gavin, Kane, Lachlan, Marcel, Merrick, and Warrick. We really picked up on the hard consonant ending in Everett, because it’s so different from the other boys’ names. Yes, that’s right, we went against your request for a “softer” name. But maybe considering something totally different will bring up some new insights? 

And those are our suggestions! Congrats again on your baby boy. Please keep in touch and let us know what you choose.

💕 Ava to Zeke

Readers, help another reader out! What name do you like best for this sweet family of four boys?

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