We have another little boy coming soon and are having difficulties choosing a name for him that corresponds with our first boy, Grayson Michael. We cut out all one syllable first names because they sound too choppy with our surname. We just loved the name Grayson for our first and Michael is a family name after my father. Our names are Jordan and Amanda, to give you an idea of the flow of our names. We have cut down our list to two favorites so far that we can both agree on – Jackson and Maddox.
If we went with Jackson, then the middle name would be Taylor (my husband’s middle name). Hubby loves this name as he feels it is a strong name for a boy. We would use “Jax” as a nickname, as I am not a fan of Jack. If he decides to go by that when he gets older then so be it, but as a childhood nickname I would call him “Jax”. I love the name Jackson and it was actually one of my favorites for naming our first, but at that time hubby didn’t love it. Now he has surprised himself by having it as his number one name. My issue with it comes in the ending. Since we already have a Grayson (who actually IS called Grayson and not Gray-which I don’t particularly care for), does Jackson sound too similar to Grayson since they both end in –son? Grayson and Jackson…? Along those same lines, we will likely have another child at some point and if that child ends up being another boy then are we backed into a corner with two boys already ending in –son? I think three –son’s would be too much, but would it sound odd to have one boy with a different name and two so similar? I wouldn’t be worried about it with a girl, but it’s something I think about if we had another boy.
Maddox is our other finalist and is at the top of my list right now. If I think about the names by themselves, then I probably lean towards Jackson, but I find myself favoring Maddox along with Grayson. If we went with Maddox then the middle name would be Cole. We would use “Dex” as a nickname here.
Other names we have considered:
Connor
Brodie
Gage – one syllable and sounds choppy with Webb
Grady – sounds too similar to Grayson
Harrison and Davis – cousins have already used those names
Landry – bad association for my husband
Logan – I like but hubby has shot downThanks for your consideration and if you had any other suggestions, then we would be happy to hear those as well!
If I encountered two brothers named Grayson and Jackson, I would notice the matching -son endings, but not in the way I would notice a Grayson and a Grady, or a Grayson and a Jason. It helps that Grey- and Jack- are such different sounds. It also helps that in everyday life they may be Grayson and Jax.
I think you’re smart to think ahead, though, to what that might mean to you if later you’re naming a third boy. Of course the answer to whether you’d HAVE to name a third child a -son name is no (and I agree with you that three seems like too much—though if you liked the matching, I’d be saying to go for it), but you might feel PRESSURE to do so. If I had to give it my best guess, my guess is that it would feel a little pressurey and weird while you were choosing the name and introducing the baby, but then after that it would be at most something that name hobbyists would notice. No one would think, “Grayson, Jackson, and KEATON? Guess they didn’t want that third child.”
There are several ways to get past the pressure/weirdness. One is to choose another name ending in -n or -on, which is why I used Keaton for the example: even though the names don’t have the same full ending, the ending -on helps to keep the third name from standing out.
Another way is to choose a third surname name. This looks like it will be an easy one to meet: all the names on your list are surname names.
A third way is to aim for a name of roughly the same length: close to the same number of letters, close to the same number of syllables.
None of these three things is something I think is necessary, by the way. They’re mostly self-soothing suggestions: that is, if you DO decide to use Jackson this time, and later you’re expecting a third boy and DO feel backed into a corner (especially if someone carelessly/lightly remarks, “Oh, now you’ll need a third -son name!”), you may these ideas useful for getting yourself out of the corner. It will help even more if you’re calling them Grayson and Jax: Grayson, Jax, and Brodie doesn’t seem odd at all.
Another option is to use Jackson as the middle name: you still get to use it, but it’s not causing any trouble.
I notice both finalists have a strong X sound. I wonder if you would like other names with an X sound. I’d look for X itself, but also for -ks and -cs:
Baxter
Brooks
Ericson
Felix
Lennox
Maksim/Maxim
Maxon/Maxson
Maxton
Paxton
Xavier
Name update!
Hi Swistle!
We welcomed Maddox Cole Webb to our family in October. We love the name we decided on for our little boy and thank all of you for your thoughts and suggestions. We had made the decision that we were okay with the similar ending of Jackson, but Maddox just began to roll off our tongue and we fell in love with it! Now we couldn’t imagine him being anything else!
In my opinion, the Grayson/Jackson matching endings are definitely noticeable but not incompatible.
I also immediately associate Jackson Taylor with U.S. presidents, since both are presidential surnames. It’s a neutral association but strong nevertheless. I like both names.
I think Grayson and Jackson are just fine, and if there’s a little brother Maddox someday too that’s just fine too.
Sooo many names end with -son currently, I think its kind of invisible. Especially since Grayson and Jackson are recognizable names that people aren’t going to spend a lot of time dissecting. To make an analogy to 80s names, it seems to me like brothers named Ryan, Ian, and Conor. Or Michael, Gabriel, and Steven.
Hm, I knew twins Grayson and Coleson.. I always felt meh about the matchy matchyness of their names, but it wasn’t terrible.
I would point out that “Dex” is not at all an intuitive nickname for Maddox to me. Maybe if you spelled it Maddex.. but then most people will spell it wrong. If you like Dex why not something like Dexter or Dexton?
Also, for Jax there is always: Jaxsen, Jaxin, Jaxton, or even Ajax if you really wanted to avoid the “son” ending
I was also going to suggest Dexter
Daxton Cole.
Nn Dax
Greyson and Dax (ton)
I don’t really like 2 -son names together. It would be very noticeable to me, although each name on its own is nice. I prefer Maddox with Grayson.
That being said, would you reconsider your thoughts on 1-syllable names? To my ear, they don’t all sound choppy with Webb. If you were open to it I think Max would work great for you. Elements of your 2 favorite names and it works as well on a young boy as it does on an adult. Also, Grayson & Max sounds SO great as a pair of brothers. Good luck! :)
I agree that I would avoid the 2 -son names but only because it would really bother me. I really don’t see it the same as Ryan, Ian, and Conor or Michael, Gabriel, and Steven but more like Ryan, Brian, and Conor or Matthew, Andrew, and Steven.
I don’t think there is a problem with Jackson and Grayson together. I do love Swistle’s suggestion of Felix, that is quickly becoming one of my favorite names!
If I met siblings named Grayson and Jackson I probably would notice, but it wouldn’t go past a momentary thought. And it wouldn’t be a negative thought. More of a curiosity. I personally would find three -son names in a family a bit over the top. Two though, or two and a third unmatched – not a big deal.
I think that Grayson and Jackson together are perfectly fine. I would certainly notice it and wonder if a third boy would also have a -son ending, but I would not think of it as a given or find it odd if a third boy’s name had a different ending. And like Swistle said, I think it’s the sort of thing people in general would not think much about—just name enthusiasts. I think for us it’s easy to get caught up in our own perceptions of names, and sometimes it helps to step back and think how the names will be perceived by people who don’t think about names as much as we do.
I have two friends who had three boys and ended up with the same issue of the first two with similar names and then needing a third boy name that worked with the first two. In both cases they went with a similar but not completely matching name.
The first friend had a Jackson and a Zachary, so similar beginning sounds (Jack and Zach, though neither goes by the nickname regularly). She ended up using the name Maxwell for her third. Max isn’t quite the same “ack” sound, but close enough that the names seem to go together (at least to my ear).
My other friend had Cayden and Jayveon. Very similar. They seriously considered Payton for the third to get the same long a sound and n ending as the other two names, but in the end went with Landon, which they liked best. Again, it is different enough to make me notice a bit, but only the first time the name was mentioned. Now it seems close enough to me, and like the sib set works. Certainly not like, say, Cayden, Jayveon, and something utterly different like Hugo.
So I think if you love Jackson best, go for it. You still will have many options, as Swistle mentioned. And you might very well have a girl, in which case you might regret having not used Jackson if you both really like it.
I would caution against Jackson if you don’t like Jack. Parents do not always have control over the nicknames of children and Jack is so obvious there. While I don’t think there is anything wrong with having 2 boy names that end in “son”, it does seem to lock you into a particular type of name. Because of those two issues, I would use Maddox.
Maddox makes me think of Maxwell. Grayson Michael and Maxwell Taylor Webb….could have the nickname Max or even Wells.
Cole as a middle name makes me think of Colton. Colton Taylor Webb, Grayson and Colton.
Landry makes me think of Landon. Grayson Michael and Landon Cole.
Other suggestions that I feel are similar to Jackson and that make a great sibset with Grayson: Wyatt, Parker, Everett (love the nickname Ever), Carter, Cooper, Gavin
I wouldn’t do Jackson & Grayson because of the shared endings. However, I admit that I tend to be overly cautious when it comes to names being too similar.
I really like the suggestion of Baxter for you, and Bax is only a letter of from Jax. In fact, I like it better than Jackson or Maddox. You could also do just Jax if you wanted. It would certainly decrease the odds of Jack catching on as a nickname.
Personally I am not too worried about subsets. My thought is that at this point you don’t know if you will have another baby, if you do then it may not be a boy. I would cross that bridge when you come to it.
I also get disappointed when people skip a name they love over siblings – you’re first child got the ‘best’ name at the time and I think each subsequent child also deserves the ‘best’ name. In life few acquaintances will know your siblings names but everyone knows yours!
I like Logan, felix and xavier :)
I think that two son ending names would bother me a little but that decision is totally up to you. Based on the x sound and the other names on your list I have made the following Suggestions:
Saxon
Deacon
Dexter
Max/Maxwell
Braxton
Sawyer
Fletcher
Alex
Declan
Brady
Archer
Hunter
Xander
Cormac
Cooper
Coleman
Cody
Keegan
So would you use Maddox for a third boy later? A Jax and a Dex is a lot of X.
I don’t mind the two -son endings. I’d notice, but not in a negative way.
Grayson and Jackson sound fine together to me! I really like Maddox though!
Maxwell and Zachary are great suggestions, with the nicknames Zac and Max, sounding similar to Jack/Jax. Maddox could also have the nn Max too!
What about Beckett, Bennett, Cameron, Dashiell, love the nn Dash, Hayden, Hudson, Hunter, Lewis, Miller or Weston. Love the sound of Beckett and Weston with Greyson!
Grayson and Beckett
Grayson and Weston
Good luck!
What about the Welsh name Macsen with the nn Mac?
Spencer, Tobias, Nolan, Camden, Hunter or Tanner?
I don’t think the repeating -son is a problem, especially since it won’t be heard in their everyday names. (I wouldn’t go with Grady, though, too close.) I like Connor best from your second string list.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Actually many names you have said have been discussed and we have liked but can’t use for one reason or another…Beckett, Wyatt, Parker, Carter to name a few that were listed. Great names but won’t work for us. I’m not sure where the x sound from Jackson and Maddox came – I didn’t even realize it until you brought it up. If we had 3 boys and used Maddox as a third we wouldn’t have Dex and Jax as nicknames – that would change. But I’m trying to not think about a possible third anymore. My fears have slightly been calmed by swistle and I feel like it’s something we could deal with if needed.
What about spelling Jackson as Jaxon? Then you lose the visual of two -son endings and make it clear that Jax is the nickname you prefer.
I know a family who has three boys:
Greyson, Carson and Hudson. It just now occurred to me that they all have the “son” ending in their names, but since they are all 2 years apart, they are rarely all doing the same school or church activity at the same time, so I think their names are rarely listed all together like that.
I don’t think Jackson & Greyson sound bad together, but I much prefer Maddox. It is less common as well. Just a warning, Jackson is the #2 most popular boy name once you combine the various spellings: http://nameberry.com/blog/playground-analysis-the-real-top-50-names
I would notice two -son names, but I don’t think its a deal breaker. I came in to tell you, that after reading this letter I was mentally reviewing my daughter’s male friends and realized three had -son ending first names with -son or -sen ending last names. In the pre-baby naming stage I would have personally ruled these names as unusable based on last names, but in actual world I didn’t notice until I really thought about it. So, short to say, I think it might be one of those things that seems a big deal until a real baby is here with the name. I don’t think it will matter then, use the name you like the best!
I think Jackson and Grayson are fine together. I like the idea of Maddox, but I have a hard time picturing an adult with this name. I also love Colton (nn Cole) and Kellen/Kellan for you.
With the nicknames you prefer, I’d lean toward Jackson. If you weren’t going to use a nickname for Maddox (as with Grayson), I’d be firmly in the Maddox camp. Going by sound, when I say Maddox, I just don’t come up with Dex. I come up with Dix or Dux–but I can see why you wouldn’t want either of them to be a nickname. Whereas with Jackson, I totally get the derivative of Jax.
I’m surprised no one mentioned this, bu Grayson means son-of-Gray and Jackson means son-of-Jack. I realize the way we name these days is not so literal, and your husband’s name is neither Gray nor Jack, but it seems weird to me to have your kids’ names imply that they are sons of different people.
If it was a different matching ending, like Carter and Thatcher, it wouldn’t bother me nearly as much. Also, I think a combo like Jackson and Mason (not a son-of name) is fine because of the different origins (I wouldn’t do Grayson and Mason though, so that doesn’t help you much).
I do really like Maddox with Grayson. I think Dex works as a nickname, but you don’t need one. I also like both your middle name options – Taylor and Cole – or a variant of those as first names (Colin nn Cole?). I would also consider 1 syllable options you may have crossed off the list – I think there are quite a few that sound nice with your last name.
I don’t agree with the “son-of-Jack” issue. If she named him Thatcher and he doesn’t thatch roofs for a living, or she named him Cooper and he doesn’t make barrels, we don’t have a problem, right? These are just names now. I don’t think naming a kid Jackson these days makes anyone question who his father is.
I don’t think the repeating -son endings are a problem. I’m more bothered by repeating beginning sounds (like a family with an Ella and an Elliot, or a Hannah and an Anna– yes, have heard both of these sets– how do they distinguish between them when calling names out, etc.? Mysterious.)
Although Jackson is currently more popular, it’s also more enduring and less trendy than Maddox, which to me reads a bit “celebrity”. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s nice how Jackson could be someone in his 90s and or a baby. And Jackson offers better nicknames.