Hi! I’ve looked through your blog while naming my other children and it really helped but this time we are stuck. Our last name sounds like weigh with a B. We have 2 boys, Elijah Reid who is 5, almost 6 and Ezra Lucas who is 3. We are stumped with our 3rd boy. He’s also our last child most likely. We are torn between sticking with an E name which a lot of people say we should do. My husband doesn’t want to and I’m not sure what to do. Names I currently like are Everett, Emory, Ethan. My husband is partial to Oliver. Non E names that I like are Owen and Oliver. We have waited until the last minute as we have a scheduled c section on February 7th. Please help us by offering some suggestions!
Thank you!!
I suggest Isaac. It has the same hip biblical sound as Elijah and Ezra, and fits in well without adding another E name with an -a/-ah ending. It also gives you another vowel name, if it’s intentional rather than coincidental that all the names you’re considering start with vowels.
Or Malachi. Elijah, Ezra, and Malachi.
Or Gideon. Elijah, Ezra, and Gideon.
Or Noah. Elijah, Ezra, and Noah.
Or Cyrus. Elijah, Ezra, and Cyrus.
I don’t think you should feel any pressure for the third child to have an E- name. Other people may be pressuring you, but none of them are likely to deep-down long-term care about this. But if finding a third E- name would be fun rather than stressful/pressurey, we could look at those. The main issue, I think, is finding an E- name that doesn’t clash with the biblical theme (e.g., Easton), but also isn’t too similar (e.g., Ezekiel).
There’s a minor biblical character named Ethan, but it wasn’t enough for me to have Ethan in my own mental file of Bible Names. Still, with the E-, that might be enough to make it fit.
Everett, while not biblical, has an old-fashioned sound that I think works well with Elijah and Ezra. I can picture those three as farmer brothers a long time ago. I see Emory was similarly popular a long time ago, so that might work well, too. I like how both Everett and Emory bring in a new end-sound.
I am going back and forth about Ellis. On one hand it hits that old-fashioned note; on the other hand, it seems like having an Eli- and an Elli- is a lot, especially in a sibling group with matched first initials. And I’m not fond of the way the -s ending merges with the surname.
Oh! Oh oh oh! EMMETT. Elijah, Ezra, and Emmett. I think that coordinates beautifully without being too matchy. My top two choices for you are Isaac and Emmett, with Everett and Emory close behind.
Name update:
Thank you so much for your suggestions and everyone’s comments! It was definitely not too late as we were still undecided and it took us almost 24hrs after having him to commit to a name.
I did love the suggestion of Emmett and it was on my list originally, unfortunately we live in the south and I dislike the way it would be pronounced here. I like it as Ehm-ett similar to how Emma is pronounced. But here most say Em-it with a strong southern drawl, lol. If that makes sense. We really considered Noah but wanted a consonant beginning middle name with it but nothing fit. Oliver was also considered since it was on both my husband’s and my list but once we saw him it just didn’t seem to fit for some reason. Ethan seemed to fit him perfectly and I didn’t feel weird about having 3 E names with it.
Ethan Alexander was born on 2/7 at 7:59 am via c-section. We are home and doing great. Everyone loves his name!
Judah.
Levi.
Asa.
Ephraim! Love that it is still an E name but with a totally different sound.
Oooh, I like this!
Ewan (you wen)
I know two Ephrains and no one pronounced it correctly, so that can be tough. I personally am not a fan of all the same first letters but I do like Emmett if you were going to go that way. I like Asher for a nice biblical name. Good luck!
Isaiah! Has the long i like Elijah and the z sound like Ezra! More in line with the other two names than Isaac to my ear.
Isaiah was what I was coming on to suggest.
Levi!!
You don’t have to keep going with E’s! Two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. To me, anyway. It doesn’t sound like you have your own strong opinion either way on E names, just that you’re getting outside pressure. And your husband is against it, so that would rule out E names for me.
I like Gideon, Jude, or Isaac with those sibling names!
I noticed Oliver is the only name you list that’s on your list and your husband’s, which for me seems like a strong argument for it. And as with Isaac, it turns the E pattern into a vowel pattern, which is more flexible in the event you have more kids. Plus, it’s a cool name.
Oliver sounds too much like Elijah to me, but you both have it on your list so go for it! I really like the suggestions of Isaac or Isaiah, Noah, or Jonah.
Don’t feel the need to go with an E, but if you want to… I love the suggestions of Ethan and Ephraim. Edward and Emmett
My vote is for Oliver, too!
I also was struck by the fact that both you and your husband like Oliver – so you may have found your name? I also particularly love the suggestions of Cyrus, Gideon, and Isaac. Personally, I would find a third E somewhat limiting and I would probably verbally trip over my children’s names even more than usual if they had that similarity. There’s no rule written down somewhere that says your children’s names must have a pattern, even if some people are trying to convince you otherwise. Of course, if you WANT to add another E name, that’s great – but it’s not a requirement. Congratulations and good luck!
I like your suggestion of Ethan, and the commenters suggestion of Ephraim if you are planning on continuing with an E, but I don’t you need to. I doubt whether they will even notice it unless you make a big deal about it, and as long as everyone has a roughly equal naming story (which can be as simple as we gave you the name we liked best), then it seems fine. Also sooner than you probably like to think they will all be in separate enough spheres that no one will notice that two brothers’ names start with E and one does not.
If you don’t go with an E, it does sound like you both like Oliver and that feels similar enough to both Elijah and Ezra to be great. You might also consider
Sorry I pressed send without finishing: I meant to add in Eugene as a name to consider.
Isaiah, Isaac are both great names.
If you don’t want an ‘e’, my vote is Boaz.
Elijah, Ezra, and Boaz
If you want a vowel, how about Israel?
Elijah, Ezra, and Israel
If you DO want an ‘e’, the suggestion of Ezekiel is excellent.
Elijah, Ezra, Ezekiel
Regardless, CONGRATS and best wishes. Hope everything goes well on the 7th!
If they want to gesture at Israel but the name itself isn’t right, they could always use Jacob – same Biblical figure.
If you continue the E theme, Everett or Emmett get my votes. I hear Emory/Emery/Emerson almost exclusively on girls these days.
If you nix the E theme, Oliver seems the natural choice here. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Gideon. I could also see Silas or Milo. I wanted to suggest Jude but it seems a bit choppy with your surname.
I love Swistle’s suggestions of Isaac and Malachi for you! Other ideas:
Tobias
Zachary
Jonas
Benjamin
Caleb
So many great suggestions!!!!!!
If you went with and E name, my vote is Ephraim. Love it.
If you don’t go with E, then my vote is Gideon or Boaz. Great suggestions. Gorgeous names! Beautiful sibset!
I also really like Peter with your group.
Good luck!
Micah! Elijah, Ezra and Micah sound like brothers to me.
I just asked my daughter whose name starts with a different letter to her brothers if you should use another E or not. She said “it doesn’t matter”. When she was little she asked me why she was the only one with a different letter and I told her ‘your dad and I both have different letters so we have one X, one Y, one Z and two Vs in our family’, she was perfectly happy with that at the time and clearly doesn’t harbour any resentment. (I’m telling the story to be reassuring that you needn’t add another E if you prefer another name, though an E would be fine if you want to – even if you break the pattern for hypothetical number 4 as I did).
Your kids names say ‘biblical’ to me before I notice the E so that is another theme you could either embrace or move away from. Other biblical Es to consider are: Enoch, Emmanuel, Ezekiel or Ethan. It’s a pretty small category! Ethan reads like a style pick but the others say more clearly ‘biblical E name only’ with your sib set. YMMV.
Also what about Judah? The link is in the ending. Judah Owen and Judah Oliver give unfortunate initials but perhaps your maiden name (if Weigh/B is your partner’s name) or Judah Ethan Weigh/B gives the E link.
Enoch! That’s genius!
Elijah, Ezra, and Enoch.
If you want to stick with the bible theme but a different letter how about Simeon! Seems to go well with Ezra and Elijah :)
I also like Isaiah that others have suggested :)
With 2 boys with such nicely coordinated names (start with an E, end with an A, biblical theme) i would probably be VERY tempted to go with another one.
From the names already mentioned, Ephraim Oliver Weigh would be my favorite.
Hm, or maybe another E-name, but with a different sound – for example Eugene (or Eustace)?
Elijah, Ezra & Eugene; Eugene Oliver Weigh
I would be tempted to stick with E. If you do this, how about Esai? I have an Emory; it’s a great name too.
I came to second Micah, for the non E option. It has the I/e sound in the first syllable and ends in the same a/ah ending. Close to your other boys names without continuing the E initial, has the same biblical roots and is equally familiar.
Elijah, Ezra and Micah. Micah Oliver?
If you want the E, Ethan fits nicely in with your boys names and keeps the biblical theme going. “The standard of wisedom to whom King Soloman was favorably compared.”. Not a bad name sake. Elijah was number 8 for boys names in 2017 according to SSA, which makes Ethan at 14, a nice match. Ethan Oliver — sounds pretty perfect.
As for straight up Oliver, it is an awesome name. So if you both love it, why are you here? There must be something that makes you doubt your choice. Which may not be the name itself. You may both truly love the name but… I don’t know…. liked your old naming patterns and don’t want to break from it, have some unvoiced connotation of the name that unsettles you, or you are fixating on the name because it is one of the few things you can plan in late pregnancy. (Trust me, I’ve been there.) Once you identify the source of your hesitation, it can help you focus on whether or not this little guy is an Oliver.
In any case, you have some really awesome options. Good luck tomorrow!
I like the suggestion of Levi. It doesn’t start with an E, but has a strong E sound. Seems like a more subtle link (and it’s biblical). As other posters have said, I noticed the biblical theme first. But I really don’t think you need to keep with a specific theme at all. Oliver coordinates very nicely as a traditional name, without being themey
Alex – I like how it pairs with your sib set, and seems a natural progression from Ezra
Adam – biblical and a name you don’t hear as much that’s classic
Silas – biblical and pairs well with your other names
I think Oliver works just fine, and I love Emmett if you stick with E’s (but I would personally take this opportunity to deviate from the E names). I love the suggestion of Micah. It ends in an “a” sound just like your boys names. But if you’re not partial to that, I would go with Silas. Silas is my favorite biblical name, and I think “biblical name” is enough of a tie for the brothers names.
If you are inclined to go unusual, the Hebrew form of Ethan is Eitan (ay-TAHN or AY-tahn in colloquial English usage). I went to school with more than one Eitan/Etan, none of whom ever went by (or were confused with) Ethan.
I think this is very interesting on how this third name can firmly push the biblical theme or just old fashion. I can’t wait to see the name update. My favorite if biblical is Malachi if old fashion I like Ernest
I also like Everett and Oliver
Emmett and Isaac are great suggestions.
What about Zachary, Owen or Seth?
Really like the sound of Elijah, Ezra and Seth.
Joshua or Nathaniel?
Good luck!
Amos or Abel?