Gabe ranked in the Top 1000 from 1880 until 1905, when it fell into obscurity. There are fewer than 100 boys named Gabe, just plain Gabe, each year in the US, compared with over 10,000 named Gabriel. Our advice: Go with the crowd and choose the angelic long form, and then call him Gabe if you want to.

Made up of the letters A and J, this initial name is often used as a nickname, however, a growing number of parents are choosing to put AJ on the birth certificate. It has been making the occasional appearance in the England and Wales Top 1000 since 2013.

A light variation of any of the weightier names beginning with Cas, such as Casper, Cassius etc- this is a beautifully mellow and soft name that bears greater consideration.

This snappy nickname may remind some of the 1985 Chevy Chase movie of the same name.

With West one of the hottest names for boys, and North the name of a high-profile celebrity baby, can East be far behind? While Easton seems to be the version of choice for this directional name -- there were 5500 boys named Easton last year, versus, um, zero named East -- we like the simplicity of the gender-neutral East, especially for a middle name.

The added S at the end turns Ever from a hipster word name into a modern prepster.