I'm sure I've answered this before but why not again.
I like/love both.
I think
Julian is more of a fit-in name, sounds like a more popular guy, could be a jock but sounds laid-back. Kind of like
Ryan (was when it was hip and not overused), or like
Alexander for that matter.
Malcolm is stylewise a little more like
Miriam - less expected, but too conservative to seem outright hipster. I met a family at the park with a little blond boy named
Malcolm and thought it was so awesome. I hadn't realized until seeing it as a kid's name, that it would work as a kid's name, and that it sounded pretty warm and friendly. It also sounds substantial/important compared to more playful or characterish names like, say,
Max or
Malachi. I can see why people think it's clunky -
Miriam is too - but IRL they're not annoyingly clunky, like
Myrtle or
Mordecai is clunky.
- mirfak