ashthedreamer's list "The Best Rare Names of WWII - Boys" of 20 great name ideas: Ciro - Armand!

The Best Rare Names of WWII - Boys

These names are the best and most refreshing of dozens of names pulled from research for a blog I wrote for Nameberry a couple years ago... all names come from first or last names for men in the US Army or Navy who died in the line of duty during WWII. Data was pulled from veterans from Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, for a fair sampling from the whole country.

This name of an old Hollywood nightclub still retains a spark of glamour. 

Ciro

Though it has some distinguished political and tennis world associations, most modern parents would go for the more contemporary sounding Holden.  Tilden Park is a beautiful hillside wilderness in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tilden

This occupational surname could find new life with those wishing to honor someone in their heritage who was connected to the tough-as-nails breed that was the pre-modern coal miner. Coll and Collie are some sweet nickname options to tone down the formality of this name.

Collier

A word name that has sailed onto birth certificates of both genders, especially since Liv Tyler used it for her son.  For boys, Saylor and Sailor are used about equally, but were together given to about 100 baby boys last year....and 1000 baby girls.

Sailor

Bartholomew is an apostle's name that's been out of favor for centuries but might appeal again to the parent in search of an old but rare choice. The challenge could be to avoid the Simpson-ish nickname. That character, by the way, has the full name of Bartholomew JoJo Simpson, and creator Matt Groening came up with Bart as an--uh oh--anagram for brat. Two old alternate nicknames are Barty and Tolly.
 Ben Jonson's 1614 comedy Bartholomew Fair is set in London on St. Bartholomew's Day. Charles Dickens used the name in Bleak House, and, more recently, Bartholomew Cubbins is the protagonist of the Dr. Seuss books The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Bartholomew

An x makes any name cooler, so that Baxter has a bit more pizzazz than the original Baker. Baxter had some currency as a first name a century ago--it was on the popularity lists sporadically from 1880 till the 1920s, peaking at Number 515 in 1886-- which means it's just about due for a comeback. And we can see Bax as a worthy follow-up to Max and Jax.
 Singer Ian Dury named his now-grown son Baxter, and Dr. Baxter Stockman was a scientist in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" series. 
 Fun feminist fact: as an occupational name, Baxter was actually the word for a female baker. It's only used for boys now, but could legitimatelt be a unisex name.

Baxter

A British-accented Greek name with an intellectual image that has been off the U.S. charts since 1966, but was a Top 300 name at the turn of the last century. We have the feeling Cyril's ready for a comeback.
 Cyril is the name of several saints, including the ninth century Greek missionary who invented the Cyrillic alphabet. In literature, there are Cyrils featured in the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, Princess Ida and D. H. Lawrence's novel, The White Peacock. 
 Oscar Wilde named a son Cyril. Cyrilla and Cyrille are the appealing female forms.

Cyril

A rare Biblical name, reminiscent of Gabriel, Aziel, and Malachi, Gamaliel appears in the Old Testament as a son of Pedahzur and in the New Testament as a Jewish priest and scholar who taught Saint Paul and who saved the Apostles when the Sanhedrin wanted to persecute them.
 
Meaning "my reward is God", Gamaliel is also associated with what's known as Gamaliel's Principle or Gamaliel's rule which refers to the belief that if an idea is of human origin, it will come to nothing, but if it is of God, it will endure. Essentially, it encourages believers to leave judgement to God rather than making rash or hostile decisions. 
 
Given to around 30 boys in the US in a recent year, the name may be pronounced as guh-MAY-lee-uhl or ga-MAH-lee-ehl.

Gamaliel

Jeter, which of course is used as a first name only because of Yankee star Derek, rhymes with Peter and may be derived from the French surname Jette, which was often bestowed on foundlings because it means "thrown out," or the German Jetter, an occupational name meaning "weeder".
 
These days, however, it may also be seen as a creative spin on Jet or Jett, blended with the popular -er ending, which also links it to jet engines, jumbo jets, the shade jet black, and to the gemstone.

Jeter

Very popular in France and Belgium, this name -- pronounced mat-tees, like the surname of the painter Matisse -- might make an appealing new way to say Matthew here.

Mathis

A royal, European name, and a relation of Rayner and Ragnar, Rainier is also associated with the majestic mountain in Washington state. Traditionally pronounced as REH-NYEH in French and as ray-NEER in American English, this name also coincides with a word indicating increasingly wet weather. 
 
Given to 35 boys in the US in recent year, it ranked slightly above Rayner but below Ragnar.

Rainier

Depending on your cultural references, you may think of Phantom of the Opera author Gaston Leroux, or the macho villain of Beauty and the Beast. While he's hardly a role model (unless you too use antlers in all of your decorating), his name was likely chosen because it's a classic in France. It's been used there since the middle ages, partly in honor of the Frankish bishop St Gaston. It went out of style in France mid-century, but now it's having a revival, entering the Top 300 in 2017.

Gaston

This name, once considered overly powerful due to the superhuman strength of the biblical figure, is now an option for parents in search of an unusual route to Sam. But you really don't need that p: Samson will do.

Sampson

Bradford

The Hungarian classic Laszlo, with its zippy 'z' middle and energetic 'o' ending, has become something of a hipster option, beginning to be considered by cutting-edge parents.
 
A name with a royal heritage in its native country in the Ladislaus form, it is still among the top Hungarian names for boys. In Hungary, Laszlo is pronounced with a soft S sound.
 
Laszlo is probably most familiar to Americans via the noble Paul Henreid character in Casablanca, who was Czech. There have been other fictional Laszlos in Real Genius and the Doctor Who series, and Laszlo is the name of the Ralph Fiennes character in The English Patient.
 
Real life namesakes include painter Moholy-Nagy and acclaimed cinematographer Kovacs. Two well-known actors who were born with the name Laszlo are Peter Lorre and Leslie Howard.
 
The spelling of the name is sometimes streamlined to Lazlo.

Laszlo

A rare Old Testament name that, although short, is resoundingly biblical. It belonged to name the tenth king of Israel, who seized power violently and reigned from about 841 to 814 BCE.
 
Jehu Mountain is a peak in the Catskills in New York State.

Jehu

New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson.  At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.

Mckinley

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Rider

If you like names that are not really names -- some say, the wave of the future -- Harbor has an attractive sound as well as an appealing meaning and image. 

Harbor

Since the first production of Camille this has been considered one of the world's most romantic names, though it's one of those <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/498/french-names-for-boys">French names for boys</a> rarely heard in this country.
 Actor Armie Hammer's first name is Armand.