The Best Rare Names of WWII - Boys

Dapper-sounding choice with old American roots (Dabney Cosby was a 19th century Virginian architect who worked with Thomas Jefferson on some of that state's most iconic buildings). Dabney Montgomery was Martin Luther King Jr's bodyguard, giving this name yet more American history depth. Dab is a sweet nickname option for this name.

Though closely associated with the great medieval Florentine poet Dante Alighieri -- who's so famous most people skip the last name -- it's not as much of a one-man name as you might think. Heck, it's not even a one-poet name, thanks to British pre-Rapahaelite Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Though especially well used in the Italian-American community, it would make a striking name for any little boy.

Spirited and bubbly, but handsome and preppy too, Darby is a surname style choice that fits in well with the likes of Alby and Lennox.

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."

Heard more often as a surname in Italy, its meaning has also been linked to the dolphin--which would make a cool nursery motif.

Classical and Shakespearean name that may appeal if you like your names long, flowing and multicultural.

Desmond is a sophisticated and debonair name, with noble ties to 1984 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Desmond Tutu, and with some great nicknames: Des/Dez, Desi/Dezi.

The jazzy, ultra-cool Dexter, like most names with an "x," has a lot of energy and dynamism.

The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.

Widely used in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, has an air of generosity and could easily be adopted here.

One of the first of the appealing Irish surnames to take off in this country, this boys’ name has long outgrown its "Mellow Yellow" association, which came via the single from a sixties singer-songwriter named Donovan.

Dark horse Irish surname.

Drago sounds fierce but has a sweet meaning. It may be used as a standalone name or as a short form of other Slavic names beginning with the element dragu "dear", such as Dragoljub or Dragomir.