Four Syllable Names for Boys

Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year in the US.

Sometimes used as the masculine form of Irene / Eirene, Irenaeus is a name seen in the Early Christian church (for example, Saint Irenaeus who is considered to be one of the Church fathers). Other forms of this name are Irenaus and Eireneus.

Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer and aviator, most famous for the children's classic novella The Little Prince.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

The name of a 7th to 8th century Italian monk who rebuilt the monastery at Monte Cassino. In Italian, he is called Petronace.

The water, period.

Agostino is the Italian form of this increasingly popular ancient name.

Portuguese form of Zephyrinus, deriving from the name of the Greek god of the west wind, Zephyr. Saint Zephyrinus was a 3rd-century pope.

William has any international variations, including the super-popular Liam. This version is largely unknown beyond the South Sea Islands.

This is the original Roman form of Anthony, and it might just be ready for revival, now that Latin names like Maximus and Atticus have hit the big time. Antonius is also a form used in the Netherlands. The Roman general Mark Antony (as in Antony and Cleopatra) was born Marcus Antonius.

Coined by Shakespeare for the main antagonist in his comedy Twelfth Night, the unfortunate Malvolio’s name literally means "ill will".

A dashing form of Julian, which derives from Julius, a Roman family name. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthfu"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".

Flowing, melodic boy name with a sun-drenched meaning.

In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Stelmaria is the beautiful name of Lord Asriel's snow leopard daemon. It's a pretty and plausible combo name reminiscent of Marian names like Stellamaris and Maristela.

A newly-coined diminutive of Titou, which is itself a Gascon diminutive of Antoine. It entered the French Top 500 in 1990 and peaked at #54 in 2009.

If Brave and Valor still aren't quite daring enough for you, the name of King Arthur's legendary sword could make for an enchanting middle name for a boy. It may be related to the Irish Caladbolg, meaning "voracious".

An ancient and dashing princely European name, belonging to one of the Grimaldi princes of Monaco from the 18th and 19th centuries. Florestan is also a character in Ludwig van Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" (1814).