I’m writing a story set during the Second World War, and I’m having serious trouble naming my characters! The main reason for this is I absolutely love modern names, so naturally the popular 1940s names, such as [name_m]Bruce[/name_m], [name_m]Frank[/name_m] and [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m], sound way too old fashioned for me.
My characters are both English, American and [name_m]German[/name_m], and involve both soldiers and civilians. So does anyone have any ideas of some cute names which wouldn’t have sounded too modern or out of place in the 1940s and 50s? Obviously, I know I have to include a few names I don’t like, but I’m looking for names for my main characters.
Thanks very much 
[name_f]May[/name_f] I ask how old the characters are? A character who is about 40 years old during the war (born in around 1900) would have a very different name to a fifteen-year-old (born around 1930)
Sorry, I should have put that on before…thanks! 
Some of my main characters are three pilots in an RAF squadron, between the ages of 18 and 22. One of the pilots, an American with three younger sisters and a younger brother, is forced to bail out over Germany and meets a 16 year old [name_m]German[/name_m] in the Hitler Youth. So I guess I’m looking for names for the three pilots, the younger sisters and brother, and the [name_m]German[/name_m]. Thanks very much!
Let’s see:
For the pilots:
Robert (could always go by Bob, Bobby, Robby, or Bert)
Raymond (could go by Ray)
Walter
Jack
William (Will, Willie, or Billy)
Lawrence
Daniel
Samuel
Marvin
Leo
Edwin (Eddie would fit right in the 40’s)
Edward (Eddie)
For the little siblings:
James
Johnny
Charlie
Tommy
Ronny
Kenny (I know you don’t like Kenneth, but Kenny’s kinda cute)
Henry
Willy
Fred (Freddie?)
Alfred (Also Freddie? Or maybe Al?)
Howard (Howie?)
Joe/Joey
Mary
Dorothy (Dottie?)
Margaret
Ruth (Ruthie?)
Elizabeth
Ann/Annie
Jane/Janie
Rose
Eleanor
Catherine
Elaine
Lillian
Lily
Judy
Virginia
Alice
Bonnie
Cynthia
Marie
Carol
Evelyn
Sally
Ellen
Suzanne (Sue?)
Lucille
Lucy
For the German:
Peter
Carl/Karl
Rolf
Kurt
Friedrich
Thomas/Tomas (both pronounced like toe-mahs in Germany)
Franz
Frank
Paul
Joseph/Josef
Otto
Harry
Edgar
The German and American boy baby names of the 20’s to 30’s actually share quite a few names!
I hope this was helpful!
Hey thanks…these are great!
I can definitely find some I can use in there!