Decade dossier
1940s baby names
The names that defined the 1940s: James and Mary led the decade, but the full roster tells a richer story.
A 1940s classroom probably included Mary, Linda, James, Robert. Some became durable classics; others now read like timestamps.
Girls
- #1Mary640,080
- #2Linda531,660
- #3Barbara425,271
- #4Patricia411,412
- #5Carol292,333
- #6Sandra265,538
- #7Nancy252,061
- #8Sharon221,237
- #9Judith218,037
- #10Susan212,016
- #11Betty194,623
- #12Carolyn181,858
- #13Margaret173,028
- #14Shirley171,780
- #15Judy167,719
- #16Karen167,700
- #17Donna165,523
- #18Kathleen152,981
- #19Joyce151,494
- #20Dorothy132,257
- #21Janet130,755
- #22Diane122,878
- #23Janice118,893
- #24Joan117,708
- #25Elizabeth116,551
Boys
- #1James795,775
- #2Robert758,126
- #3John711,614
- #4William556,478
- #5Richard477,476
- #6David426,372
- #7Charles361,772
- #8Thomas350,775
- #9Michael336,568
- #10Ronald282,489
- #11Larry255,908
- #12Donald247,834
- #13Joseph230,285
- #14Gary217,772
- #15George209,013
- #16Kenneth198,553
- #17Paul183,364
- #18Edward174,801
- #19Jerry167,257
- #20Dennis162,114
- #21Frank119,417
- #22Daniel112,778
- #23Raymond109,076
- #24Roger107,602
- #25Stephen106,812