Decade hub

1940s baby names

A name can be popular in the 1940s without belonging to the 1940s. This hub separates the two: the biggest names of the decade, and the names whose recorded history is concentrated inside it.

Familiar anchors, sharper era signatures

The 1940s contain 29,371,705 births in the Social Security national data: 14,484,843 girls and 14,886,862 boys, across 16,297 distinct recorded names. Mary was the girls' champion with 640,080 births, while James led the boys with 795,775.

Popularity was still concentrated, but the long tail was substantial. The ten largest name-and-sex combinations accounted for 19.52% of recorded births and the top 100 for 58.43%; the diversity score was 63.74 out of 100, with 483.77 effective names. In other words, a relatively small upper tier carried much of the decade while thousands of other recorded names remained in circulation.

Popularity and ownership are different measurements. Judith led the girls' ownership ranking with 218,037 births, 47.95% of her recorded lifetime in the decade, a popularity rank of 9, and an ownership score of 95.44. Larry led the boys' ownership ranking with 255,908 births, 31.69% of his lifetime in the decade, a popularity rank of 11, and an ownership score of 95.55: both names were large, but their era concentration—not just their totals—made them especially 1940s names.

The representative 1944 classroom has fifteen girls' seats and fifteen boys' seats. All 30 seats carry different names, with zero repeated names and a top seat share of 3.33%; Barbara is the deterministic tie-break for “most repeated,” but it still receives only one seat. At this classroom size, the national distribution does not make a duplicate inevitable.

The strongest reviewed spelling family is Steven: Steven and Stephen combine for 188,016 births (81,204 and 106,812 respectively), and both variants comfortably clear the decade threshold. A narrower Jeffrey/Jeffery family totals 39,094 births; Geoffrey remains outside that grouping because it is treated as a distinct traditional name rather than a direct spelling variant.

These figures describe the SSA's national files for 1940 through 1949, not every birth or every person's identity. The files suppress name-year counts below five, record sex rather than gender, and do not explain why parents chose a name. Ownership is a versioned descriptive score about recorded birth concentration; it is not a causal claim about wartime culture, celebrity, religion, or any other reason a name may have been chosen.

Girls' popularity champion
Mary 640,080 births
Boys' popularity champion
James 795,775 births
Total recorded births
29,371,705
Female births
14,484,843
Male births
14,886,862
Distinct recorded names
16,297
Top-10 birth share
19.5%
Top-100 birth share
58.4%
Diversity score
63.7of 100 · 484 effective names
Concentration score
0.7of 100

Methodology: how every number on this page is computed

Decade ownership

Popularity measures size. Ownership measures identity. Some names remain popular for generations. Others overwhelmingly belong to one decade. The ownership score ranks names by how concentrated their recorded history is inside 1940–1949, weighted against how visible they actually were — adjusted so that rare names cannot win on a technicality.

It is a descriptive statistic about SSA birth records, not a verdict about culture. Read the full methodology.

Girls, ranked by ownership

The 25 highest ownership scores in the female eligible set.

Girls, ranked by ownership — 1940s decade ownership rankings
Rank Name Ownership score 1940s births Lifetime births Decade share of lifetime Peak year Status
1 Judith 95.4 218,037 454,714 48.0% 1943 endangered
2 Judy 88.2 167,719 382,979 43.8% 1947 endangered
3 Carole 84.7 50,303 110,688 45.4% 1942 endangered
4 Linda 82.6 531,660 1,455,143 36.5% 1947 endangered
5 Carol 78.9 292,333 816,928 35.8% 1946 endangered
6 Carolyn 72.3 181,858 556,777 32.7% 1947 endangered
7 Barbara 71.5 425,271 1,436,695 29.6% 1947 endangered
8 Sharyn 71.2 3,899 7,243 53.8% 1947 extinct
9 Pat 70.9 16,150 40,123 40.3% 1941 extinct
10 Sandra 70.5 265,538 875,531 30.3% 1947 endangered
11 Sharon 70.1 221,237 723,024 30.6% 1947 endangered
12 Lynda 68.1 27,952 77,979 35.8% 1947 endangered
13 Joyce 67.2 151,494 509,332 29.7% 1942 endangered
14 Patsy 66.9 40,282 119,448 33.7% 1941 endangered
15 Patricia 66.3 411,412 1,573,623 26.1% 1951 endangered
16 Dianne 66.1 32,296 95,289 33.9% 1947 endangered
17 Janice 65.5 118,893 406,448 29.3% 1951 endangered
18 Kay 65.0 32,654 98,621 33.1% 1942 endangered
19 Judie 64.9 2,873 5,491 52.3% 1943 declining
20 Nancy 62.6 252,061 1,004,448 25.1% 1947 endangered
21 Sharron 62.2 6,547 16,856 38.8% 1943 declining
22 Saundra 62.2 6,865 17,851 38.5% 1947 declining
23 Paulette 62.1 15,902 47,087 33.8% 1948 endangered
24 Glenda 61.5 33,348 109,227 30.5% 1950 endangered
25 Shirley 60.9 171,780 686,383 25.0% 1935 endangered

Boys, ranked by ownership

The 25 highest ownership scores in the male eligible set.

Boys, ranked by ownership — 1940s decade ownership rankings
Rank Name Ownership score 1940s births Lifetime births Decade share of lifetime Peak year Status
1 Larry 95.6 255,908 807,588 31.7% 1947 endangered
2 Jerry 83.9 167,257 615,102 27.2% 1947 endangered
3 Ronald 83.6 282,489 1,082,247 26.1% 1947 endangered
4 Dennis 81.4 162,114 621,000 26.1% 1952 endangered
5 Gary 78.2 217,772 902,152 24.1% 1952 endangered
6 Roger 75.8 107,602 442,142 24.3% 1953 endangered
7 Lanny 73.9 3,330 9,577 34.8% 1949 declining
8 Gerald 72.7 103,342 448,966 23.0% 1942 endangered
9 Lynn 72.4 14,203 52,391 27.1% 1947 endangered
10 Bill 69.6 37,756 160,474 23.5% 1947 endangered
11 Ronnie 69.4 42,456 182,926 23.2% 1947 endangered
12 Richard 68.9 477,476 2,577,552 18.5% 1946 endangered
13 Jim 68.8 35,632 153,122 23.3% 1959 endangered
14 Jimmy 68.5 63,523 288,737 22.0% 1947 endangered
15 Wayne 67.4 75,131 354,818 21.2% 1947 endangered
16 Dick 66.0 7,562 29,273 25.8% 1934 extinct
17 Bob 65.9 21,376 92,986 23.0% 1959 endangered
18 Don 65.3 36,255 167,632 21.6% 1946 endangered
19 Jackie 65.0 18,125 78,900 23.0% 1951 endangered
20 Gene 64.6 27,739 126,877 21.9% 1937 endangered
21 Robert 64.3 758,126 4,849,730 15.6% 1947 endangered
22 Donald 64.1 247,834 1,414,824 17.5% 1934 endangered
23 Tom 63.9 29,884 139,756 21.4% 1959 endangered
24 Jimmie 63.7 24,360 112,267 21.7% 1934 endangered
25 Tommy 63.4 37,046 178,733 20.7% 1947 endangered

Most owned by the 1940s

Top 25 by ownership score across both sexes; each row is tagged with its sex comparison set.

Most owned by the 1940s — 1940s decade ownership rankings
Rank Name Sex Ownership score 1940s births Lifetime births Decade share of lifetime Peak year Status
1 Larry M 95.6 255,908 807,588 31.7% 1947 endangered
1 Judith F 95.4 218,037 454,714 48.0% 1943 endangered
2 Judy F 88.2 167,719 382,979 43.8% 1947 endangered
3 Carole F 84.7 50,303 110,688 45.4% 1942 endangered
2 Jerry M 83.9 167,257 615,102 27.2% 1947 endangered
3 Ronald M 83.6 282,489 1,082,247 26.1% 1947 endangered
4 Linda F 82.6 531,660 1,455,143 36.5% 1947 endangered
4 Dennis M 81.4 162,114 621,000 26.1% 1952 endangered
5 Carol F 78.9 292,333 816,928 35.8% 1946 endangered
5 Gary M 78.2 217,772 902,152 24.1% 1952 endangered
6 Roger M 75.8 107,602 442,142 24.3% 1953 endangered
7 Lanny M 73.9 3,330 9,577 34.8% 1949 declining
8 Gerald M 72.7 103,342 448,966 23.0% 1942 endangered
9 Lynn M 72.4 14,203 52,391 27.1% 1947 endangered
6 Carolyn F 72.3 181,858 556,777 32.7% 1947 endangered
7 Barbara F 71.5 425,271 1,436,695 29.6% 1947 endangered
8 Sharyn F 71.2 3,899 7,243 53.8% 1947 extinct
9 Pat F 70.9 16,150 40,123 40.3% 1941 extinct
10 Sandra F 70.5 265,538 875,531 30.3% 1947 endangered
11 Sharon F 70.1 221,237 723,024 30.6% 1947 endangered
10 Bill M 69.6 37,756 160,474 23.5% 1947 endangered
11 Ronnie M 69.4 42,456 182,926 23.2% 1947 endangered
12 Richard M 68.9 477,476 2,577,552 18.5% 1946 endangered
13 Jim M 68.8 35,632 153,122 23.3% 1959 endangered
14 Jimmy M 68.5 63,523 288,737 22.0% 1947 endangered

Popular but timeless

1940s births at or above the median of the pooled eligible set (both sexes) and adjusted concentration at or below its 25th percentile: big names whose recorded history spans many decades.

Popular but timeless — 1940s decade ownership rankings
Rank Name Sex Ownership score 1940s births Lifetime births Decade share of lifetime Peak year Status
315 Daniel M 34.7 112,778 1,982,812 5.7% 1985 declining
445 Anthony M 29.6 64,825 1,488,042 4.4% 1990 declining
525 Mark M 27.3 50,731 1,362,176 3.7% 1960 endangered
524 Timothy M 27.3 43,503 1,084,192 4.0% 1959 endangered
431 Samuel M 30.0 43,129 820,196 5.3% 2001 stable
396 Anna F 24.7 41,282 914,859 4.5% 1918 declining
450 Sarah F 23.3 39,977 1,098,498 3.6% 1982 endangered
424 Laura F 23.9 35,071 801,811 4.4% 1964 endangered
626 Andrew M 23.3 34,618 1,329,454 2.6% 1987 declining
571 Jeffrey M 25.3 34,340 979,601 3.5% 1962 endangered
477 Jesse M 28.6 24,336 432,428 5.6% 1981 stable
695 Brian M 20.2 22,793 1,173,735 1.9% 1972 endangered
589 Emma F 19.9 22,788 776,439 2.9% 2003 declining
479 Lillian F 22.4 22,315 475,028 4.7% 1920 declining
544 Victoria F 21.0 20,752 527,915 3.9% 1993 declining
496 Sara F 22.0 20,275 436,193 4.6% 1981 stable
580 Grace F 20.2 19,370 534,935 3.6% 2003 declining
505 Teresa F 21.8 19,329 416,044 4.6% 1961 endangered
577 Julie F 20.3 19,035 511,253 3.7% 1958 endangered
709 Benjamin M 19.4 17,184 826,830 2.1% 1989 declining
585 Andrea F 20.0 17,061 445,419 3.8% 1981 declining
680 Jose M 21.0 16,818 592,512 2.8% 2002 stable
481 Hazel F 22.4 16,657 302,580 5.5% 1918 rising
555 Ella F 20.8 15,977 351,313 4.5% 2010 declining
781 Christopher M 16.1 15,865 2,069,596 0.8% 1984 endangered

Unexpected results

Names whose popularity rank exceeds their ownership rank by 20 or more within their sex set — popular, but far less tied to the 1940s than their size suggests.

Unexpected results — 1940s decade ownership rankings
Rank Name Sex Ownership score 1940s births Lifetime births Decade share of lifetime Peak year Status
145 Judy M 45.2 483 1,094 44.1% 1941 extinct
231 Barrie M 38.7 427 1,337 31.9% 1942 declining
245 Georgiann F 31.1 648 1,963 33.0% 1948 extinct
83 Judith M 51.9 610 1,241 49.2% 1941 extinct
194 Carolyn M 42.0 523 1,620 32.3% 1943 extinct
239 Karren F 31.5 698 2,177 32.1% 1943 extinct
258 Georgeann F 30.3 689 2,318 29.7% 1947 extinct
192 Hedy F 34.2 796 2,316 34.4% 1942 declining
306 Merlene F 27.9 632 2,379 26.6% 1940 extinct
214 Sherrill M 39.8 533 1,915 27.8% 1936 extinct
142 Glynda F 38.4 937 2,425 38.6% 1947 extinct
271 Glinda F 29.3 699 2,547 27.4% 1951 extinct
228 Herb M 38.9 531 2,007 26.5% 1947 extinct
242 Pauletta F 31.5 756 2,522 30.0% 1948 extinct
318 Cheryll F 27.6 662 2,628 25.2% 1955 extinct
256 Tex M 37.3 519 2,120 24.5% 1940 rising
279 Corliss F 28.9 735 2,849 25.8% 1946 extinct
288 Rosann F 28.4 728 2,903 25.1% 1952 extinct
358 Ruthanne F 26.3 634 2,685 23.6% 1946 stable
167 Sherron F 36.0 972 2,947 33.0% 1947 extinct
338 Donna M 33.9 472 2,233 21.1% 1960 extinct
244 Susann F 31.1 842 3,097 27.2% 1943 stable
201 Delmas M 41.3 613 2,259 27.1% 1947 extinct
290 Lindell M 35.6 530 2,435 21.8% 1949 declining
383 Arlyn M 32.2 435 2,181 19.9% 1939 stable

The 1944 classroom

Apportion 30 seats from the actual 1944 national birth records and every seat carries a different name — no name was common enough in 1944 to guarantee a duplicate in a class of 30.

A statistical reconstruction of an average classroom, not an actual class record.

See the full 30-student roster

Spelling families

Conventional rankings separate spelling variants. This view groups manually reviewed variants to show their combined demographic footprint.

Explore all 6 spelling families

How these numbers are made

Every figure on this page is computed offline from SSA birth records with methodology decade-hub/v1.0.0, then served as a precomputed profile. Nothing is recalculated in your browser.

Read the methodology

Data coverage
Decade 1940–1949; lifetime data through 2025
Completeness
Complete decade
Methodology version
decade-hub/v1.0.0
Source version
ssa-national-2025
Generated
2026-08-14T03:32:54.323Z