Birth year roster

Top names in 1959

The 100 most common names on 1959 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Mary and Michael led the 1959 baby-name charts, the top names among baby boom births. Mary was the #1 girls’ name for 76 years in all (between 1880 and 1961); Michael was the #1 boys’ name for 44 years in all (between 1954 and 1998). Of the 200 names below, 163 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1950s decade

Girls

#1Mary Endangered54,502
#2Susan Endangered41,617
#3Linda Endangered40,410
#4Karen Endangered36,784
#5Donna Endangered36,468
#6Patricia Endangered35,223
#7Debra Endangered31,388
#8Cynthia Endangered30,186
#9Deborah Endangered29,546
#10Lisa Endangered25,699
#11Barbara Endangered25,359
#12Pamela Endangered24,714
#13Sandra Endangered23,359
#14Nancy Endangered23,079
#15Kathy Endangered21,814
#16Brenda Endangered21,424
#17Sharon Endangered21,292
#18Cheryl Endangered20,947
#19Diane Endangered19,972
#20Debbie Endangered19,540
#21Elizabeth Stable18,421
#22Carol Endangered18,140
#23Kathleen Endangered17,629
#24Teresa Endangered17,400
#25Cindy Endangered16,973
#26Julie Endangered16,211
#27Lori Endangered15,032
#28Janet Endangered14,964
#29Denise Endangered14,662
#30Laura Endangered14,528
#31Tammy Endangered13,707
#32Robin Endangered12,854
#33Kimberly Endangered12,790
#34Theresa Endangered11,656
#35Kim Endangered11,594
#36Margaret Endangered11,577
#37Janice Endangered10,489
#38Rebecca Endangered10,475
#39Cathy Endangered10,408
#40Catherine Endangered10,025
#41Judy Endangered9,884
#42Carolyn Endangered9,727
#43Christine Endangered9,471
#44Ann Endangered8,918
#45Rhonda Endangered8,861
#46Terri Endangered8,783
#47Michelle Endangered8,776
#48Connie Endangered8,655
#49Diana Stable8,637
#50Joyce Endangered8,520
#51Paula Endangered8,059
#52Sheila Endangered7,984
#53Tina Endangered7,919
#54Dawn Endangered7,898
#55Beverly Endangered7,796
#56Laurie Endangered7,535
#57Peggy Endangered7,416
#58Sherry Endangered7,341
#59Betty Endangered7,313
#60Valerie Stable7,302
#61Shirley Endangered7,284
#62Maria Stable7,249
#63Lynn Endangered7,058
#64Annette Endangered6,919
#65Wanda Endangered6,907
#66Darlene Endangered6,876
#67Jane Stable6,864
#68Angela Endangered6,772
#69Kathryn Endangered6,746
#70Judith Endangered6,566
#71Bonnie Endangered6,456
#72Martha Endangered6,439
#73Vicki Declining6,430
#74Kelly Endangered6,380
#75Gail Endangered6,344
#76Joan Endangered6,337
#77Jean Endangered6,233
#78Jennifer Endangered6,233
#79Katherine Declining6,139
#80Beth Endangered6,069
#81Gloria Endangered5,924
#82Anne Endangered5,745
#83Wendy Endangered5,712
#84Leslie Endangered5,652
#85Amy Endangered5,580
#86Jill Endangered5,554
#87Anita Endangered5,474
#88Rose Stable5,446
#89Michele Endangered5,445
#90Vickie Declining5,419
#91Ellen Endangered5,396
#92Joanne Endangered5,347
#93Virginia Endangered5,256
#94Dorothy Endangered5,231
#95Terry Endangered5,215
#96Suzanne Endangered5,161
#97Ruth Endangered5,057
#98Rita Endangered4,952
#99Anna Declining4,878
#100Renee Endangered4,845

Boys

#1Michael Past peak85,294
#2David Past peak83,977
#3James Stable78,648
#4John Past peak76,446
#5Robert Endangered74,542
#6Mark Endangered56,945
#7William Declining51,386
#8Richard Endangered47,202
#9Thomas Stable40,296
#10Steven Endangered33,597
#11Charles Stable30,797
#12Timothy Endangered30,783
#13Joseph Declining29,539
#14Kevin Endangered26,790
#15Kenneth Endangered26,640
#16Jeffrey Endangered26,281
#17Paul Endangered25,712
#18Daniel Declining25,155
#19Donald Endangered23,876
#20Gary Endangered23,303
#21Ronald Endangered23,114
#22Brian Endangered20,737
#23Gregory Endangered19,889
#24Scott Endangered19,765
#25Larry Endangered18,434
#26Anthony Declining17,972
#27Edward Endangered16,914
#28Stephen Endangered16,504
#29Dennis Endangered16,043
#30Douglas Endangered15,290
#31Randy Endangered15,042
#32George Stable15,012
#33Terry Endangered14,545
#34Ricky Endangered13,226
#35Christopher Endangered12,915
#36Jerry Endangered12,324
#37Mike Endangered11,995
#38Bruce Endangered11,914
#39Keith Endangered11,758
#40Peter Stable11,289
#41Steve Endangered11,068
#42Frank Endangered10,942
#43Patrick Declining10,556
#44Craig Endangered9,933
#45Raymond Endangered9,796
#46Eric Endangered9,726
#47Roger Endangered8,794
#48Danny Endangered8,727
#49Dale Endangered8,343
#50Alan Stable8,151
#51Wayne Endangered7,878
#52Jeff Endangered7,730
#53Tony Endangered7,564
#54Carl Endangered7,501
#55Jeffery Endangered7,487
#56Russell Stable7,480
#57Joe Endangered7,389
#58Andrew Declining7,089
#59Randall Endangered7,059
#60Tim Endangered6,826
#61Gerald Endangered6,636
#62Lawrence Endangered6,601
#63Matthew Declining6,542
#64Johnny Endangered6,311
#65Billy Endangered6,308
#66Walter Stable6,128
#67Rodney Endangered5,917
#68Philip Endangered5,862
#69Jimmy Endangered5,830
#70Jim Endangered5,688
#71Bobby Endangered5,677
#72Chris Endangered5,676
#73Barry Endangered5,601
#74Phillip Endangered5,597
#75Curtis Endangered5,536
#76Arthur Rising5,474
#77Ronnie Endangered5,474
#78Willie Endangered5,374
#79Martin Stable5,353
#80Glenn Endangered5,352
#81Roy Endangered5,183
#82Tom Endangered5,068
#83Henry Stable5,061
#84Ralph Endangered5,048
#85Jack Stable5,015
#86Samuel Stable4,953
#87Harold Endangered4,943
#88Jay Stable4,940
#89Rick Endangered4,936
#90Darrell Endangered4,647
#91Greg Endangered4,635
#92Albert Endangered4,605
#93Bill Endangered4,596
#94Bryan Declining4,488
#95Dean Stable4,425
#96Micheal Endangered4,369
#97Allen Endangered4,366
#98Stanley Endangered4,343
#99Todd Endangered4,332
#100Louis Stable4,311