Top Baby Names of the 1940s · Kiddos Treehouse

By decade

The top names of the 1940s

Mary and James led the decade, out of 29,371,685 babies in the public record.

← 1930s All decades 1950s →

Girls, the 1940s

#	Name	Babies	Share
1	Mary	640,080	4.42%
2	Linda	531,660	3.67%
3	Barbara	425,271	2.94%
4	Patricia	411,412	2.84%
5	Carol	292,333	2.02%
6	Sandra	265,538	1.83%
7	Nancy	252,061	1.74%
8	Sharon	221,237	1.53%
9	Judith	218,037	1.51%
10	Susan	212,016	1.46%
11	Betty	194,623	1.34%
12	Carolyn	181,858	1.26%
13	Margaret	173,028	1.19%
14	Shirley	171,780	1.19%
15	Judy	167,719	1.16%
16	Karen	167,700	1.16%
17	Donna	165,523	1.14%
18	Kathleen	152,981	1.06%
19	Joyce	151,494	1.05%
20	Dorothy	132,257	0.91%
21	Janet	130,755	0.90%
22	Diane	122,878	0.85%
23	Janice	118,893	0.82%
24	Joan	117,708	0.81%
25	Elizabeth	116,551	0.80%
26	Brenda	112,415	0.78%
27	Gloria	105,055	0.73%
28	Virginia	99,000	0.68%
29	Marilyn	98,977	0.68%
30	Martha	95,384	0.66%
31	Beverly	95,122	0.66%
32	Helen	90,742	0.63%
33	Bonnie	86,886	0.60%
34	Ruth	85,666	0.59%
35	Frances	85,448	0.59%
36	Jean	80,363	0.55%
37	Ann	76,797	0.53%
38	Phyllis	76,143	0.53%
39	Pamela	73,121	0.50%
40	Jane	72,537	0.50%
41	Alice	72,392	0.50%
42	Peggy	72,122	0.50%
43	Cheryl	70,959	0.49%
44	Doris	64,144	0.44%
45	Catherine	62,086	0.43%
46	Elaine	60,105	0.41%
47	Cynthia	58,061	0.40%
48	Marie	57,521	0.40%
49	Lois	56,854	0.39%
50	Connie	56,604	0.39%
51	Christine	54,565	0.38%
52	Diana	53,698	0.37%
53	Gail	53,140	0.37%
54	Joanne	51,655	0.36%
55	Rose	51,643	0.36%
56	Wanda	50,775	0.35%
57	Carole	50,303	0.35%
58	Rita	49,853	0.34%
59	Charlotte	49,478	0.34%
60	Jo	48,449	0.33%
61	Evelyn	48,157	0.33%
62	Geraldine	47,933	0.33%
63	Jacqueline	45,559	0.31%
64	Ellen	45,404	0.31%
65	Sally	45,344	0.31%
66	Rebecca	45,313	0.31%
67	Kathryn	44,581	0.31%
68	Deborah	44,054	0.30%
69	Norma	43,030	0.30%
70	Suzanne	41,405	0.29%
71	Anna	41,282	0.29%
72	Sue	40,943	0.28%
73	Darlene	40,321	0.28%
74	Patsy	40,282	0.28%
75	Joann	40,015	0.28%
76	Sarah	39,977	0.28%
77	Katherine	39,912	0.28%
78	Paula	39,044	0.27%
79	Annie	38,714	0.27%
80	Louise	38,665	0.27%
81	Roberta	38,051	0.26%
82	Sylvia	37,288	0.26%
83	Anne	36,146	0.25%
84	Theresa	35,789	0.25%
85	Sheila	35,740	0.25%
86	Maria	35,571	0.25%
87	Laura	35,071	0.24%
88	Kathy	34,766	0.24%
89	Eileen	34,695	0.24%
90	Marcia	34,397	0.24%
91	Rosemary	34,297	0.24%
92	Glenda	33,348	0.23%
93	Dolores	33,099	0.23%
94	Mildred	33,071	0.23%
95	Lorraine	33,047	0.23%
96	Marjorie	32,901	0.23%
97	Sherry	32,759	0.23%
98	Kay	32,654	0.23%
99	Anita	32,531	0.22%
100	Dianne	32,296	0.22%

Boys, the 1940s

#	Name	Babies	Share
1	James	795,775	5.35%
2	Robert	758,126	5.09%
3	John	711,614	4.78%
4	William	556,478	3.74%
5	Richard	477,476	3.21%
6	David	426,372	2.86%
7	Charles	361,772	2.43%
8	Thomas	350,775	2.36%
9	Michael	336,568	2.26%
10	Ronald	282,489	1.90%
11	Larry	255,908	1.72%
12	Donald	247,834	1.66%
13	Joseph	230,285	1.55%
14	Gary	217,772	1.46%
15	George	209,013	1.40%
16	Kenneth	198,553	1.33%
17	Paul	183,364	1.23%
18	Edward	174,801	1.17%
19	Jerry	167,257	1.12%
20	Dennis	162,114	1.09%
21	Frank	119,417	0.80%
22	Daniel	112,778	0.76%
23	Raymond	109,076	0.73%
24	Roger	107,602	0.72%
25	Stephen	106,812	0.72%
26	Gerald	103,342	0.69%
27	Walter	83,728	0.56%
28	Harold	82,176	0.55%
29	Steven	81,204	0.55%
30	Douglas	80,760	0.54%
31	Lawrence	80,461	0.54%
32	Terry	76,965	0.52%
33	Wayne	75,131	0.50%
34	Arthur	73,968	0.50%
35	Jack	73,919	0.50%
36	Carl	72,739	0.49%
37	Henry	72,488	0.49%
38	Willie	72,422	0.49%
39	Bruce	72,097	0.48%
40	Joe	72,015	0.48%
41	Peter	69,330	0.47%
42	Billy	67,833	0.46%
43	Roy	65,648	0.44%
44	Ralph	64,983	0.44%
45	Anthony	64,825	0.44%
46	Jimmy	63,523	0.43%
47	Albert	60,278	0.40%
48	Bobby	58,890	0.40%
49	Eugene	57,275	0.38%
50	Johnny	57,200	0.38%
51	Fred	56,665	0.38%
52	Harry	56,245	0.38%
53	Howard	53,530	0.36%
54	Mark	50,731	0.34%
55	Alan	50,302	0.34%
56	Louis	49,430	0.33%
57	Philip	48,735	0.33%
58	Patrick	48,619	0.33%
59	Dale	46,815	0.31%
60	Danny	46,661	0.31%
61	Stanley	46,263	0.31%
62	Leonard	44,289	0.30%
63	Timothy	43,503	0.29%
64	Gregory	43,222	0.29%
65	Samuel	43,129	0.29%
66	Ronnie	42,456	0.29%
67	Norman	42,164	0.28%
68	Ernest	41,762	0.28%
69	Russell	41,336	0.28%
70	Francis	39,519	0.27%
71	Melvin	39,236	0.26%
72	Earl	39,128	0.26%
73	Frederick	39,114	0.26%
74	Allen	39,049	0.26%
75	Bill	37,756	0.25%
76	Tommy	37,046	0.25%
77	Phillip	36,989	0.25%
78	Marvin	36,445	0.24%
79	Steve	36,286	0.24%
80	Don	36,255	0.24%
81	Clarence	36,197	0.24%
82	Barry	36,192	0.24%
83	Glenn	35,717	0.24%
84	Jim	35,632	0.24%
85	Eddie	34,807	0.23%
86	Mike	34,645	0.23%
87	Andrew	34,618	0.23%
88	Jeffrey	34,340	0.23%
89	Leroy	33,864	0.23%
90	Alfred	31,998	0.21%
91	Martin	31,402	0.21%
92	Lee	30,978	0.21%
93	Tom	29,884	0.20%
94	Ray	29,656	0.20%
95	Herbert	28,710	0.19%
96	Gene	27,739	0.19%
97	Bernard	26,446	0.18%
98	Theodore	26,249	0.18%
99	Curtis	26,009	0.17%
100	Keith	25,871	0.17%

Year by year

1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

Counts are summed across the decade's years from the national files; the share column is a name's part of the decade's recorded names for that sex. How we use it.

← 1930s All decades 1950s →

Get the free Name Kit

Five printables made in your browser: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Yours in a moment, for one email.

Make the kit

The book is in the works

A printed picture book where your child earns every letter of their own name, page by page. See the preview pages and hear when it is ready.

Preview the book