How Many of Me

Most Popular First Names of the 1940s

The top first names registered in the United States between 1940 and 1949, ranked by total births recorded with the Social Security Administration. The sparkline for each name shows how it trended across the 10 years of the decade.

During this decade, the SSA recorded 9,463,062 male and 7,699,845 female births across the top 50 names shown below. Click any name for a full statistical profile.

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

How to read this table

Each name is ranked by total birth registrations across all 10 years of the 1940s. The Trend column shows a sparkline of annual births within the decade. Hover over any sparkline to see the exact count for each year.

The Change column compares the first year (1940) to the last year (1949). A positive percentage means the name was gaining popularity by the end of the decade. A negative one means it was on the decline.

Top Male Names

9,463,062 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 James 795,767 +39%
2 Robert 758,115 +37.1%
3 John 711,600 +48.2%
4 William 556,469 +37.3%
5 Richard 477,472 +36.1%
6 David 426,365 +115.3%
7 Charles 361,760 +26.4%
8 Thomas 350,771 +88.4%
9 Michael 336,564 +353.9%
10 Ronald 282,478 +51.9%
11 Larry 255,907 +85%
12 Donald 247,829 +17.3%
13 Joseph 230,281 +45%
14 Gary 217,769 +130.1%
15 George 209,005 +16.4%
16 Kenneth 198,551 +55.9%
17 Paul 183,356 +53.1%
18 Edward 174,798 +33.1%
19 Jerry 167,250 +4.3%
20 Dennis 162,113 +177.2%
21 Frank 119,420 +12.9%
22 Daniel 112,776 +193%
23 Raymond 109,070 +18.2%
24 Roger 107,597 +68.8%
25 Stephen 106,810 +363.3%
26 Gerald 103,342 -4.2%
27 Walter 83,726 +7.4%
28 Harold 82,177 -3.2%
29 Steven 81,205 +1169.8%
30 Douglas 80,757 +203.3%
31 Lawrence 80,459 +66.1%
32 Terry 76,966 +284.2%
33 Wayne 75,130 +55.9%
34 Arthur 73,966 +14.9%
35 Jack 73,920 +1.1%
36 Carl 72,739 +13.9%
37 Henry 72,486 +5.3%
38 Willie 72,419 +28.2%
39 Bruce 72,096 +223.7%
40 Joe 72,013 -9.4%
41 Peter 69,328 +63.7%
42 Billy 67,831 -23.4%
43 Roy 65,645 +19%
44 Ralph 64,980 +15.6%
45 Anthony 64,824 +77.2%
46 Jimmy 63,522 +29.3%
47 Albert 60,276 +8.8%
48 Bobby 58,890 -25.6%
49 Eugene 57,273 -3.6%
50 Johnny 57,199 +73.9%

Top Female Names

7,699,845 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Mary 640,070 +19%
2 Linda 531,658 +395.5%
3 Barbara 425,267 +16%
4 Patricia 411,412 +41.8%
5 Carol 292,330 +23.1%
6 Sandra 265,536 +89.7%
7 Nancy 252,058 +48.2%
8 Sharon 221,236 +131.2%
9 Judith 218,035 -21.3%
10 Susan 212,014 +458.2%
11 Betty 194,622 -32.3%
12 Carolyn 181,855 +37.5%
13 Margaret 173,025 +29.1%
14 Shirley 171,780 -3.3%
15 Judy 167,718 +40.4%
16 Karen 167,699 +208.5%
17 Donna 165,523 +138.9%
18 Kathleen 152,981 +362.6%
19 Joyce 151,493 -8.3%
20 Dorothy 132,255 -30%
21 Janet 130,754 +47%
22 Diane 122,877 +233.5%
23 Janice 118,892 +55.1%
24 Joan 117,708 -30.7%
25 Elizabeth 116,551 +37.7%
26 Brenda 112,414 +277.5%
27 Gloria 105,054 +48%
28 Virginia 98,998 -6.9%
29 Marilyn 98,977 +13.4%
30 Martha 95,386 +12.8%
31 Beverly 95,124 +21.9%
32 Helen 90,742 -24.5%
33 Bonnie 86,886 +63.4%
34 Ruth 85,664 -13.9%
35 Frances 85,447 -13.7%
36 Jean 80,364 -3.8%
37 Ann 76,797 +9.4%
38 Phyllis 76,142 -1.4%
39 Pamela 73,121 +2298.1%
40 Jane 72,537 +71.2%
41 Alice 72,392 -12.4%
42 Peggy 72,121 +48.8%
43 Cheryl 70,959 +4127.8%
44 Doris 64,142 -32%
45 Catherine 62,086 +99.3%
46 Elaine 60,104 +29.9%
47 Cynthia 58,060 +585.4%
48 Marie 57,521 -4.3%
49 Lois 56,854 -19.7%
50 Connie 56,604 +194.1%
1930s 1950s