How Many of Me

Most Popular First Names of the 1950s

The top first names registered in the United States between 1950 and 1959, 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 12,829,247 male and 9,464,450 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 1950s. 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 (1950) to the last year (1959). 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

12,829,247 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 James 843,776 -8.8%
2 Michael 837,466 +30.9%
3 Robert 830,391 -10.8%
4 John 797,917 -3.7%
5 David 769,951 +38.3%
6 William 591,226 -15.3%
7 Richard 535,453 -7.5%
8 Thomas 454,385 -11.6%
9 Mark 382,585 +242.9%
10 Charles 361,178 -21.2%
11 Steven 333,657 +44.5%
12 Gary 329,935 -30.9%
13 Joseph 300,006 +9.3%
14 Donald 273,576 -11.6%
15 Ronald 271,146 -22.7%
16 Kenneth 262,822 +11.9%
17 Paul 253,191 +18.2%
18 Larry 245,690 -41.4%
19 Daniel 243,725 +31.1%
20 Stephen 207,276 -19.5%
21 Dennis 204,267 -29.8%
22 Timothy 198,322 +193.2%
23 Edward 188,328 -9.6%
24 Jeffrey 184,663 +243.8%
25 George 181,029 -25.6%
26 Gregory 178,453 +49.4%
27 Kevin 159,010 +464%
28 Douglas 148,204 +24.6%
29 Terry 140,724 +27.2%
30 Anthony 136,652 +108.7%
31 Jerry 136,571 -19.2%
32 Bruce 136,459 -6%
33 Randy 120,534 +245.4%
34 Brian 112,336 +366.8%
35 Frank 112,321 -5.7%
36 Scott 111,821 +363.1%
37 Roger 110,156 -29.9%
38 Raymond 108,932 -12.4%
39 Peter 102,754 +35%
40 Patrick 96,856 +29.1%
41 Keith 91,236 +157.5%
42 Lawrence 91,109 -35.1%
43 Wayne 88,092 -14.9%
44 Danny 86,640 +7.2%
45 Alan 83,977 +5.4%
46 Gerald 82,625 -31.8%
47 Ricky 79,169 +527.8%
48 Carl 78,754 +3%
49 Christopher 78,334 +167.1%
50 Dale 75,567 +22.9%

Top Female Names

9,464,450 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Mary 625,609 -16.8%
2 Linda 564,363 -49.8%
3 Patricia 459,686 -26.5%
4 Susan 437,773 +9.5%
5 Deborah 430,541 +1.7%
6 Barbara 345,723 -39%
7 Debra 341,347 +408.2%
8 Karen 332,533 +52.4%
9 Nancy 286,812 -22.1%
10 Donna 270,333 +68.6%
11 Cynthia 263,429 +108.9%
12 Sandra 251,594 -19.2%
13 Pamela 237,395 +52.5%
14 Sharon 232,809 -13.5%
15 Kathleen 224,341 -31.4%
16 Carol 222,654 -30.7%
17 Diane 210,627 +13.2%
18 Brenda 209,243 +3%
19 Cheryl 171,390 +77.2%
20 Janet 167,519 -7.6%
21 Elizabeth 165,658 +28.5%
22 Kathy 157,930 +140%
23 Margaret 149,583 -36.1%
24 Janice 133,619 -30.1%
25 Carolyn 124,067 -37.6%
26 Denise 123,783 +224.8%
27 Judy 118,061 -30.4%
28 Rebecca 115,691 +11.1%
29 Joyce 114,983 -36.5%
30 Teresa 114,284 +268.4%
31 Christine 113,340 -25.3%
32 Catherine 108,837 +3.8%
33 Shirley 108,807 -54.2%
34 Judith 108,756 -57.2%
35 Betty 103,204 -46.3%
36 Beverly 97,789 -25.8%
37 Lisa 95,823 +2087.4%
38 Laura 95,527 +153.8%
39 Theresa 89,605 +107.1%
40 Connie 88,800 +6.3%
41 Ann 87,046 +12.6%
42 Gloria 86,706 -46.4%
43 Julie 86,689 +415.6%
44 Gail 85,619 -24%
45 Joan 85,179 -28.5%
46 Paula 84,869 +21.5%
47 Peggy 84,294 -13.1%
48 Cindy 83,980 +1056.9%
49 Martha 83,189 -34.5%
50 Bonnie 83,011 -33.7%
1940s 1960s