Years · 1940s · Evolution

Top baby names of 1946

In 1946, Mary and James were the most popular names in the United States. 3,195,175 births in the Social Security records that year.

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Most popular girl names in 1946
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	Mary	67,471	1 in 50	= same rank
2	Linda	52,710	1 in 60	= same rank
3	Patricia	46,297	1 in 70	1 places up
4	Barbara	45,126	1 in 70	1 places down
5	Carol	34,284	1 in 90	= same rank
6	Sandra	31,692	1 in 101	= same rank
7	Nancy	28,345	1 in 113	= same rank
8	Susan	28,267	1 in 113	2 places up
9	Sharon	27,824	1 in 115	1 places down
10	Judith	22,310	1 in 143	1 places down
11	Judy	20,477	1 in 156	2 places up
12	Carolyn	19,902	1 in 161	= same rank
13	Donna	19,770	1 in 162	4 places up
14	Betty	19,711	1 in 162	3 places down
15	Karen	19,647	1 in 163	1 places up
16	Kathleen	18,760	1 in 170	3 places up
17	Margaret	18,136	1 in 176	2 places down
18	Shirley	17,870	1 in 179	4 places down
19	Diane	15,835	1 in 202	3 places up
20	Joyce	15,209	1 in 210	2 places down
21	Janet	14,142	1 in 226	1 places down
22	Janice	14,039	1 in 228	2 places up
23	Dorothy	12,797	1 in 250	2 places down
24	Brenda	12,690	1 in 252	5 places up
25	Elizabeth	11,753	1 in 272	1 places up
26	Gloria	11,686	1 in 273	3 places down
27	Cheryl	11,526	1 in 277	5 places up
28	Joan	11,218	1 in 285	3 places down
29	Marilyn	10,711	1 in 298	2 places down
30	Beverly	10,430	1 in 306	7 places up
31	Virginia	10,015	1 in 319	3 places down
32	Martha	9,759	1 in 327	2 places down
33	Bonnie	9,510	1 in 336	2 places up
34	Pamela	9,367	1 in 341	8 places up
35	Jane	8,971	1 in 356	1 places up
36	Helen	8,852	1 in 361	5 places down
37	Jean	8,554	1 in 374	1 places up
38	Ruth	8,474	1 in 377	5 places down
39	Frances	8,450	1 in 378	5 places down
40	Ann	8,077	1 in 396	1 places down
41	Phyllis	8,048	1 in 397	1 places down
42	Diana	7,544	1 in 424	1 places up
43	Peggy	7,400	1 in 432	2 places up
44	Alice	7,363	1 in 434	3 places down
45	Connie	7,215	1 in 443	2 places up
46	Cynthia	6,895	1 in 463	44 places up
47	Elaine	6,803	1 in 470	3 places down
48	Catherine	6,367	1 in 502	2 places up
49	Gail	6,227	1 in 513	3 places up
50	Christine	6,202	1 in 515	12 places up

Most popular boy names in 1946
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	James	87,438	1 in 40	= same rank
2	Robert	84,136	1 in 40	= same rank
3	John	79,267	1 in 40	= same rank
4	William	60,034	1 in 50	= same rank
5	Richard	58,870	1 in 50	= same rank
6	David	46,444	1 in 70	= same rank
7	Michael	41,194	1 in 80	2 places up
8	Thomas	38,877	1 in 80	= same rank
9	Charles	38,215	1 in 80	2 places down
10	Ronald	31,858	1 in 100	= same rank
11	Larry	28,447	1 in 112	= same rank
12	Gary	26,931	1 in 119	1 places up
13	Donald	26,273	1 in 122	1 places down
14	Joseph	24,284	1 in 132	= same rank
15	Kenneth	22,042	1 in 145	1 places up
16	George	21,575	1 in 148	1 places down
17	Dennis	21,447	1 in 149	2 places up
18	Paul	21,063	1 in 152	1 places down
19	Edward	18,585	1 in 172	1 places down
20	Jerry	17,567	1 in 182	= same rank
21	Daniel	12,867	1 in 248	3 places up
22	Frank	12,667	1 in 252	1 places down
23	Roger	12,411	1 in 257	1 places down
24	Stephen	11,832	1 in 270	2 places up
25	Raymond	11,289	1 in 283	2 places down
26	Terry	10,678	1 in 299	7 places up
27	Gerald	10,033	1 in 318	2 places down
28	Steven	8,878	1 in 360	15 places up
29	Wayne	8,807	1 in 363	6 places up
30	Walter	8,668	1 in 369	3 places down
31	Lawrence	8,517	1 in 375	1 places down
32	Bruce	8,459	1 in 378	16 places up
33	Harold	8,373	1 in 382	5 places down
34	Douglas	8,336	1 in 383	5 places down
35	Jack	7,801	1 in 410	3 places down
36	Arthur	7,537	1 in 424	2 places down
37	Joe	7,536	1 in 424	1 places down
38	Peter	7,483	1 in 427	= same rank
39	Carl	7,380	1 in 433	= same rank
40	Willie	7,339	1 in 435	9 places down
41	Henry	7,317	1 in 437	4 places down
42	Jimmy	7,128	1 in 448	1 places down
43	Roy	6,925	1 in 461	3 places down
44	Anthony	6,771	1 in 472	2 places up
45	Billy	6,716	1 in 476	3 places down
46	Danny	6,650	1 in 480	10 places up
47	Johnny	6,611	1 in 483	2 places down
48	Ralph	6,587	1 in 485	4 places down
49	Alan	6,490	1 in 492	3 places up
50	Harry	6,027	1 in 530	3 places down

Share: number of babies born in 1946, girls and boys together, for one baby with this name. Change: places gained or lost since 1945. Tied names share the same rank.