Years · 1950s · Evolution

Top baby names of 1950

In 1950, Linda and James were the most popular names in the United States. 3,502,380 births in the Social Security records that year.

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Most popular girl names in 1950
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	Linda	80,433	1 in 40	= same rank
2	Mary	65,481	1 in 50	= same rank
3	Patricia	47,944	1 in 70	= same rank
4	Barbara	41,556	1 in 80	= same rank
5	Susan	38,017	1 in 90	= same rank
6	Nancy	29,617	1 in 118	1 places up
7	Deborah	29,063	1 in 121	8 places up
8	Sandra	28,896	1 in 121	2 places down
9	Carol	26,163	1 in 134	1 places down
10	Kathleen	25,706	1 in 136	1 places down
11	Sharon	24,612	1 in 142	1 places down
12	Karen	24,132	1 in 145	1 places down
13	Donna	21,629	1 in 162	1 places down
14	Brenda	20,799	1 in 168	1 places down
15	Margaret	18,110	1 in 193	1 places down
16	Diane	17,636	1 in 199	3 places up
17	Pamela	16,202	1 in 216	4 places up
18	Janet	16,193	1 in 216	5 places up
19	Shirley	15,891	1 in 220	1 places down
20	Carolyn	15,588	1 in 225	3 places down
21	Judith	15,352	1 in 228	5 places down
22	Janice	15,012	1 in 233	2 places up
23	Cynthia	14,447	1 in 242	4 places up
24	Elizabeth	14,334	1 in 244	1 places up
25	Judy	14,207	1 in 247	5 places down
26	Betty	13,615	1 in 257	4 places down
27	Joyce	13,415	1 in 261	1 places down
28	Christine	12,673	1 in 276	2 places up
29	Cheryl	11,823	1 in 296	1 places down
30	Gloria	11,037	1 in 317	1 places down
31	Beverly	10,503	1 in 333	= same rank
32	Martha	9,839	1 in 356	2 places up
33	Bonnie	9,746	1 in 359	2 places up
34	Catherine	9,655	1 in 363	3 places up
35	Dorothy	9,551	1 in 367	3 places down
36	Rebecca	9,425	1 in 372	4 places up
37	Marilyn	9,285	1 in 377	4 places down
38	Kathy	9,090	1 in 385	4 places up
39	Jane	8,964	1 in 391	2 places up
40	Joan	8,860	1 in 395	4 places down
41	Peggy	8,532	1 in 410	3 places down
42	Gail	8,350	1 in 419	9 places up
43	Virginia	8,312	1 in 421	4 places down
44	Connie	8,145	1 in 430	1 places down
45	Ann	7,921	1 in 442	1 places down
46	Kathryn	7,863	1 in 445	6 places up
47	Diana	7,447	1 in 470	1 places up
48	Jean	7,432	1 in 471	3 places down
49	Ruth	7,128	1 in 491	2 places down
50	Helen	7,061	1 in 496	4 places down

Most popular boy names in 1950
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	James	86,228	1 in 40	= same rank
2	Robert	83,553	1 in 40	= same rank
3	John	79,412	1 in 40	= same rank
4	Michael	65,136	1 in 50	1 places up
5	David	60,729	1 in 60	1 places up
6	William	60,680	1 in 60	2 places down
7	Richard	51,003	1 in 70	= same rank
8	Thomas	45,596	1 in 80	= same rank
9	Charles	39,095	1 in 90	= same rank
10	Gary	33,737	1 in 104	2 places up
11	Larry	31,480	1 in 111	1 places down
12	Ronald	29,908	1 in 117	1 places down
13	Joseph	27,022	1 in 130	1 places up
14	Donald	26,999	1 in 130	1 places down
15	Kenneth	23,813	1 in 147	= same rank
16	Steven	23,250	1 in 151	4 places up
17	Dennis	22,862	1 in 153	1 places down
18	Paul	21,742	1 in 161	1 places down
19	Stephen	20,511	1 in 171	= same rank
20	George	20,183	1 in 174	2 places down
21	Daniel	19,189	1 in 183	1 places up
22	Edward	18,714	1 in 187	1 places down
23	Mark	16,604	1 in 211	1 places up
24	Jerry	15,261	1 in 229	1 places down
25	Gregory	13,311	1 in 263	6 places up
26	Bruce	12,674	1 in 276	= same rank
27	Roger	12,552	1 in 279	2 places down
28	Douglas	12,264	1 in 286	1 places up
29	Frank	11,606	1 in 302	2 places down
30	Terry	11,433	1 in 306	2 places down
31	Raymond	11,180	1 in 313	1 places down
32	Timothy	10,499	1 in 334	2 places up
33	Lawrence	10,173	1 in 344	1 places down
34	Gerald	9,726	1 in 360	1 places down
35	Wayne	9,259	1 in 378	= same rank
36	Anthony	8,612	1 in 407	= same rank
37	Peter	8,362	1 in 419	1 places up
38	Patrick	8,179	1 in 428	1 places up
39	Danny	8,143	1 in 430	1 places up
40	Walter	7,798	1 in 449	3 places down
41	Alan	7,737	1 in 453	4 places up
42	Willie	7,717	1 in 454	1 places down
43	Jeffrey	7,644	1 in 458	5 places up
44	Carl	7,288	1 in 481	1 places down
45	Harold	7,214	1 in 485	3 places down
46	Arthur	7,161	1 in 489	2 places down
47	Henry	6,963	1 in 503	1 places down
48	Jack	6,840	1 in 512	1 places down
49	Dale	6,785	1 in 516	5 places up
50	Johnny	6,581	1 in 532	1 places down

Share: number of babies born in 1950, girls and boys together, for one baby with this name. Change: places gained or lost since 1949. Tied names share the same rank.