Years · 1950s · Evolution

Top baby names of 1951

In 1951, Linda and James were the most popular names in the United States. 3,682,692 births in the Social Security records that year.

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Most popular girl names in 1951
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	Linda	73,982	1 in 50	= same rank
2	Mary	65,721	1 in 60	= same rank
3	Patricia	56,446	1 in 70	= same rank
4	Deborah	42,053	1 in 90	3 places up
5	Barbara	40,617	1 in 90	1 places down
6	Susan	40,228	1 in 90	1 places down
7	Nancy	30,346	1 in 121	1 places down
8	Karen	27,998	1 in 132	4 places up
9	Sandra	27,665	1 in 133	1 places down
10	Kathleen	26,716	1 in 138	= same rank
11	Carol	24,781	1 in 149	2 places down
12	Donna	24,074	1 in 153	1 places up
13	Sharon	23,920	1 in 154	2 places down
14	Brenda	21,717	1 in 170	= same rank
15	Diane	19,840	1 in 186	1 places up
16	Pamela	18,570	1 in 198	1 places up
17	Margaret	17,692	1 in 208	2 places down
18	Debra	17,064	1 in 216	41 places up
19	Janet	16,947	1 in 217	1 places down
20	Cynthia	16,295	1 in 226	3 places up
21	Janice	15,958	1 in 231	1 places up
22	Carolyn	15,206	1 in 242	2 places down
23	Elizabeth	15,118	1 in 244	1 places up
24	Christine	15,017	1 in 245	4 places up
25	Judith	14,935	1 in 247	4 places down
26	Judy	14,017	1 in 263	1 places down
27	Shirley	13,919	1 in 265	8 places down
28	Joyce	13,472	1 in 273	1 places down
29	Betty	12,822	1 in 287	3 places down
30	Cheryl	11,986	1 in 307	1 places down
31	Gloria	10,951	1 in 336	1 places down
32	Rebecca	10,932	1 in 337	4 places up
33	Beverly	10,860	1 in 339	2 places down
34	Catherine	10,566	1 in 349	= same rank
35	Kathy	10,406	1 in 354	3 places up
36	Gail	9,886	1 in 373	6 places up
37	Bonnie	9,706	1 in 379	4 places down
38	Martha	9,605	1 in 383	6 places down
39	Joan	9,403	1 in 392	1 places up
40	Peggy	9,208	1 in 400	1 places up
41	Marilyn	9,148	1 in 403	4 places down
42	Dorothy	9,089	1 in 405	7 places down
43	Jane	8,942	1 in 412	4 places down
44	Connie	8,722	1 in 422	= same rank
45	Kathryn	8,460	1 in 435	1 places up
46	Ann	8,423	1 in 437	1 places down
47	Virginia	8,180	1 in 450	4 places down
48	Denise	8,116	1 in 454	34 places up
49	Jean	7,627	1 in 483	1 places down
50	Diana	7,396	1 in 498	3 places down

Most popular boy names in 1951
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	James	87,256	1 in 40	= same rank
2	Robert	86,353	1 in 40	= same rank
3	John	81,569	1 in 50	= same rank
4	Michael	72,807	1 in 50	= same rank
5	David	64,788	1 in 60	= same rank
6	William	62,781	1 in 60	= same rank
7	Richard	54,541	1 in 70	= same rank
8	Thomas	48,275	1 in 80	= same rank
9	Charles	39,406	1 in 90	= same rank
10	Gary	38,160	1 in 100	= same rank
11	Larry	30,558	1 in 121	= same rank
12	Ronald	29,049	1 in 127	= same rank
13	Steven	28,363	1 in 130	3 places up
14	Joseph	28,147	1 in 131	1 places down
15	Donald	27,916	1 in 132	1 places down
16	Kenneth	25,841	1 in 143	1 places down
17	Dennis	24,264	1 in 152	= same rank
18	Paul	22,853	1 in 161	= same rank
19	Stephen	22,474	1 in 164	= same rank
20	Mark	21,201	1 in 174	3 places up
21	Daniel	21,121	1 in 174	= same rank
22	George	20,212	1 in 182	2 places down
23	Edward	19,913	1 in 185	1 places down
24	Jerry	15,164	1 in 243	= same rank
25	Gregory	14,102	1 in 261	= same rank
26	Bruce	14,090	1 in 261	= same rank
27	Douglas	13,902	1 in 265	1 places up
28	Timothy	12,705	1 in 290	4 places up
29	Roger	12,425	1 in 296	2 places down
30	Terry	12,216	1 in 301	= same rank
31	Frank	11,477	1 in 321	2 places down
32	Raymond	11,227	1 in 328	1 places down
33	Lawrence	10,266	1 in 359	= same rank
34	Anthony	9,836	1 in 374	2 places up
35	Jeffrey	9,713	1 in 379	8 places up
36	Gerald	9,539	1 in 386	2 places down
37	Wayne	9,327	1 in 395	2 places down
38	Peter	8,999	1 in 409	1 places down
39	Patrick	8,751	1 in 421	1 places down
40	Alan	8,408	1 in 438	1 places up
41	Danny	8,179	1 in 450	2 places down
42	Walter	8,038	1 in 458	2 places down
43	Carl	7,641	1 in 482	1 places up
44	Arthur	7,414	1 in 497	2 places up
45	Willie	7,226	1 in 510	3 places down
46	Harold	7,178	1 in 513	1 places down
47	Henry	7,120	1 in 517	= same rank
48	Jack	7,004	1 in 526	= same rank
49	Dale	6,963	1 in 529	= same rank
50	Johnny	6,700	1 in 550	= same rank

Share: number of babies born in 1951, girls and boys together, for one baby with this name. Change: places gained or lost since 1950. Tied names share the same rank.