Years · 1950s · Evolution

Top baby names of 1956

In 1956, Mary and Michael were the most popular names in the United States. 4,122,003 births in the Social Security records that year.

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Most popular girl names in 1956
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	Mary	61,741	1 in 70	= same rank
2	Debra	48,324	1 in 90	2 places up
3	Linda	48,084	1 in 90	= same rank
4	Deborah	47,834	1 in 90	2 places down
5	Susan	46,558	1 in 90	= same rank
6	Patricia	43,329	1 in 100	= same rank
7	Karen	40,052	1 in 103	1 places up
8	Cynthia	32,339	1 in 127	3 places up
9	Barbara	32,302	1 in 128	2 places down
10	Donna	29,852	1 in 138	= same rank
11	Nancy	28,784	1 in 143	2 places down
12	Pamela	26,928	1 in 153	= same rank
13	Sharon	26,881	1 in 153	3 places up
14	Sandra	24,302	1 in 170	1 places down
15	Diane	22,518	1 in 183	1 places down
16	Carol	21,408	1 in 193	1 places down
17	Kathleen	21,377	1 in 193	= same rank
18	Cheryl	21,278	1 in 194	1 places up
19	Brenda	19,341	1 in 213	1 places down
20	Kathy	17,177	1 in 240	2 places up
21	Janet	16,758	1 in 246	1 places down
22	Elizabeth	16,355	1 in 252	1 places down
23	Denise	14,509	1 in 284	= same rank
24	Teresa	14,464	1 in 285	2 places up
25	Margaret	13,913	1 in 296	1 places down
26	Janice	13,017	1 in 317	1 places down
27	Rebecca	12,168	1 in 339	= same rank
28	Catherine	12,056	1 in 342	= same rank
29	Robin	11,621	1 in 355	4 places up
30	Joyce	11,091	1 in 372	1 places down
31	Lisa	11,012	1 in 374	17 places up
32	Theresa	10,841	1 in 380	6 places up
33	Carolyn	10,634	1 in 388	3 places down
34	Laura	10,570	1 in 390	7 places up
35	Judy	10,197	1 in 404	3 places down
36	Cathy	10,132	1 in 407	8 places up
37	Cindy	9,978	1 in 413	42 places up
38	Kim	9,897	1 in 416	37 places up
39	Debbie	9,863	1 in 418	24 places up
40	Beverly	9,449	1 in 436	6 places down
41	Shirley	9,429	1 in 437	4 places down
42	Christine	9,371	1 in 440	2 places down
43	Connie	9,361	1 in 440	8 places down
44	Betty	9,218	1 in 447	8 places down
45	Judith	9,115	1 in 452	14 places down
46	Ann	8,990	1 in 459	3 places down
47	Paula	8,925	1 in 462	8 places down
48	Julie	8,574	1 in 481	19 places up
49	Gail	8,435	1 in 489	7 places down
50	Jane	8,241	1 in 500	= same rank

Most popular boy names in 1956
Rank	Name	Births	Share	Change
1	Michael	90,691	1 in 50	= same rank
2	James	84,897	1 in 50	1 places up
3	Robert	83,924	1 in 50	1 places up
4	David	81,652	1 in 50	2 places down
5	John	80,804	1 in 50	= same rank
6	William	58,991	1 in 70	= same rank
7	Richard	52,915	1 in 80	= same rank
8	Mark	48,828	1 in 80	1 places up
9	Thomas	44,836	1 in 90	1 places down
10	Steven	38,413	1 in 107	= same rank
11	Charles	35,239	1 in 117	= same rank
12	Joseph	32,749	1 in 126	1 places up
13	Gary	31,842	1 in 129	1 places down
14	Donald	28,223	1 in 146	= same rank
15	Ronald	27,725	1 in 149	3 places up
16	Kenneth	27,432	1 in 150	1 places down
17	Paul	26,897	1 in 153	1 places down
18	Daniel	26,655	1 in 155	1 places down
19	Timothy	23,288	1 in 177	3 places up
20	Jeffrey	23,285	1 in 177	= same rank
21	Larry	22,322	1 in 185	2 places down
22	Kevin	21,761	1 in 189	5 places up
23	Stephen	21,204	1 in 194	2 places down
24	Gregory	21,082	1 in 196	= same rank
25	Edward	19,436	1 in 212	= same rank
26	Dennis	18,359	1 in 225	3 places down
27	George	17,232	1 in 239	1 places down
28	Randy	16,547	1 in 249	2 places up
29	Douglas	16,389	1 in 252	= same rank
30	Anthony	15,565	1 in 265	1 places up
31	Terry	15,064	1 in 274	3 places down
32	Brian	14,666	1 in 281	8 places up
33	Bruce	14,660	1 in 281	1 places down
34	Scott	13,214	1 in 312	4 places up
35	Jerry	12,623	1 in 327	2 places down
36	Keith	11,480	1 in 359	3 places up
37	Peter	11,334	1 in 364	2 places down
38	Frank	11,151	1 in 370	4 places down
39	Raymond	11,108	1 in 371	3 places down
40	Patrick	10,326	1 in 399	1 places up
41	Roger	10,153	1 in 406	4 places down
42	Lawrence	8,898	1 in 463	= same rank
43	Ricky	8,780	1 in 469	3 places up
44	Alan	8,734	1 in 472	1 places down
45	Wayne	8,717	1 in 473	1 places down
46	Danny	8,565	1 in 481	1 places down
47	Christopher	8,384	1 in 492	2 places up
48	Carl	8,313	1 in 496	1 places down
49	Gerald	7,991	1 in 516	1 places down
50	Dale	7,720	1 in 534	2 places up

Share: number of babies born in 1956, girls and boys together, for one baby with this name. Change: places gained or lost since 1955. Tied names share the same rank.