Popular Names of 1943

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1943, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1943
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	66,174	125
2	Barbara	43,432	968
3	Patricia	39,620	1,336
4	Linda	38,439	902
5	Carol	31,686	2,242
6	Sandra	25,990	1,210
7	Judith	25,214	790
8	Sharon	24,712	1,256
9	Nancy	23,988	967
10	Betty	21,596	1,113
11	Carolyn	20,365	1,222
12	Shirley	17,816	1,586
13	Judy	17,383	1,874
14	Margaret	17,153	112
15	Karen	16,816	1,281
16	Joyce	16,485	1,074
17	Donna	14,912	1,965
18	Susan	14,888	1,091
19	Dorothy	14,793	421
20	Janet	13,316	2,791

Table 2. Male names, 1943
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	James	80,278	6
2	Robert	74,892	92
3	John	68,929	23
4	William	55,904	9
5	Richard	46,339	234
6	David	37,240	35
7	Charles	36,632	48
8	Thomas	32,874	34
9	Ronald	29,239	638
10	Michael	24,745	21
11	Donald	24,421	690
12	Larry	22,978	1,085
13	Joseph	22,828	29
14	George	21,692	126
15	Kenneth	19,112	294
16	Gary	17,868	1,073
17	Jerry	17,730	907
18	Edward	17,713	224
19	Paul	17,253	262
20	Dennis	14,116	707

Select another year

As recorded on the Social Security card application. Names given to fewer than five babies of a sex in a year are not published, so the file is a floor.