Popular Names of 1948

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1948, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Linda peaked among human females this year, at 1st.

Table 1. Female names, 1948
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Linda	96,220	902
2	Mary	68,597	125
3	Barbara	46,826	968
4	Patricia	46,140	1,336
5	Susan	35,988	1,091
6	Sandra	31,063	1,210
7	Nancy	29,411	967
8	Carol	28,977	2,242
9	Sharon	26,143	1,256
10	Kathleen	23,257	1,156
11	Donna	22,033	1,965
12	Karen	21,996	1,281
13	Margaret	18,873	112
14	Carolyn	18,623	1,222
15	Judith	17,787	790
16	Judy	17,706	1,874
17	Brenda	17,700	1,527
18	Betty	16,625	1,113
19	Diane	16,607	2,620
20	Shirley	16,121	1,586

Table 2. Male names, 1948
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	James	88,605	6
2	Robert	85,478	92
3	John	82,834	23
4	William	61,972	9
5	David	56,627	35
6	Michael	52,566	21
7	Richard	50,970	234
8	Thomas	43,780	34
9	Charles	38,676	48
10	Ronald	33,527	638
11	Larry	33,436	1,085
12	Gary	28,397	1,073
13	Joseph	26,801	29
14	Donald	26,442	690
15	Kenneth	23,550	294
16	George	21,926	126
17	Dennis	21,765	707
18	Paul	21,252	262
19	Edward	18,983	224
20	Stephen	17,061	383

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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.