Popular Names of 1949

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1949, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1949
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Linda	91,015	902
2	Mary	66,874	125
3	Patricia	46,324	1,336
4	Barbara	42,600	968
5	Susan	37,709	1,091
6	Sandra	30,643	1,210
7	Nancy	29,249	967
8	Carol	26,780	2,242
9	Kathleen	26,357	1,156
10	Sharon	25,713	1,256
11	Karen	22,468	1,281
12	Donna	22,056	1,965
13	Brenda	20,543	1,527
14	Margaret	19,452	112
15	Deborah	19,209	864
16	Judith	17,610	790
17	Carolyn	17,404	1,222
18	Shirley	17,281	1,586
19	Diane	17,252	2,620
20	Judy	15,979	1,874

Table 2. Male names, 1949
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	James	86,858	6
2	Robert	83,873	92
3	John	81,178	23
4	William	61,506	9
5	Michael	60,047	21
6	David	59,611	35
7	Richard	50,946	234
8	Thomas	45,192	34
9	Charles	40,052	48
10	Larry	31,819	1,085
11	Ronald	31,502	638
12	Gary	28,935	1,073
13	Donald	27,121	690
14	Joseph	26,408	29
15	Kenneth	23,589	294
16	Dennis	21,746	707
17	Paul	21,589	262
18	George	21,308	126
19	Stephen	20,488	383
20	Steven	19,923	271

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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.