Popular Names of 1950

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1950, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1950
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Linda	80,433	902
2	Mary	65,481	125
3	Patricia	47,944	1,336
4	Barbara	41,556	968
5	Susan	38,017	1,091
6	Nancy	29,617	967
7	Deborah	29,063	864
8	Sandra	28,896	1,210
9	Carol	26,163	2,242
10	Kathleen	25,706	1,156
11	Sharon	24,612	1,256
12	Karen	24,132	1,281
13	Donna	21,629	1,965
14	Brenda	20,799	1,527
15	Margaret	18,110	112
16	Diane	17,636	2,620
17	Pamela	16,202	2,251
18	Janet	16,193	2,791
19	Shirley	15,891	1,586
20	Carolyn	15,588	1,222

Table 2. Male names, 1950
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	James	86,228	6
2	Robert	83,553	92
3	John	79,412	23
4	Michael	65,136	21
5	David	60,729	35
6	William	60,680	9
7	Richard	51,003	234
8	Thomas	45,596	34
9	Charles	39,095	48
10	Gary	33,737	1,073
11	Larry	31,480	1,085
12	Ronald	29,908	638
13	Joseph	27,022	29
14	Donald	26,999	690
15	Kenneth	23,813	294
16	Steven	23,250	271
17	Dennis	22,862	707
18	Paul	21,742	262
19	Stephen	20,511	383
20	George	20,183	126

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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.