Popular Names of 1954

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1954, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Viki peaked among human females this year, at 1,074th.

Table 1. Female names, 1954
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	68,019	125
2	Linda	55,371	902
3	Deborah	54,674	864
4	Patricia	49,149	1,336
5	Susan	47,162	1,091
6	Debra	45,896	4,478
7	Barbara	36,368	968
8	Karen	32,456	1,281
9	Nancy	30,270	967
10	Cynthia	27,615	1,014
11	Donna	27,429	1,965
12	Pamela	27,361	2,251
13	Sandra	26,061	1,210
14	Kathleen	22,455	1,156
15	Carol	22,247	2,242
16	Sharon	22,220	1,256
17	Diane	22,053	2,620
18	Brenda	19,609	1,527
19	Janet	18,477	2,791
20	Elizabeth	16,584	17

Table 2. Male names, 1954
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	88,568	21
2	Robert	86,331	92
3	James	86,311	6
4	John	81,168	23
5	David	79,556	35
6	William	61,426	9
7	Richard	57,042	234
8	Thomas	47,159	34
9	Gary	37,920	1,073
10	Charles	37,463	48
11	Steven	36,628	271
12	Mark	36,198	245
13	Joseph	31,221	29
14	Donald	29,279	690
15	Ronald	27,625	638
16	Paul	26,220	262
17	Kenneth	26,186	294
18	Daniel	25,275	22
19	Larry	24,614	1,085
20	Stephen	21,878	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.