Popular Names of 1955

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1955, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. David peaked among human males this year, at 2nd.

Table 1. Female names, 1955
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	63,174	125
2	Deborah	52,318	864
3	Linda	51,300	902
4	Debra	50,563	4,478
5	Susan	47,418	1,091
6	Patricia	46,226	1,336
7	Barbara	33,617	968
8	Karen	33,217	1,281
9	Nancy	30,023	967
10	Donna	27,940	1,965
11	Cynthia	27,178	1,014
12	Pamela	26,690	2,251
13	Sandra	25,112	1,210
14	Diane	23,290	2,620
15	Carol	22,046	2,242
16	Sharon	22,044	1,256
17	Kathleen	22,014	1,156
18	Brenda	19,114	1,527
19	Cheryl	19,111	4,376
20	Janet	17,920	2,791

Table 2. Male names, 1955
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	88,355	21
2	David	86,306	35
3	James	84,186	6
4	Robert	83,758	92
5	John	80,128	23
6	William	59,990	9
7	Richard	53,566	234
8	Thomas	45,855	34
9	Mark	42,255	245
10	Steven	37,847	271
11	Charles	35,365	48
12	Gary	34,433	1,073
13	Joseph	31,589	29
14	Donald	27,726	690
15	Kenneth	26,743	294
16	Paul	26,701	262
17	Daniel	26,460	22
18	Ronald	26,172	638
19	Larry	22,819	1,085
20	Jeffrey	22,533	552

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.