Popular Names of 1959

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1959, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Dave peaked among human males this year, at 119th.

Table 1. Female names, 1959
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	54,502	125
2	Susan	41,617	1,091
3	Linda	40,410	902
4	Karen	36,784	1,281
5	Donna	36,468	1,965
6	Patricia	35,223	1,336
7	Debra	31,388	4,478
8	Cynthia	30,186	1,014
9	Deborah	29,546	864
10	Lisa	25,699	991
11	Barbara	25,359	968
12	Pamela	24,714	2,251
13	Sandra	23,359	1,210
14	Nancy	23,079	967
15	Kathy	21,814	3,274
16	Brenda	21,424	1,527
17	Sharon	21,292	1,256
18	Cheryl	20,947	4,376
19	Diane	19,972	2,620
20	Debbie	19,540	5,284

Table 2. Male names, 1959
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	85,294	21
2	David	83,977	35
3	James	78,648	6
4	John	76,446	23
5	Robert	74,542	92
6	Mark	56,945	245
7	William	51,386	9
8	Richard	47,202	234
9	Thomas	40,296	34
10	Steven	33,597	271
11	Charles	30,797	48
12	Timothy	30,783	203
13	Joseph	29,539	29
14	Kevin	26,790	221
15	Kenneth	26,640	294
16	Jeffrey	26,281	552
17	Paul	25,712	262
18	Daniel	25,155	22
19	Donald	23,876	690
20	Gary	23,303	1,073

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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.