Popular Names of 1961

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1961, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Lore peaked among human females this year, at 1,509th.

Table 1. Female names, 1961
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	47,682	125
2	Lisa	42,720	991
3	Susan	37,532	1,091
4	Linda	35,597	902
5	Karen	34,707	1,281
6	Patricia	28,889	1,336
7	Donna	28,679	1,965
8	Cynthia	24,393	1,014
9	Sandra	24,153	1,210
10	Deborah	24,107	864
11	Brenda	23,781	1,527
12	Barbara	23,002	968
13	Debra	22,160	4,478
14	Lori	21,876	1,726
15	Pamela	21,691	2,251
16	Nancy	20,729	967
17	Sharon	20,459	1,256
18	Teresa	18,909	911
19	Elizabeth	18,855	17
20	Cheryl	18,301	4,376

Table 2. Male names, 1961
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	86,974	21
2	David	84,810	35
3	John	79,983	23
4	James	75,969	6
5	Robert	72,977	92
6	Mark	57,796	245
7	William	48,045	9
8	Richard	41,142	234
9	Thomas	37,565	34
10	Steven	32,275	271
11	Jeffrey	32,029	552
12	Joseph	29,450	29
13	Charles	29,194	48
14	Kevin	28,926	221
15	Timothy	28,253	203
16	Kenneth	26,100	294
17	Daniel	25,904	22
18	Paul	25,640	262
19	Scott	23,934	534
20	Brian	22,566	339

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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.