Baby names in New York in the 1940s

In New York in the 1940s the most given names were Robert (80,452 boys) and Barbara (45,347 girls), of 2,444,730 births recorded.

1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Babies SSA recorded in New York each year, the 1940s shaded

Births under names given to 5 or more babies of one sex in the state that year.

New York, 1940-1949: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in New York, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	Barbara	45,347
2	Patricia	43,342
3	Mary	43,259
4	Linda	39,033
5	Carol	33,118
6	Susan	27,814
7	Nancy	20,987
8	Kathleen	20,722
9	Judith	20,520
10	Joan	19,472
11	Margaret	18,492
12	Sandra	17,678
13	Diane	16,074
14	Sharon	14,565
15	Elizabeth	13,692
16	Karen	13,628
17	Donna	12,110
18	Ann	10,559
19	Joyce	10,417
20	Janet	10,361

Boys, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	Robert	80,452
2	John	77,180
3	Richard	56,157
4	James	54,608
5	William	50,956
6	Michael	40,272
7	Thomas	38,622
8	Joseph	38,444
9	David	33,910
10	Charles	25,284
11	Edward	23,330
12	Ronald	23,124
13	George	20,852
14	Paul	20,743
15	Peter	18,942
16	Donald	18,609
17	Frank	17,629
18	Kenneth	16,723
19	Anthony	16,106
20	Stephen	14,529

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in New York in the 1940s

Each figure is the name’s births in the state in the decade against the births its national share, year by year, would predict (names with at least 100 births in the state).

Girls

Milagros · 10.3×Vincenza · 7.9×Nilda · 7.3×Ronni · 6.7×Roni · 6.0×Helaine · 5.4×

Boys

Carmine · 7.0×Dominick · 6.5×Seymour · 6.2×Gennaro · 6.1×Carmelo · 6.0×Sal · 6.0×

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1940-1949.

More about names in New York

The 1940s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
New York: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
New York in the 1950sThe next decade in the state.
The top names of 1940The first year of the decade, nationally.
Every state’s most given namesEach state since 1910.
Look up any nameIts rank, births since 1880 and the people alive with it.

Back to New York: 2025 and every year since 1910