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Baby names in Tennessee in the 1950s

In Tennessee in the 1950s the most given names were James (23,968 boys) and Mary (12,975 girls), of 777,398 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in Tennessee each year, the 1950s shaded
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251950-1959BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251950-1959BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251950-1959BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101950199020251950-1959BoysGirls

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

Tennessee, 1950-1959: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in Tennessee, 1950s

Girls, 1950-1959
#NameBirths
1Mary12,975
2Linda12,919
3Deborah11,070
4Patricia10,455
5Brenda9,746
6Sandra6,731
7Barbara6,650
8Donna6,599
9Kathy5,985
10Pamela5,983
11Debra5,871
12Sharon5,605
13Judy5,564
14Carolyn5,352
15Teresa5,328
16Susan5,151
17Karen4,841
18Janice4,666
19Nancy4,636
20Betty4,469
Boys, 1950-1959
#NameBirths
1James23,968
2William14,997
3David14,706
4Michael14,688
5Robert14,227
6John12,571
7Charles11,521
8Larry9,443
9Gary7,686
10Richard7,328
11Jerry7,218
12Thomas7,041
13Kenneth5,801
14Terry5,747
15Ronald5,640
16Donald5,635
17Danny4,846
18Steven4,529
19Mark4,326
20Billy4,204

Births summed over 1950-1959, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Tennessee in the 1950s

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

Boys

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1950-1959.

More about names in Tennessee

  1. The 1950s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
  2. Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
  3. Tennessee in the 1960sThe next decade in the state.
  4. The top names of 1950The first year of the decade, nationally.
  5. Every state’s most given namesEach state since 1910.
  6. Look up any nameIts rank, births since 1880 and the people alive with it.

Back to Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910