Top Baby Names of 1940

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1940.

What the Data Says About 1940

The Social Security Administration's national 1940 file shows 1,633,350 births concentrated in the top 100 boy and top 100 girl names, the segment of U.S. baby-name data released to the public for that year. The #1 boy name of 1940 was James, with 62,481 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1940 was Mary, with 56,216 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 872,435 births compared with 760,915 for the top 100 girls, consistent with the historical SSA pattern in which a smaller pool of boy names dominates a larger share of annual births while girl names are more evenly distributed.

1940 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1940 fall within the post-war baby-boom era; total U.S. birth volume was higher than today and a relatively small set of names (Robert, James, Linda, Mary) dominated national rankings. James and Mary leading 1940 fits this broader cultural signature.

These rankings come directly from Social Security Administration card applications and represent approximately 96% of all U.S. births in 1940. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1940 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1940 is significantly larger than any public top-100 list can show. Each spelling variation is counted separately, Sophia and Sofia, Aiden and Ayden, so rankings reflect only the specific spelling filed on the SS card, not combined name pools. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute naming advice.

← 1939
1940
1941 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 62,481
2 Robert 61,198
3 John 54,786
4 William 44,779
5 Richard 37,425
6 Charles 31,689
7 David 27,690
8 Thomas 23,991
9 Donald 23,115
10 Ronald 20,741
11 George 18,315
12 Joseph 18,208
13 Larry 17,199
14 Jerry 15,213
15 Kenneth 15,132
16 Edward 14,405
17 Paul 14,097
18 Michael 13,228
19 Gary 12,573
20 Frank 10,595
21 Gerald 10,236
22 Raymond 9,567
23 Harold 8,080
24 Dennis 7,845
25 Walter 7,723
26 Roger 7,598
27 Billy 7,596
28 Joe 7,216
29 Jack 7,048
30 Bobby 6,882
31 Henry 6,822
32 Carl 6,752
33 Arthur 6,510
34 Daniel 6,225
35 Willie 6,176
36 Lawrence 6,173
37 Ralph 5,838
38 Eugene 5,804
39 Wayne 5,727
40 Fred 5,581
41 Albert 5,572
42 Roy 5,565
43 Peter 5,049
44 Jimmy 4,962
45 Howard 4,824
46 Anthony 4,769
47 Harry 4,681
48 Norman 4,576
49 Stephen 4,423
50 Louis 4,324
51 Johnny 4,006
52 Earl 3,944
53 Melvin 3,935
54 Leonard 3,817
55 Bruce 3,789
56 Douglas 3,732
57 Dale 3,699
58 Ernest 3,698
59 Stanley 3,694
60 Philip 3,674
61 Francis 3,607
62 Don 3,547
63 Marvin 3,502
64 Clarence 3,487
65 Samuel 3,364
66 Leroy 3,311
67 Bill 3,267
68 Frederick 3,096
69 Alfred 3,062
70 Gene 3,060
71 Allen 3,029
72 Russell 3,012
73 Terry 2,982
74 Patrick 2,883
75 Herbert 2,875
76 Tommy 2,827
77 Ray 2,795
78 Jim 2,715
79 Phillip 2,628
80 Lee 2,624
81 Eddie 2,576
82 Bernard 2,468
83 Glenn 2,465
84 Andrew 2,431
85 Martin 2,423
86 Jimmie 2,408
87 Franklin 2,391
88 Alan 2,377
89 Leon 2,318
90 Theodore 2,306
91 Gordon 2,296
92 Tom 2,287
93 Jesse 2,205
94 Clifford 2,185
95 Jerome 2,178
96 Edwin 2,116
97 Curtis 2,103
98 Harvey 2,088
99 Bob 2,082
100 Lloyd 2,067

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 56,216
2 Barbara 36,736
3 Patricia 32,665
4 Judith 22,385
5 Betty 22,077
6 Carol 21,759
7 Nancy 19,737
8 Linda 18,370
9 Shirley 17,881
10 Sandra 16,153
11 Margaret 15,063
12 Dorothy 14,875
13 Joyce 14,801
14 Joan 13,292
15 Carolyn 12,657
16 Judy 11,382
17 Sharon 11,121
18 Helen 10,203
19 Janet 10,105
20 Elizabeth 9,955
21 Virginia 9,554
22 Janice 9,318
23 Donna 9,232
24 Ruth 8,888
25 Marilyn 8,704
26 Martha 8,695
27 Beverly 8,657
28 Frances 8,621
29 Jean 8,063
30 Gloria 8,026
31 Doris 7,767
32 Alice 7,603
33 Phyllis 7,416
34 Karen 7,283
35 Ann 7,196
36 Susan 6,756
37 Peggy 6,128
38 Lois 6,125
39 Bonnie 5,957
40 Kathleen 5,697
41 Marie 5,542
42 Brenda 5,442
43 Norma 5,334
44 Rose 5,198
45 Diane 5,172
46 Geraldine 5,150
47 Jane 5,091
48 Evelyn 4,982
49 Carole 4,790
50 Elaine 4,782
51 Anna 4,717
52 Wanda 4,708
53 Catherine 4,584
54 Joanne 4,418
55 Charlotte 4,291
56 Annie 4,216
57 Patsy 4,079
58 Mildred 3,938
59 Louise 3,928
60 Sarah 3,869
61 Sally 3,803
62 Sylvia 3,802
63 Joann 3,789
64 Marjorie 3,681
65 Gail 3,621
66 Ruby 3,619
67 Dolores 3,604
68 Eleanor 3,584
69 Loretta 3,502
70 Rita 3,442
71 Roberta 3,431
72 Jo 3,427
73 Irene 3,394
74 Ellen 3,318
75 Arlene 3,257
76 Jacqueline 3,215
77 Kay 3,200
78 Juanita 3,174
79 Darlene 3,120
80 Marlene 3,118
81 Sue 3,104
82 June 2,949
83 Delores 2,929
84 Anne 2,897
85 Rosemary 2,874
86 Edna 2,835
87 Anita 2,828
88 Connie 2,795
89 Josephine 2,744
90 Jeanette 2,727
91 Julia 2,709
92 Katherine 2,709
93 Wilma 2,621
94 Emma 2,606
95 Lorraine 2,579
96 Rebecca 2,555
97 Lillian 2,525
98 Edith 2,510
99 Audrey 2,501
100 Florence 2,467
← 1939
1941 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1940 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1939 Top Names
National top 100
1941 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1940 leaders: James vs Mary → or pick any two names →

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

Source: SSA Baby Names Methodology, names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are excluded to protect privacy.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the U.S. Social Security Administration. See our methodology for details.