Top Baby Names of 1941

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1941.

What the Data Says About 1941

The Social Security Administration's national 1941 file shows 1,743,089 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 1941 was James, with 66,752 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1941 was Mary, with 58,049 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 930,453 births compared with 812,636 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.

1941 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1941 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 1941 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 1941. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1941 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1941 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.

← 1940
1941
1942 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 66,752
2 Robert 64,247
3 John 57,519
4 William 47,797
5 Richard 39,111
6 Charles 32,739
7 David 30,553
8 Thomas 26,643
9 Ronald 24,407
10 Donald 22,640
11 Larry 20,135
12 Joseph 19,808
13 George 19,260
14 Jerry 16,799
15 Kenneth 16,143
16 Michael 15,935
17 Edward 15,581
18 Paul 15,167
19 Gary 14,568
20 Gerald 10,941
21 Frank 10,795
22 Raymond 9,947
23 Dennis 9,562
24 Harold 8,103
25 Roger 8,094
26 Walter 7,746
27 Billy 7,655
28 Henry 7,164
29 Carl 7,161
30 Joe 7,158
31 Daniel 7,049
32 Jack 6,950
33 Arthur 6,738
34 Lawrence 6,652
35 Bobby 6,590
36 Willie 6,528
37 Wayne 6,111
38 Ralph 6,041
39 Roy 5,950
40 Albert 5,927
41 Stephen 5,811
42 Eugene 5,755
43 Fred 5,618
44 Peter 5,607
45 Jimmy 5,337
46 Anthony 5,239
47 Howard 5,068
48 Harry 5,056
49 Norman 4,459
50 Louis 4,446
51 Bruce 4,302
52 Philip 4,166
53 Douglas 4,146
54 Leonard 3,985
55 Johnny 3,983
56 Melvin 3,951
57 Stanley 3,926
58 Earl 3,805
59 Dale 3,790
60 Francis 3,738
61 Ernest 3,726
62 Clarence 3,671
63 Marvin 3,626
64 Terry 3,606
65 Samuel 3,537
66 Don 3,533
67 Leroy 3,524
68 Bill 3,453
69 Frederick 3,288
70 Patrick 3,155
71 Tommy 3,087
72 Gene 3,073
73 Allen 3,060
74 Alfred 3,052
75 Russell 3,032
76 Herbert 2,964
77 Phillip 2,870
78 Eddie 2,850
79 Ronnie 2,848
80 Jim 2,843
81 Lee 2,744
82 Andrew 2,707
83 Ray 2,695
84 Alan 2,624
85 Martin 2,605
86 Glenn 2,523
87 Bernard 2,509
88 Tom 2,500
89 Jimmie 2,473
90 Steven 2,468
91 Barry 2,464
92 Gordon 2,404
93 Leon 2,375
94 Clifford 2,363
95 Theodore 2,330
96 Lloyd 2,251
97 Edwin 2,213
98 Franklin 2,205
99 Jesse 2,184
100 Curtis 2,164

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 58,049
2 Barbara 39,543
3 Patricia 36,904
4 Carol 24,187
5 Linda 23,721
6 Judith 23,318
7 Betty 20,904
8 Nancy 20,883
9 Sandra 19,498
10 Shirley 16,955
11 Carolyn 16,273
12 Margaret 15,695
13 Joyce 15,683
14 Dorothy 14,566
15 Sharon 14,271
16 Judy 13,967
17 Joan 13,380
18 Janet 11,137
19 Karen 10,831
20 Donna 10,446
21 Elizabeth 10,268
22 Janice 10,061
23 Virginia 10,044
24 Helen 9,887
25 Martha 9,157
26 Gloria 9,008
27 Susan 8,888
28 Ruth 8,863
29 Beverly 8,727
30 Marilyn 8,557
31 Frances 8,468
32 Jean 7,840
33 Bonnie 7,761
34 Alice 7,445
35 Phyllis 7,346
36 Kathleen 7,160
37 Ann 7,122
38 Doris 7,081
39 Peggy 6,560
40 Diane 6,428
41 Brenda 6,332
42 Marie 6,153
43 Lois 6,106
44 Elaine 5,377
45 Geraldine 5,228
46 Jane 5,089
47 Norma 5,021
48 Carole 4,966
49 Rose 4,954
50 Evelyn 4,929
51 Catherine 4,884
52 Patsy 4,788
53 Wanda 4,735
54 Joanne 4,665
55 Charlotte 4,564
56 Anna 4,432
57 Dolores 4,384
58 Joann 4,275
59 Annie 4,073
60 Sarah 3,983
61 Sally 3,965
62 Louise 3,910
63 Rita 3,879
64 Mildred 3,847
65 Sylvia 3,788
66 Jo 3,757
67 Ellen 3,664
68 Gail 3,609
69 Ruby 3,581
70 Kay 3,538
71 Marjorie 3,517
72 Roberta 3,396
73 Jacqueline 3,388
74 Irene 3,370
75 Sue 3,358
76 Darlene 3,344
77 Arlene 3,291
78 Eleanor 3,250
79 Connie 3,205
80 Delores 3,160
81 Loretta 3,100
82 Anne 3,097
83 Marlene 3,068
84 Juanita 3,045
85 Katherine 3,004
86 Rebecca 2,924
87 Kathryn 2,869
88 Julia 2,845
89 Edna 2,834
90 June 2,766
91 Anita 2,741
92 Josephine 2,726
93 Lorraine 2,688
94 Rosemary 2,677
95 Theresa 2,675
96 Glenda 2,643
97 Suzanne 2,611
98 Jeanette 2,596
99 Emma 2,546
100 Diana 2,544
← 1940
1942 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1941 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1940 Top Names
National top 100
1942 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1941 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 official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details.