Top Baby Names of 1942

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1942.

What the Data Says About 1942

The Social Security Administration's national 1942 file shows 1,968,927 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 1942 was James, with 77,180 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1942 was Mary, with 63,255 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,055,697 births compared with 913,230 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.

1942 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1942 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 1942 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 1942. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1942 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1942 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.

← 1941
1942
1943 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 77,180
2 Robert 71,841
3 John 66,041
4 William 54,891
5 Richard 43,592
6 David 35,905
7 Charles 35,855
8 Thomas 31,097
9 Ronald 27,136
10 Donald 23,956
11 Joseph 22,429
12 Larry 22,099
13 Michael 21,728
14 George 21,275
15 Kenneth 18,210
16 Jerry 17,487
17 Edward 17,469
18 Gary 17,067
19 Paul 16,493
20 Dennis 13,281
21 Frank 12,248
22 Gerald 11,483
23 Douglas 11,234
24 Raymond 11,116
25 Roger 9,174
26 Walter 8,681
27 Harold 8,582
28 Daniel 8,507
29 Arthur 8,028
30 Lawrence 7,639
31 Henry 7,562
32 Stephen 7,503
33 Joe 7,383
34 Jack 7,365
35 Billy 7,314
36 Carl 7,267
37 Willie 7,092
38 Ralph 6,635
39 Peter 6,587
40 Albert 6,496
41 Wayne 6,484
42 Roy 6,311
43 Bobby 6,249
44 Anthony 6,210
45 Eugene 6,091
46 Fred 6,088
47 Jimmy 5,948
48 Harry 5,629
49 Howard 5,570
50 Bruce 5,385
51 Louis 5,151
52 Terry 4,810
53 Norman 4,683
54 Philip 4,603
55 Johnny 4,587
56 Stanley 4,587
57 Leonard 4,369
58 Francis 4,297
59 Samuel 4,190
60 Melvin 4,189
61 Ernest 4,079
62 Earl 4,049
63 Dale 3,864
64 Patrick 3,804
65 Bill 3,795
66 Marvin 3,792
67 Clarence 3,741
68 Frederick 3,738
69 Leroy 3,717
70 Russell 3,675
71 Allen 3,571
72 Don 3,564
73 Tommy 3,531
74 Jim 3,514
75 Steven 3,505
76 Alfred 3,408
77 Phillip 3,373
78 Ronnie 3,363
79 Barry 3,209
80 Andrew 3,142
81 Alan 3,134
82 Gene 3,127
83 Herbert 3,112
84 Ray 3,066
85 Martin 3,046
86 Eddie 3,018
87 Lee 2,922
88 Glenn 2,888
89 Tom 2,875
90 Bernard 2,724
91 Theodore 2,665
92 Gordon 2,606
93 Leon 2,550
94 Jimmie 2,541
95 Clifford 2,533
96 Lloyd 2,463
97 Warren 2,423
98 Curtis 2,419
99 Jesse 2,397
100 Victor 2,395

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 63,255
2 Barbara 44,739
3 Patricia 39,464
4 Linda 31,614
5 Carol 30,271
6 Sandra 24,993
7 Judith 24,792
8 Nancy 23,328
9 Betty 21,659
10 Carolyn 19,977
11 Sharon 19,648
12 Shirley 17,749
13 Joyce 16,728
14 Margaret 16,548
15 Judy 15,667
16 Karen 15,386
17 Dorothy 15,035
18 Joan 14,514
19 Janet 13,064
20 Donna 12,986
21 Susan 12,015
22 Elizabeth 11,185
23 Virginia 10,802
24 Kathleen 10,696
25 Janice 10,286
26 Helen 10,016
27 Marilyn 9,907
28 Diane 9,550
29 Martha 9,511
30 Frances 9,471
31 Gloria 9,450
32 Beverly 9,411
33 Ruth 9,315
34 Bonnie 8,823
35 Carole 8,407
36 Jean 8,257
37 Phyllis 7,793
38 Ann 7,666
39 Alice 7,382
40 Brenda 7,241
41 Doris 7,176
42 Peggy 6,579
43 Marie 6,559
44 Lois 6,406
45 Elaine 5,986
46 Jane 5,708
47 Geraldine 5,438
48 Joanne 5,342
49 Catherine 5,267
50 Rose 5,253
51 Charlotte 5,022
52 Norma 4,971
53 Evelyn 4,940
54 Wanda 4,792
55 Rita 4,706
56 Sally 4,655
57 Patsy 4,559
58 Joann 4,506
59 Anna 4,488
60 Gail 4,445
61 Louise 4,343
62 Annie 4,294
63 Dolores 4,267
64 Ellen 4,197
65 Jo 4,175
66 Roberta 4,105
67 Sarah 4,100
68 Diana 3,857
69 Jacqueline 3,831
70 Connie 3,825
71 Mildred 3,807
72 Sylvia 3,728
73 Sue 3,630
74 Marjorie 3,625
75 Kay 3,623
76 Anne 3,525
77 Ruby 3,519
78 Darlene 3,517
79 Loretta 3,406
80 Irene 3,383
81 Katherine 3,376
82 Kathryn 3,350
83 Arlene 3,331
84 Marlene 3,253
85 Rebecca 3,241
86 Delores 3,170
87 Eleanor 3,165
88 Eileen 3,107
89 Glenda 3,089
90 Juanita 3,074
91 Lorraine 3,010
92 Rosemary 3,004
93 Anita 2,998
94 Sheila 2,973
95 Julia 2,905
96 Christine 2,901
97 Maria 2,817
98 Theresa 2,799
99 Edna 2,763
100 Josephine 2,748
← 1941
1943 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1942 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1941 Top Names
National top 100
1943 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
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Compare 1942 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.