Top Baby Names of 1944

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1944.

What the Data Says About 1944

The Social Security Administration's national 1944 file shows 1,946,755 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 1944 was James, with 76,951 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1944 was Mary, with 62,472 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,045,741 births compared with 901,014 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.

1944 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1944 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 1944 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 1944. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1944 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1944 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.

← 1943
1944
1945 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 76,951
2 Robert 70,855
3 John 66,611
4 William 52,373
5 Richard 45,643
6 David 37,379
7 Charles 34,663
8 Thomas 31,603
9 Michael 26,717
10 Ronald 25,514
11 Donald 23,466
12 Larry 22,025
13 Joseph 21,175
14 George 20,419
15 Gary 20,058
16 Kenneth 18,093
17 Paul 16,659
18 Edward 16,481
19 Jerry 16,283
20 Dennis 13,679
21 Frank 11,342
22 Raymond 10,634
23 Roger 10,581
24 Gerald 10,021
25 Daniel 9,314
26 Walter 8,159
27 Harold 7,980
28 Stephen 7,795
29 Jack 7,255
30 Arthur 7,254
31 Willie 7,194
32 Lawrence 7,129
33 Joe 7,062
34 Douglas 6,998
35 Henry 6,975
36 Carl 6,824
37 Wayne 6,722
38 Billy 6,545
39 Roy 6,534
40 Peter 6,340
41 Jimmy 6,320
42 Ralph 6,272
43 Terry 5,976
44 Albert 5,857
45 Johnny 5,661
46 Anthony 5,605
47 Fred 5,580
48 Eugene 5,505
49 Harry 5,479
50 Bobby 5,411
51 Bruce 5,262
52 Steven 5,113
53 Howard 5,025
54 Louis 4,678
55 Alan 4,277
56 Leonard 4,183
57 Stanley 4,121
58 Norman 4,065
59 Ernest 4,042
60 Philip 3,992
61 Dale 3,990
62 Samuel 3,946
63 Russell 3,931
64 Patrick 3,883
65 Earl 3,874
66 Bill 3,815
67 Melvin 3,745
68 Jim 3,744
69 Ronnie 3,739
70 Tommy 3,696
71 Francis 3,651
72 Don 3,589
73 Frederick 3,583
74 Clarence 3,575
75 Marvin 3,568
76 Danny 3,511
77 Allen 3,422
78 Leroy 3,409
79 Eddie 3,315
80 Mike 3,084
81 Andrew 3,057
82 Alfred 3,047
83 Phillip 3,002
84 Barry 2,979
85 Lee 2,929
86 Ray 2,904
87 Tom 2,901
88 Glenn 2,850
89 Steve 2,836
90 Herbert 2,773
91 Martin 2,767
92 Timothy 2,754
93 Mark 2,742
94 Bernard 2,619
95 Gene 2,602
96 Theodore 2,574
97 Curtis 2,465
98 Jimmie 2,398
99 Clifford 2,394
100 Warren 2,349

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 62,472
2 Barbara 39,196
3 Linda 38,415
4 Patricia 36,872
5 Carol 30,456
6 Sandra 26,023
7 Nancy 23,217
8 Sharon 22,432
9 Judith 22,431
10 Betty 19,760
11 Carolyn 18,670
12 Judy 17,119
13 Susan 16,330
14 Margaret 16,320
15 Shirley 16,310
16 Karen 15,944
17 Donna 15,173
18 Joyce 14,768
19 Dorothy 13,380
20 Kathleen 13,004
21 Janet 12,592
22 Joan 11,920
23 Elizabeth 11,034
24 Diane 10,710
25 Gloria 9,968
26 Virginia 9,894
27 Marilyn 9,738
28 Janice 9,732
29 Martha 9,336
30 Brenda 8,998
31 Helen 8,696
32 Ruth 8,674
33 Frances 8,487
34 Bonnie 8,456
35 Beverly 8,292
36 Cheryl 7,972
37 Jean 7,650
38 Alice 7,102
39 Ann 7,080
40 Phyllis 7,022
41 Jane 6,564
42 Doris 6,324
43 Carole 6,268
44 Pamela 6,204
45 Peggy 6,019
46 Elaine 5,629
47 Lois 5,529
48 Marie 5,297
49 Catherine 5,256
50 Charlotte 4,928
51 Connie 4,796
52 Rose 4,710
53 Geraldine 4,666
54 Joanne 4,530
55 Rita 4,530
56 Gail 4,525
57 Evelyn 4,516
58 Wanda 4,431
59 Sally 4,388
60 Diana 4,311
61 Jo 4,226
62 Sue 4,034
63 Ellen 3,998
64 Jacqueline 3,975
65 Joann 3,974
66 Norma 3,864
67 Sarah 3,856
68 Kathryn 3,855
69 Louise 3,842
70 Roberta 3,744
71 Annie 3,738
72 Patsy 3,729
73 Eileen 3,649
74 Anna 3,635
75 Christine 3,584
76 Darlene 3,532
77 Katherine 3,525
78 Suzanne 3,462
79 Glenda 3,367
80 Maria 3,361
81 Mildred 3,318
82 Paula 3,315
83 Sylvia 3,291
84 Rebecca 3,246
85 Marjorie 3,218
86 Anne 3,208
87 Ruby 3,190
88 Kay 3,170
89 Marcia 3,140
90 Dianne 3,108
91 Irene 3,086
92 Dolores 3,081
93 Lorraine 3,046
94 Juanita 2,960
95 Anita 2,825
96 Theresa 2,817
97 Delores 2,756
98 Loretta 2,746
99 Rosemary 2,744
100 Sherry 2,733
← 1943
1945 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1944 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1943 Top Names
National top 100
1945 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
Browse ranking types

Compare 1944 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.