Top Baby Names of 1945

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1945.

What the Data Says About 1945

The Social Security Administration's national 1945 file shows 1,919,535 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 1945 was James, with 74,466 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1945 was Mary, with 59,281 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,033,578 births compared with 885,957 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.

1945 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1945 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 1945 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 1945. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1945 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1945 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.

← 1944
1945
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Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 74,466
2 Robert 69,945
3 John 66,118
4 William 50,218
5 Richard 46,045
6 David 37,107
7 Charles 32,467
8 Thomas 31,873
9 Michael 29,902
10 Ronald 23,664
11 Larry 22,824
12 Donald 22,139
13 Gary 21,345
14 Joseph 20,821
15 George 19,324
16 Kenneth 18,098
17 Paul 16,994
18 Edward 15,871
19 Dennis 14,990
20 Jerry 14,702
21 Frank 10,874
22 Roger 10,570
23 Raymond 9,856
24 Daniel 9,708
25 Gerald 8,857
26 Stephen 8,639
27 Walter 7,574
28 Harold 7,525
29 Douglas 7,394
30 Lawrence 7,163
31 Willie 7,029
32 Jack 6,855
33 Terry 6,833
34 Arthur 6,801
35 Wayne 6,738
36 Joe 6,626
37 Henry 6,604
38 Peter 6,483
39 Carl 6,314
40 Roy 6,183
41 Jimmy 6,159
42 Billy 6,021
43 Steven 5,974
44 Ralph 5,785
45 Johnny 5,697
46 Anthony 5,686
47 Harry 5,648
48 Bruce 5,615
49 Albert 5,432
50 Eugene 5,167
51 Fred 5,118
52 Alan 5,073
53 Bobby 5,049
54 Howard 4,768
55 Louis 4,480
56 Danny 4,175
57 Leonard 4,125
58 Philip 4,111
59 Stanley 4,058
60 Ernest 4,005
61 Dale 3,957
62 Samuel 3,957
63 Patrick 3,853
64 Russell 3,806
65 Norman 3,726
66 Bill 3,711
67 Ronnie 3,651
68 Jim 3,624
69 Mike 3,592
70 Timothy 3,591
71 Earl 3,566
72 Mark 3,545
73 Don 3,482
74 Allen 3,481
75 Francis 3,449
76 Tommy 3,448
77 Frederick 3,436
78 Melvin 3,408
79 Steve 3,384
80 Marvin 3,294
81 Eddie 3,223
82 Clarence 3,196
83 Leroy 3,172
84 Barry 3,138
85 Phillip 3,081
86 Andrew 3,007
87 Lee 2,942
88 Alfred 2,894
89 Tom 2,893
90 Martin 2,823
91 Jeffrey 2,782
92 Ray 2,740
93 Glenn 2,734
94 Herbert 2,664
95 Victor 2,631
96 Gregory 2,474
97 Curtis 2,392
98 Bernard 2,389
99 Clifford 2,384
100 Gene 2,373

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 59,281
2 Linda 41,465
3 Barbara 38,274
4 Patricia 35,843
5 Carol 30,388
6 Sandra 24,700
7 Nancy 21,456
8 Sharon 20,838
9 Judith 20,192
10 Susan 19,221
11 Betty 18,390
12 Carolyn 17,244
13 Judy 17,001
14 Shirley 16,150
15 Margaret 15,685
16 Karen 15,680
17 Donna 15,398
18 Joyce 13,950
19 Kathleen 13,802
20 Janet 12,326
21 Dorothy 12,323
22 Diane 12,223
23 Gloria 11,037
24 Janice 10,782
25 Joan 10,394
26 Elizabeth 10,343
27 Marilyn 9,534
28 Virginia 9,244
29 Brenda 9,204
30 Martha 8,751
31 Helen 8,300
32 Cheryl 8,149
33 Ruth 8,046
34 Frances 7,940
35 Bonnie 7,745
36 Jane 7,639
37 Beverly 7,618
38 Jean 7,428
39 Ann 7,038
40 Phyllis 6,530
41 Alice 6,359
42 Pamela 6,169
43 Diana 6,047
44 Elaine 5,887
45 Peggy 5,839
46 Doris 5,820
47 Connie 5,337
48 Lois 5,148
49 Marie 5,085
50 Catherine 5,031
51 Carole 4,842
52 Gail 4,832
53 Joanne 4,617
54 Rose 4,557
55 Charlotte 4,529
56 Geraldine 4,475
57 Evelyn 4,377
58 Wanda 4,295
59 Rita 4,282
60 Jo 4,224
61 Ellen 4,189
62 Christine 4,077
63 Jacqueline 3,989
64 Sally 3,981
65 Kathryn 3,971
66 Sue 3,915
67 Paula 3,798
68 Suzanne 3,770
69 Annie 3,739
70 Eileen 3,637
71 Darlene 3,626
72 Dianne 3,611
73 Anna 3,607
74 Norma 3,603
75 Roberta 3,601
76 Sarah 3,593
77 Laura 3,589
78 Louise 3,514
79 Rosemary 3,500
80 Joann 3,465
81 Anne 3,407
82 Katherine 3,392
83 Sylvia 3,375
84 Patsy 3,350
85 Rebecca 3,331
86 Maria 3,313
87 Lorraine 3,207
88 Marcia 3,206
89 Sheila 3,178
90 Cynthia 3,127
91 Kay 3,058
92 Glenda 2,963
93 Mildred 2,960
94 Marjorie 2,929
95 Ruby 2,904
96 Theresa 2,896
97 Irene 2,883
98 Jeanne 2,860
99 Arlene 2,771
100 Anita 2,768
← 1944
1946 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1945 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1944 Top Names
National top 100
1946 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1945 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.