Top Baby Names of 1946

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1946.

What the Data Says About 1946

The Social Security Administration's national 1946 file shows 2,339,075 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 1946 was James, with 87,438 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1946 was Mary, with 67,471 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,262,147 births compared with 1,076,928 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.

1946 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1946 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 1946 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 1946. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1946 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1946 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.

← 1945
1946
1947 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 87,438
2 Robert 84,136
3 John 79,267
4 William 60,034
5 Richard 58,870
6 David 46,444
7 Michael 41,194
8 Thomas 38,877
9 Charles 38,215
10 Ronald 31,858
11 Larry 28,447
12 Gary 26,931
13 Donald 26,273
14 Joseph 24,284
15 Kenneth 22,042
16 George 21,575
17 Dennis 21,447
18 Paul 21,063
19 Edward 18,585
20 Jerry 17,567
21 Daniel 12,867
22 Frank 12,667
23 Roger 12,411
24 Stephen 11,832
25 Raymond 11,289
26 Terry 10,678
27 Gerald 10,033
28 Steven 8,878
29 Wayne 8,807
30 Walter 8,668
31 Lawrence 8,517
32 Bruce 8,459
33 Harold 8,373
34 Douglas 8,336
35 Jack 7,801
36 Arthur 7,537
37 Joe 7,536
38 Peter 7,483
39 Carl 7,380
40 Willie 7,339
41 Henry 7,317
42 Jimmy 7,128
43 Roy 6,925
44 Anthony 6,771
45 Billy 6,716
46 Danny 6,650
47 Johnny 6,611
48 Ralph 6,587
49 Alan 6,490
50 Harry 6,027
51 Fred 6,012
52 Albert 6,007
53 Bobby 5,771
54 Ronnie 5,727
55 Howard 5,694
56 Gregory 5,672
57 Eugene 5,670
58 Mark 5,331
59 Patrick 5,305
60 Timothy 5,152
61 Philip 5,093
62 Dale 5,024
63 Louis 4,918
64 Mike 4,854
65 Stanley 4,767
66 Russell 4,741
67 Leonard 4,704
68 Barry 4,624
69 Steve 4,570
70 Samuel 4,523
71 Ernest 4,395
72 Bill 4,354
73 Jim 4,336
74 Allen 4,294
75 Frederick 4,231
76 Norman 4,161
77 Tommy 4,144
78 Jeffrey 4,125
79 Don 4,110
80 Francis 4,006
81 Glenn 3,892
82 Earl 3,830
83 Phillip 3,775
84 Andrew 3,758
85 Eddie 3,746
86 Melvin 3,742
87 Tom 3,624
88 Marvin 3,600
89 Clarence 3,567
90 Leroy 3,472
91 Lee 3,346
92 Martin 3,333
93 Rodney 3,304
94 Alfred 3,238
95 Ray 3,169
96 Keith 2,860
97 Herbert 2,818
98 Gene 2,759
99 Curtis 2,723
100 Clifford 2,616

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 67,471
2 Linda 52,710
3 Patricia 46,297
4 Barbara 45,126
5 Carol 34,284
6 Sandra 31,692
7 Nancy 28,345
8 Susan 28,267
9 Sharon 27,824
10 Judith 22,310
11 Judy 20,477
12 Carolyn 19,902
13 Donna 19,770
14 Betty 19,711
15 Karen 19,647
16 Kathleen 18,760
17 Margaret 18,136
18 Shirley 17,870
19 Diane 15,835
20 Joyce 15,209
21 Janet 14,142
22 Janice 14,039
23 Dorothy 12,797
24 Brenda 12,690
25 Elizabeth 11,753
26 Gloria 11,686
27 Cheryl 11,526
28 Joan 11,218
29 Marilyn 10,711
30 Beverly 10,430
31 Virginia 10,015
32 Martha 9,759
33 Bonnie 9,510
34 Pamela 9,367
35 Jane 8,971
36 Helen 8,852
37 Jean 8,554
38 Ruth 8,474
39 Frances 8,450
40 Ann 8,077
41 Phyllis 8,048
42 Diana 7,544
43 Peggy 7,400
44 Alice 7,363
45 Connie 7,215
46 Cynthia 6,895
47 Elaine 6,803
48 Catherine 6,367
49 Gail 6,227
50 Christine 6,202
51 Doris 5,987
52 Suzanne 5,948
53 Jo 5,828
54 Marie 5,758
55 Lois 5,700
56 Rita 5,533
57 Joanne 5,506
58 Ellen 5,237
59 Wanda 5,235
60 Rose 5,183
61 Sue 5,144
62 Jacqueline 5,083
63 Kathryn 4,999
64 Charlotte 4,970
65 Evelyn 4,890
66 Geraldine 4,849
67 Sally 4,842
68 Rebecca 4,840
69 Paula 4,724
70 Sheila 4,706
71 Darlene 4,662
72 Carole 4,621
73 Sherry 4,518
74 Rosemary 4,486
75 Laura 4,478
76 Dianne 4,278
77 Norma 4,266
78 Katherine 4,197
79 Kathy 4,179
80 Eileen 4,168
81 Anne 4,115
82 Sylvia 4,093
83 Jeanne 4,045
84 Anita 4,027
85 Patsy 4,017
86 Roberta 4,016
87 Anna 3,999
88 Maria 3,960
89 Marcia 3,946
90 Joann 3,945
91 Louise 3,925
92 Sarah 3,910
93 Lorraine 3,886
94 Lynn 3,884
95 Maureen 3,684
96 Theresa 3,684
97 Annie 3,651
98 Marsha 3,611
99 Glenda 3,568
100 Constance 3,419
← 1945
1947 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1946 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1945 Top Names
National top 100
1947 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
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Compare 1946 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.