Top Baby Names of 1947

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1947.

What the Data Says About 1947

The Social Security Administration's national 1947 file shows 2,642,341 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 1947 was James, with 94,763 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1947 was Linda, with 99,693 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,421,454 births compared with 1,220,887 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.

1947 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1947 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 Linda leading 1947 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 1947. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1947 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1947 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.

← 1946
1947
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Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 94,763
2 Robert 91,654
3 John 88,321
4 William 67,001
5 Richard 58,531
6 David 57,809
7 Michael 50,505
8 Thomas 44,840
9 Charles 40,779
10 Larry 34,945
11 Ronald 34,900
12 Gary 30,030
13 Donald 28,260
14 Joseph 27,521
15 Kenneth 24,584
16 George 23,913
17 Dennis 23,686
18 Paul 22,793
19 Edward 20,539
20 Jerry 18,791
21 Stephen 15,328
22 Daniel 15,189
23 Frank 13,995
24 Steven 13,529
25 Roger 12,760
26 Terry 12,751
27 Raymond 12,352
28 Gerald 10,750
29 Bruce 10,524
30 Wayne 10,168
31 Douglas 9,893
32 Lawrence 9,582
33 Gregory 9,327
34 Walter 9,217
35 Harold 8,904
36 Peter 8,590
37 Jack 8,507
38 Arthur 8,255
39 Danny 8,069
40 Carl 8,051
41 Anthony 8,014
42 Willie 7,995
43 Joe 7,904
44 Jimmy 7,881
45 Alan 7,823
46 Henry 7,808
47 Mark 7,773
48 Roy 7,560
49 Johnny 7,442
50 Ralph 7,389
51 Billy 6,932
52 Timothy 6,747
53 Patrick 6,621
54 Harry 6,515
55 Albert 6,462
56 Fred 6,392
57 Philip 6,236
58 Steve 6,231
59 Eugene 6,178
60 Bobby 6,116
61 Ronnie 6,109
62 Howard 6,061
63 Dale 5,936
64 Louis 5,778
65 Mike 5,750
66 Jeffrey 5,666
67 Stanley 5,502
68 Barry 5,472
69 Russell 5,270
70 Glenn 5,157
71 Leonard 5,157
72 Samuel 5,109
73 Allen 5,075
74 Phillip 4,789
75 Ernest 4,786
76 Bill 4,681
77 Jim 4,640
78 Frederick 4,637
79 Tommy 4,594
80 Eddie 4,457
81 Norman 4,410
82 Andrew 4,346
83 Earl 4,242
84 Francis 4,207
85 Melvin 4,168
86 Don 4,005
87 Tom 3,922
88 Clarence 3,920
89 Marvin 3,773
90 Martin 3,724
91 Keith 3,683
92 Lee 3,676
93 Craig 3,640
94 Rodney 3,564
95 Brian 3,450
96 Alfred 3,417
97 Ray 3,378
98 Leroy 3,347
99 Curtis 3,037
100 Bernard 2,994

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Linda 99,693
2 Mary 71,689
3 Patricia 51,278
4 Barbara 48,800
5 Sandra 34,779
6 Carol 33,543
7 Nancy 32,445
8 Susan 31,951
9 Sharon 28,533
10 Donna 23,518
11 Kathleen 22,095
12 Judith 21,996
13 Karen 21,648
14 Judy 21,036
15 Carolyn 20,741
16 Margaret 20,102
17 Betty 18,964
18 Diane 17,775
19 Shirley 17,647
20 Joyce 15,914
21 Brenda 15,830
22 Janice 15,409
23 Janet 15,236
24 Cheryl 13,890
25 Elizabeth 13,439
26 Dorothy 12,753
27 Gloria 12,626
28 Pamela 12,398
29 Marilyn 11,881
30 Joan 11,276
31 Beverly 11,205
32 Martha 10,652
33 Cynthia 10,530
34 Virginia 10,407
35 Bonnie 10,215
36 Jane 9,942
37 Phyllis 9,187
38 Helen 8,979
39 Frances 8,943
40 Jean 8,940
41 Ann 8,894
42 Peggy 8,877
43 Connie 8,645
44 Ruth 8,481
45 Christine 8,377
46 Catherine 7,889
47 Alice 7,849
48 Diana 7,622
49 Gail 7,242
50 Elaine 7,058
51 Jo 6,724
52 Rebecca 6,333
53 Suzanne 6,231
54 Paula 6,102
55 Kathryn 6,091
56 Joanne 6,063
57 Marie 6,057
58 Doris 6,029
59 Jacqueline 6,011
60 Rita 5,982
61 Ellen 5,856
62 Deborah 5,837
63 Lois 5,717
64 Kathy 5,697
65 Rose 5,654
66 Wanda 5,649
67 Sherry 5,579
68 Charlotte 5,386
69 Sue 5,306
70 Sally 5,265
71 Darlene 5,255
72 Evelyn 5,243
73 Sheila 5,095
74 Laura 5,051
75 Lynn 4,994
76 Katherine 4,885
77 Lynda 4,840
78 Geraldine 4,811
79 Maria 4,712
80 Rosemary 4,542
81 Marcia 4,472
82 Norma 4,425
83 Dianne 4,415
84 Lorraine 4,414
85 Theresa 4,390
86 Jeanne 4,364
87 Patsy 4,344
88 Marsha 4,339
89 Joann 4,276
90 Roberta 4,261
91 Eileen 4,251
92 Anna 4,238
93 Sarah 4,223
94 Anita 4,187
95 Anne 4,187
96 Glenda 4,156
97 Sylvia 4,100
98 Maureen 4,085
99 Louise 4,050
100 Constance 3,894
← 1946
1948 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1947 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1946 Top Names
National top 100
1948 Top Names
National top 100
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Compare 1947 leaders: James vs Linda → 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.