Top Baby Names of 1948

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1948.

What the Data Says About 1948

The Social Security Administration's national 1948 file shows 2,517,682 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 1948 was James, with 88,605 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1948 was Linda, with 96,220 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,356,525 births compared with 1,161,157 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.

1948 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1948 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 1948 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 1948. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1948 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1948 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.

← 1947
1948
1949 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 88,605
2 Robert 85,478
3 John 82,834
4 William 61,972
5 David 56,627
6 Michael 52,566
7 Richard 50,970
8 Thomas 43,780
9 Charles 38,676
10 Ronald 33,527
11 Larry 33,436
12 Gary 28,397
13 Joseph 26,801
14 Donald 26,442
15 Kenneth 23,550
16 George 21,926
17 Dennis 21,765
18 Paul 21,252
19 Edward 18,983
20 Stephen 17,061
21 Jerry 16,809
22 Daniel 16,510
23 Steven 15,979
24 Roger 12,818
25 Frank 12,698
26 Terry 12,136
27 Raymond 11,612
28 Bruce 11,065
29 Mark 10,267
30 Gerald 9,842
31 Lawrence 9,768
32 Gregory 9,724
33 Douglas 9,468
34 Wayne 8,682
35 Walter 8,627
36 Harold 8,144
37 Peter 8,048
38 Timothy 8,043
39 Danny 8,009
40 Willie 7,971
41 Anthony 7,878
42 Carl 7,829
43 Jack 7,612
44 Arthur 7,576
45 Henry 7,421
46 Alan 7,394
47 Joe 7,288
48 Patrick 7,192
49 Roy 7,067
50 Jimmy 6,927
51 Ralph 6,915
52 Johnny 6,862
53 Billy 6,220
54 Philip 6,162
55 Albert 6,156
56 Dale 6,091
57 Harry 5,945
58 Jeffrey 5,929
59 Ronnie 5,902
60 Steve 5,742
61 Eugene 5,608
62 Bobby 5,581
63 Howard 5,497
64 Louis 5,386
65 Stanley 5,383
66 Fred 5,376
67 Russell 5,109
68 Mike 5,045
69 Phillip 5,018
70 Samuel 5,002
71 Leonard 4,781
72 Allen 4,755
73 Glenn 4,740
74 Barry 4,670
75 Frederick 4,516
76 Ernest 4,512
77 Andrew 4,305
78 Eddie 4,234
79 Tommy 4,220
80 Francis 4,214
81 Melvin 4,057
82 Craig 3,985
83 Earl 3,977
84 Bill 3,926
85 Norman 3,894
86 Jim 3,808
87 Clarence 3,790
88 Martin 3,698
89 Keith 3,660
90 Marvin 3,625
91 Don 3,546
92 Rodney 3,466
93 Lee 3,445
94 Tom 3,429
95 Brian 3,358
96 Alfred 3,245
97 Leroy 3,234
98 Randall 3,179
99 Randy 3,141
100 Ray 3,134

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Linda 96,220
2 Mary 68,597
3 Barbara 46,826
4 Patricia 46,140
5 Susan 35,988
6 Sandra 31,063
7 Nancy 29,411
8 Carol 28,977
9 Sharon 26,143
10 Kathleen 23,257
11 Donna 22,033
12 Karen 21,996
13 Margaret 18,873
14 Carolyn 18,623
15 Judith 17,787
16 Judy 17,706
17 Brenda 17,700
18 Betty 16,625
19 Diane 16,607
20 Shirley 16,121
21 Joyce 14,380
22 Pamela 14,281
23 Janice 14,162
24 Janet 13,977
25 Cheryl 13,220
26 Elizabeth 13,215
27 Cynthia 12,240
28 Gloria 11,690
29 Dorothy 11,324
30 Deborah 11,244
31 Beverly 10,795
32 Martha 10,011
33 Marilyn 9,937
34 Bonnie 9,817
35 Christine 9,677
36 Virginia 9,296
37 Joan 9,275
38 Peggy 9,089
39 Jane 8,781
40 Helen 8,301
41 Catherine 8,244
42 Frances 8,179
43 Connie 8,055
44 Ann 8,025
45 Ruth 7,903
46 Phyllis 7,876
47 Jean 7,774
48 Diana 7,706
49 Alice 6,981
50 Rebecca 6,795
51 Gail 6,603
52 Paula 6,600
53 Elaine 6,403
54 Kathryn 6,177
55 Kathy 6,148
56 Jo 5,986
57 Wanda 5,918
58 Jacqueline 5,838
59 Rita 5,835
60 Marie 5,786
61 Sherry 5,717
62 Rose 5,556
63 Theresa 5,556
64 Doris 5,548
65 Joanne 5,499
66 Suzanne 5,448
67 Ellen 5,289
68 Katherine 5,169
69 Charlotte 5,164
70 Lois 5,077
71 Sheila 5,022
72 Sally 5,012
73 Laura 4,901
74 Evelyn 4,840
75 Maria 4,817
76 Marsha 4,725
77 Darlene 4,692
78 Sue 4,675
79 Marcia 4,640
80 Lynn 4,609
81 Vicki 4,365
82 Teresa 4,217
83 Geraldine 4,208
84 Lynda 4,167
85 Sarah 4,159
86 Dianne 4,138
87 Anne 4,122
88 Maureen 4,077
89 Anna 4,037
90 Rosemary 3,870
91 Eileen 3,838
92 Glenda 3,831
93 Constance 3,811
94 Joann 3,799
95 Jeanne 3,789
96 Lorraine 3,745
97 Annie 3,721
98 Patsy 3,714
99 Louise 3,685
100 Sylvia 3,671
← 1947
1949 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1948 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1947 Top Names
National top 100
1949 Top Names
National top 100
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Compare 1948 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 the U.S. Social Security Administration. See our methodology for details.