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 2,517,661 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 88,604 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1948 was Linda, with 96,216 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,356,508 births compared with 1,161,153 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 88,604
2 Robert 85,475
3 John 82,832
4 William 61,970
5 David 56,624
6 Michael 52,566
7 Richard 50,969
8 Thomas 43,778
9 Charles 38,678
10 Ronald 33,524
11 Larry 33,434
12 Gary 28,396
13 Joseph 26,802
14 Donald 26,443
15 Kenneth 23,553
16 George 21,926
17 Dennis 21,763
18 Paul 21,252
19 Edward 18,983
20 Stephen 17,060
21 Jerry 16,808
22 Daniel 16,509
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 10,266
30 Gerald 9,842
31 Lawrence 9,768
32 Gregory 9,724
33 Douglas 9,470
34 Wayne 8,682
35 Walter 8,627
36 Harold 8,144
37 Peter 8,049
38 Timothy 8,043
39 Danny 8,008
40 Willie 7,970
41 Anthony 7,879
42 Carl 7,828
43 Jack 7,612
44 Arthur 7,577
45 Henry 7,420
46 Alan 7,394
47 Joe 7,287
48 Patrick 7,192
49 Roy 7,066
50 Jimmy 6,926
51 Ralph 6,915
52 Johnny 6,861
53 Billy 6,220
54 Philip 6,161
55 Albert 6,156
56 Dale 6,089
57 Harry 5,945
58 Jeffrey 5,930
59 Ronnie 5,902
60 Steve 5,741
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 5,003
71 Leonard 4,780
72 Allen 4,755
73 Glenn 4,740
74 Barry 4,670
75 Frederick 4,517
76 Ernest 4,513
77 Andrew 4,308
78 Eddie 4,235
79 Tommy 4,220
80 Francis 4,215
81 Melvin 4,057
82 Craig 3,986
83 Earl 3,976
84 Bill 3,926
85 Norman 3,894
86 Jim 3,808
87 Clarence 3,790
88 Martin 3,698
89 Keith 3,661
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 96,216
2 Mary 68,598
3 Barbara 46,824
4 Patricia 46,140
5 Susan 35,988
6 Sandra 31,062
7 Nancy 29,412
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 17,705
17 Brenda 17,699
18 Betty 16,625
19 Diane 16,607
20 Shirley 16,122
21 Joyce 14,381
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 11,691
29 Dorothy 11,322
30 Deborah 11,244
31 Beverly 10,796
32 Martha 10,011
33 Marilyn 9,937
34 Bonnie 9,818
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 5,919
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 5,547
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 4,674
79 Marcia 4,640
80 Lynn 4,609
81 Vicki 4,365
82 Teresa 4,217
83 Geraldine 4,208
84 Lynda 4,168
85 Sarah 4,159
86 Dianne 4,138
87 Anne 4,122
88 Maureen 4,077
89 Anna 4,037
90 Rosemary 3,869
91 Eileen 3,838
92 Glenda 3,831
93 Constance 3,812
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
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
Browse ranking types

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 official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details.