Top Baby Names of 1949

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1949.

What the Data Says About 1949

The Social Security Administration's national 1949 file shows 2,541,029 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 1949 was James, with 86,859 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1949 was Linda, with 91,016 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,373,388 births compared with 1,167,641 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.

1949 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1949 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 1949 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 1949. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1949 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1949 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.

← 1948
1949
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Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 86,859
2 Robert 83,876
3 John 81,180
4 William 61,504
5 Michael 60,046
6 David 59,610
7 Richard 50,947
8 Thomas 45,195
9 Charles 40,047
10 Larry 31,817
11 Ronald 31,497
12 Gary 28,933
13 Donald 27,121
14 Joseph 26,407
15 Kenneth 23,588
16 Dennis 21,747
17 Paul 21,589
18 George 21,309
19 Stephen 20,488
20 Steven 19,923
21 Edward 19,172
22 Daniel 18,240
23 Jerry 15,870
24 Mark 13,726
25 Roger 12,821
26 Bruce 12,265
27 Frank 11,960
28 Terry 11,457
29 Douglas 11,321
30 Raymond 11,305
31 Gregory 10,979
32 Lawrence 10,253
33 Gerald 9,809
34 Timothy 9,346
35 Wayne 8,927
36 Anthony 8,451
37 Walter 8,296
38 Peter 8,265
39 Patrick 8,074
40 Danny 8,023
41 Willie 7,917
42 Harold 7,817
43 Carl 7,689
44 Arthur 7,481
45 Alan 7,255
46 Henry 7,183
47 Jack 7,128
48 Jeffrey 6,987
49 Johnny 6,968
50 Ralph 6,748
51 Roy 6,622
52 Joe 6,535
53 Jimmy 6,417
54 Dale 6,229
55 Philip 6,224
56 Albert 6,063
57 Billy 5,821
58 Eugene 5,595
59 Harry 5,543
60 Stanley 5,527
61 Glenn 5,414
62 Samuel 5,357
63 Howard 5,284
64 Ronnie 5,237
65 Louis 5,235
66 Phillip 5,201
67 Bobby 5,120
68 Steve 5,027
69 Russell 5,007
70 Frederick 4,747
71 Allen 4,735
72 Fred 4,731
73 Barry 4,607
74 Leonard 4,551
75 Andrew 4,512
76 Ernest 4,346
77 Craig 4,327
78 Francis 4,282
79 Randall 4,161
80 Eddie 4,105
81 Christopher 3,999
82 Melvin 3,972
83 Martin 3,902
84 Tommy 3,886
85 Keith 3,878
86 Brian 3,854
87 Rodney 3,826
88 Mike 3,742
89 Marvin 3,725
90 Norman 3,668
91 Earl 3,653
92 Randy 3,623
93 Lee 3,562
94 Clarence 3,395
95 Kevin 3,292
96 Alfred 3,189
97 Curtis 3,088
98 Don 3,060
99 Scott 3,055
100 Theodore 3,041

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Linda 91,016
2 Mary 66,869
3 Patricia 46,325
4 Barbara 42,599
5 Susan 37,709
6 Sandra 30,643
7 Nancy 29,248
8 Carol 26,781
9 Kathleen 26,357
10 Sharon 25,713
11 Karen 22,468
12 Donna 22,056
13 Brenda 20,544
14 Margaret 19,452
15 Deborah 19,210
16 Judith 17,610
17 Carolyn 17,404
18 Shirley 17,282
19 Diane 17,251
20 Judy 15,979
21 Pamela 15,132
22 Betty 14,937
23 Janet 14,859
24 Janice 14,453
25 Elizabeth 13,714
26 Joyce 13,572
27 Cynthia 12,900
28 Cheryl 12,007
29 Gloria 11,878
30 Christine 11,798
31 Beverly 10,552
32 Dorothy 10,409
33 Marilyn 9,865
34 Martha 9,809
35 Bonnie 9,731
36 Joan 9,206
37 Catherine 9,137
38 Peggy 9,118
39 Virginia 8,895
40 Rebecca 8,778
41 Jane 8,719
42 Kathy 8,451
43 Connie 8,219
44 Ann 7,870
45 Jean 7,760
46 Helen 7,707
47 Ruth 7,651
48 Diana 7,535
49 Frances 7,440
50 Phyllis 7,315
51 Gail 7,225
52 Kathryn 7,184
53 Alice 6,660
54 Rita 6,654
55 Paula 6,577
56 Wanda 6,307
57 Elaine 6,214
58 Jacqueline 6,039
59 Katherine 6,039
60 Jo 5,802
61 Joanne 5,746
62 Suzanne 5,609
63 Theresa 5,603
64 Ellen 5,505
65 Laura 5,384
66 Rose 5,371
67 Marie 5,306
68 Sherry 5,295
69 Doris 5,284
70 Vicki 5,193
71 Charlotte 5,142
72 Maria 5,123
73 Lois 4,915
74 Lynn 4,880
75 Darlene 4,799
76 Sheila 4,774
77 Sally 4,773
78 Marcia 4,650
79 Marsha 4,611
80 Evelyn 4,529
81 Cathy 4,407
82 Teresa 4,328
83 Constance 4,327
84 Sarah 4,295
85 Dianne 4,141
86 Anne 4,052
87 Glenda 3,975
88 Sue 3,926
89 Maureen 3,923
90 Geraldine 3,919
91 Anna 3,897
92 Jeanne 3,865
93 Lynda 3,830
94 Sylvia 3,816
95 Eileen 3,722
96 Victoria 3,669
97 Roberta 3,660
98 Rosemary 3,633
99 Anita 3,589
100 Charlene 3,541
← 1948
1950 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1949 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1948 Top Names
National top 100
1950 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
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Compare 1949 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.