Top Baby Names of 1950

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1950.

What the Data Says About 1950

The Social Security Administration's national 1950 file shows 2,552,660 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 1950 was James, with 86,228 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1950 was Linda, with 80,433 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,388,981 births compared with 1,163,679 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.

1950 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1950 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 1950 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 1950. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1950 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1950 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.

← 1949
1950
1951 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 86,228
2 Robert 83,553
3 John 79,412
4 Michael 65,136
5 David 60,729
6 William 60,680
7 Richard 51,003
8 Thomas 45,596
9 Charles 39,095
10 Gary 33,737
11 Larry 31,480
12 Ronald 29,908
13 Joseph 27,022
14 Donald 26,999
15 Kenneth 23,813
16 Steven 23,250
17 Dennis 22,862
18 Paul 21,742
19 Stephen 20,511
20 George 20,183
21 Daniel 19,189
22 Edward 18,714
23 Mark 16,604
24 Jerry 15,261
25 Gregory 13,311
26 Bruce 12,674
27 Roger 12,552
28 Douglas 12,264
29 Frank 11,606
30 Terry 11,433
31 Raymond 11,180
32 Timothy 10,499
33 Lawrence 10,173
34 Gerald 9,726
35 Wayne 9,259
36 Anthony 8,612
37 Peter 8,362
38 Patrick 8,179
39 Danny 8,143
40 Walter 7,798
41 Alan 7,737
42 Willie 7,717
43 Jeffrey 7,644
44 Carl 7,288
45 Harold 7,214
46 Arthur 7,161
47 Henry 6,963
48 Jack 6,840
49 Dale 6,785
50 Johnny 6,581
51 Roy 6,454
52 Ralph 6,406
53 Philip 6,070
54 Joe 6,033
55 Jimmy 5,761
56 Albert 5,754
57 Billy 5,674
58 Eugene 5,481
59 Glenn 5,465
60 Stanley 5,453
61 Harry 5,375
62 Samuel 5,227
63 Howard 5,164
64 Phillip 5,055
65 Bobby 5,019
66 Louis 4,947
67 Russell 4,945
68 Andrew 4,932
69 Craig 4,888
70 Randall 4,843
71 Allen 4,840
72 Christopher 4,835
73 Kevin 4,752
74 Barry 4,694
75 Frederick 4,659
76 Ronnie 4,616
77 Leonard 4,581
78 Keith 4,566
79 Brian 4,441
80 Randy 4,354
81 Ernest 4,308
82 Scott 4,268
83 Steve 4,207
84 Fred 4,195
85 Martin 4,180
86 Francis 4,082
87 Melvin 3,886
88 Rodney 3,856
89 Eddie 3,760
90 Norman 3,641
91 Lee 3,611
92 Earl 3,589
93 Marvin 3,493
94 Tommy 3,434
95 Clarence 3,340
96 Alfred 3,235
97 Curtis 3,209
98 Eric 3,095
99 Theodore 2,960
100 Clifford 2,940

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Linda 80,433
2 Mary 65,481
3 Patricia 47,944
4 Barbara 41,556
5 Susan 38,017
6 Nancy 29,617
7 Deborah 29,063
8 Sandra 28,896
9 Carol 26,163
10 Kathleen 25,706
11 Sharon 24,612
12 Karen 24,132
13 Donna 21,629
14 Brenda 20,799
15 Margaret 18,110
16 Diane 17,636
17 Pamela 16,202
18 Janet 16,193
19 Shirley 15,891
20 Carolyn 15,588
21 Judith 15,352
22 Janice 15,012
23 Cynthia 14,447
24 Elizabeth 14,334
25 Judy 14,207
26 Betty 13,615
27 Joyce 13,415
28 Christine 12,673
29 Cheryl 11,823
30 Gloria 11,037
31 Beverly 10,503
32 Martha 9,839
33 Bonnie 9,746
34 Catherine 9,655
35 Dorothy 9,551
36 Rebecca 9,425
37 Marilyn 9,285
38 Kathy 9,090
39 Jane 8,964
40 Joan 8,860
41 Peggy 8,532
42 Gail 8,350
43 Virginia 8,312
44 Connie 8,145
45 Ann 7,921
46 Kathryn 7,863
47 Diana 7,447
48 Jean 7,432
49 Ruth 7,128
50 Helen 7,061
51 Frances 6,975
52 Wanda 6,929
53 Phyllis 6,695
54 Paula 6,631
55 Jacqueline 6,455
56 Rita 6,424
57 Alice 6,363
58 Katherine 6,205
59 Debra 6,176
60 Elaine 6,037
61 Vicki 5,823
62 Sherry 5,808
63 Laura 5,725
64 Jo 5,676
65 Theresa 5,628
66 Ellen 5,567
67 Joanne 5,491
68 Marsha 5,400
69 Rose 5,376
70 Sheila 5,322
71 Suzanne 5,266
72 Marie 5,222
73 Maria 5,076
74 Doris 5,053
75 Cathy 5,031
76 Lynn 5,020
77 Marcia 4,955
78 Sally 4,870
79 Darlene 4,830
80 Charlotte 4,735
81 Teresa 4,724
82 Denise 4,514
83 Lois 4,504
84 Anne 4,459
85 Constance 4,441
86 Evelyn 4,275
87 Glenda 4,215
88 Sarah 4,143
89 Maureen 4,070
90 Dianne 3,921
91 Eileen 3,883
92 Irene 3,825
93 Anna 3,815
94 Victoria 3,781
95 Jeanne 3,736
96 Roberta 3,630
97 Sylvia 3,612
98 Joann 3,600
99 Anita 3,572
100 Sue 3,503
← 1949
1951 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1950 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1949 Top Names
National top 100
1951 Top Names
National top 100
1950s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
Browse ranking types

Compare 1950 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.