Top Baby Names of 1952

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1952.

What the Data Says About 1952

The Social Security Administration's national 1952 file shows 2,765,238 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 1952 was James, with 87,066 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1952 was Linda, with 67,081 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,511,924 births compared with 1,253,314 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.

1952 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1952 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 1952 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 1952. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1952 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1952 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.

← 1951
1952
1953 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 87,066
2 Robert 86,588
3 John 83,138
4 Michael 79,039
5 David 71,753
6 William 63,039
7 Richard 58,353
8 Thomas 48,650
9 Charles 38,865
10 Gary 38,753
11 Steven 32,037
12 Joseph 28,510
13 Donald 28,269
14 Larry 28,241
15 Ronald 27,801
16 Kenneth 25,910
17 Mark 25,678
18 Dennis 24,552
19 Paul 24,293
20 Daniel 23,420
21 Stephen 23,054
22 George 19,820
23 Edward 19,504
24 Gregory 15,190
25 Bruce 14,480
26 Jerry 14,438
27 Timothy 14,167
28 Douglas 13,680
29 Terry 12,438
30 Roger 12,132
31 Jeffrey 12,008
32 Frank 11,268
33 Raymond 11,235
34 Anthony 11,186
35 Lawrence 10,302
36 Peter 9,586
37 Patrick 9,175
38 Wayne 9,088
39 Gerald 9,031
40 Danny 8,821
41 Randy 8,646
42 Alan 8,310
43 Kevin 7,916
44 Walter 7,899
45 Carl 7,825
46 Dale 7,415
47 Arthur 7,236
48 Willie 7,196
49 Keith 7,174
50 Henry 6,974
51 Harold 6,956
52 Jack 6,938
53 Johnny 6,772
54 Scott 6,538
55 Roy 6,524
56 Ralph 6,469
57 Christopher 6,301
58 Stanley 6,226
59 Craig 6,187
60 Philip 6,154
61 Glenn 5,944
62 Randall 5,892
63 Joe 5,891
64 Brian 5,741
65 Billy 5,707
66 Albert 5,660
67 Samuel 5,648
68 Andrew 5,573
69 Barry 5,505
70 Russell 5,349
71 Eugene 5,314
72 Jimmy 5,311
73 Howard 5,244
74 Phillip 5,002
75 Harry 4,992
76 Frederick 4,979
77 Bobby 4,960
78 Allen 4,956
79 Louis 4,922
80 Martin 4,736
81 Ricky 4,655
82 Ronnie 4,636
83 Leonard 4,619
84 Rodney 4,403
85 Steve 4,313
86 Curtis 4,175
87 Ernest 4,122
88 Eric 3,990
89 Francis 3,979
90 Fred 3,960
91 Melvin 3,920
92 Lee 3,655
93 Eddie 3,644
94 Micheal 3,613
95 Marvin 3,575
96 Norman 3,572
97 Tommy 3,512
98 Earl 3,456
99 Clifford 3,317
100 Theodore 3,268

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Linda 67,081
2 Mary 65,627
3 Patricia 53,098
4 Deborah 49,812
5 Susan 41,348
6 Barbara 39,863
7 Nancy 31,739
8 Karen 28,957
9 Debra 26,832
10 Sandra 26,097
11 Kathleen 25,767
12 Carol 23,999
13 Donna 23,716
14 Sharon 23,387
15 Brenda 21,439
16 Diane 21,063
17 Pamela 20,880
18 Cynthia 19,879
19 Janet 17,921
20 Christine 17,548
21 Margaret 17,101
22 Elizabeth 16,023
23 Janice 14,978
24 Carolyn 14,272
25 Judith 14,064
26 Judy 13,632
27 Joyce 13,125
28 Shirley 12,529
29 Kathy 12,369
30 Rebecca 12,226
31 Cheryl 12,201
32 Betty 12,129
33 Denise 11,652
34 Catherine 11,053
35 Beverly 10,547
36 Gloria 10,458
37 Joan 10,277
38 Marilyn 9,803
39 Gail 9,760
40 Martha 9,696
41 Bonnie 9,382
42 Jane 9,322
43 Peggy 8,990
44 Connie 8,756
45 Ann 8,652
46 Dorothy 8,608
47 Paula 8,566
48 Kathryn 8,504
49 Virginia 8,161
50 Jean 7,511
51 Diana 7,393
52 Teresa 7,294
53 Laura 7,188
54 Wanda 7,163
55 Jo 7,092
56 Cathy 7,011
57 Ruth 6,953
58 Jacqueline 6,937
59 Katherine 6,891
60 Theresa 6,809
61 Vicki 6,774
62 Rose 6,553
63 Helen 6,464
64 Sheila 6,218
65 Phyllis 6,151
66 Rita 6,148
67 Frances 6,079
68 Sherry 5,956
69 Alice 5,908
70 Ellen 5,842
71 Lynn 5,818
72 Maria 5,694
73 Elaine 5,650
74 Victoria 5,603
75 Marsha 5,583
76 Vickie 5,482
77 Darlene 5,427
78 Joanne 5,351
79 Anne 5,257
80 Marcia 5,210
81 Sally 5,037
82 Marie 4,977
83 Doris 4,950
84 Suzanne 4,909
85 Julie 4,497
86 Lois 4,362
87 Valerie 4,263
88 Roberta 4,228
89 Charlotte 4,204
90 Evelyn 4,155
91 Anita 4,134
92 Constance 4,116
93 Sarah 4,048
94 Maureen 4,039
95 Rhonda 3,963
96 Dianne 3,895
97 Glenda 3,880
98 Jeanne 3,827
99 Sylvia 3,789
100 Eileen 3,742
← 1951
1953 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1952 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1951 Top Names
National top 100
1953 Top Names
National top 100
1950s Decade
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Compare 1952 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.