Top Baby Names of 1955

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1955.

What the Data Says About 1955

The Social Security Administration's national 1955 file shows 2,870,788 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 1955 was Michael, with 88,355 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1955 was Mary, with 63,174 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,588,432 births compared with 1,282,356 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.

1955 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1955 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. Michael and Mary leading 1955 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 1955. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1955 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1955 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.

← 1954
1955
1956 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 88,355
2 David 86,306
3 James 84,186
4 Robert 83,758
5 John 80,128
6 William 59,990
7 Richard 53,566
8 Thomas 45,855
9 Mark 42,255
10 Steven 37,847
11 Charles 35,365
12 Gary 34,433
13 Joseph 31,589
14 Donald 27,726
15 Kenneth 26,743
16 Paul 26,701
17 Daniel 26,460
18 Ronald 26,172
19 Larry 22,819
20 Jeffrey 22,533
21 Stephen 22,155
22 Timothy 20,738
23 Dennis 20,436
24 Gregory 19,815
25 Edward 19,280
26 George 18,167
27 Kevin 17,158
28 Terry 15,586
29 Douglas 15,311
30 Randy 14,958
31 Anthony 14,170
32 Bruce 14,082
33 Jerry 12,975
34 Frank 11,109
35 Peter 11,003
36 Raymond 10,994
37 Roger 10,979
38 Scott 10,782
39 Keith 10,418
40 Brian 10,109
41 Patrick 9,869
42 Lawrence 9,128
43 Alan 9,037
44 Wayne 8,728
45 Danny 8,721
46 Ricky 8,329
47 Carl 8,294
48 Gerald 8,072
49 Christopher 7,922
50 Craig 7,448
51 Walter 7,299
52 Dale 7,182
53 Randall 6,688
54 Willie 6,629
55 Johnny 6,620
56 Arthur 6,570
57 Russell 6,539
58 Roy 6,331
59 Glenn 6,258
60 Jack 6,200
61 Henry 6,187
62 Philip 6,162
63 Harold 6,096
64 Stanley 6,050
65 Rodney 6,047
66 Andrew 6,012
67 Ralph 5,965
68 Joe 5,856
69 Billy 5,769
70 Barry 5,599
71 Samuel 5,535
72 Steve 5,509
73 Jeffery 5,466
74 Phillip 5,411
75 Bobby 5,223
76 Albert 5,179
77 Martin 5,068
78 Jimmy 5,036
79 Curtis 4,981
80 Ronnie 4,969
81 Eugene 4,791
82 Louis 4,779
83 Howard 4,746
84 Allen 4,744
85 Eric 4,660
86 Frederick 4,552
87 Micheal 4,530
88 Leonard 4,260
89 Harry 4,139
90 Ernest 3,975
91 Darrell 3,902
92 Eddie 3,781
93 Tony 3,752
94 Marvin 3,659
95 Melvin 3,646
96 Lee 3,607
97 Fred 3,502
98 Kim 3,490
99 Vincent 3,482
100 Francis 3,439

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 63,174
2 Deborah 52,318
3 Linda 51,300
4 Debra 50,563
5 Susan 47,418
6 Patricia 46,226
7 Barbara 33,617
8 Karen 33,217
9 Nancy 30,023
10 Donna 27,940
11 Cynthia 27,178
12 Pamela 26,690
13 Sandra 25,112
14 Diane 23,290
15 Carol 22,046
16 Sharon 22,044
17 Kathleen 22,014
18 Brenda 19,114
19 Cheryl 19,111
20 Janet 17,920
21 Elizabeth 16,696
22 Kathy 15,324
23 Denise 14,560
24 Margaret 14,440
25 Janice 13,178
26 Teresa 13,126
27 Rebecca 12,398
28 Catherine 11,636
29 Joyce 11,287
30 Carolyn 11,179
31 Judith 10,436
32 Judy 10,376
33 Robin 10,217
34 Beverly 10,001
35 Connie 9,975
36 Betty 9,924
37 Shirley 9,755
38 Theresa 9,620
39 Paula 9,585
40 Christine 9,042
41 Laura 9,008
42 Gail 8,972
43 Ann 8,916
44 Cathy 8,665
45 Bonnie 8,637
46 Joan 8,557
47 Gloria 8,551
48 Lisa 8,539
49 Marilyn 8,409
50 Jane 8,343
51 Peggy 7,983
52 Vicki 7,975
53 Martha 7,930
54 Rose 7,852
55 Diana 7,847
56 Sherry 7,769
57 Sheila 7,661
58 Jo 7,656
59 Kathryn 7,640
60 Jean 7,480
61 Wanda 7,415
62 Lynn 7,355
63 Debbie 7,254
64 Dorothy 7,242
65 Katherine 7,239
66 Virginia 6,855
67 Julie 6,788
68 Vickie 6,637
69 Maria 6,210
70 Ruth 6,187
71 Rhonda 6,171
72 Rita 6,094
73 Jacqueline 6,041
74 Phyllis 5,689
75 Kim 5,687
76 Darlene 5,641
77 Elaine 5,635
78 Helen 5,592
79 Cindy 5,588
80 Valerie 5,512
81 Ellen 5,471
82 Victoria 5,359
83 Terry 5,353
84 Anne 5,218
85 Terri 5,153
86 Suzanne 5,137
87 Alice 5,079
88 Joanne 4,987
89 Lori 4,976
90 Wendy 4,955
91 Laurie 4,954
92 Marie 4,925
93 Michele 4,768
94 Anita 4,718
95 Sally 4,688
96 Frances 4,641
97 Michelle 4,526
98 Marcia 4,412
99 Leslie 4,405
100 Maureen 4,339
← 1954
1956 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1955 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1954 Top Names
National top 100
1956 Top Names
National top 100
1950s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
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Compare 1955 leaders: Michael vs Mary → 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.