Top Baby Names of 1957

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1957.

What the Data Says About 1957

The Social Security Administration's national 1957 file shows 2,951,337 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 1957 was Michael, with 92,786 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1957 was Mary, with 61,103 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,636,281 births compared with 1,315,056 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.

1957 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1957 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 1957 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 1957. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1957 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1957 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.

← 1956
1957
1958 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 92,786
2 James 84,343
3 David 82,404
4 Robert 81,776
5 John 79,032
6 William 56,850
7 Mark 52,843
8 Richard 52,446
9 Thomas 44,624
10 Steven 36,844
11 Charles 34,282
12 Joseph 31,853
13 Gary 29,531
14 Kenneth 28,060
15 Donald 27,909
16 Daniel 27,339
17 Ronald 27,211
18 Paul 27,012
19 Timothy 24,733
20 Kevin 24,286
21 Jeffrey 23,980
22 Larry 21,938
23 Gregory 21,475
24 Stephen 19,727
25 Edward 18,711
26 Brian 17,524
27 Anthony 17,059
28 Dennis 16,913
29 George 16,883
30 Douglas 16,731
31 Randy 16,466
32 Scott 15,749
33 Terry 15,618
34 Bruce 13,882
35 Jerry 13,284
36 Keith 12,437
37 Peter 11,604
38 Frank 11,268
39 Raymond 10,814
40 Ricky 10,575
41 Patrick 10,354
42 Roger 9,865
43 Christopher 8,998
44 Steve 8,908
45 Danny 8,822
46 Lawrence 8,742
47 Wayne 8,687
48 Alan 8,209
49 Carl 8,192
50 Dale 7,865
51 Gerald 7,596
52 Jeffery 7,507
53 Mike 7,247
54 Russell 7,224
55 Craig 7,069
56 Andrew 6,996
57 Joe 6,766
58 Walter 6,706
59 Randall 6,676
60 Eric 6,620
61 Johnny 6,507
62 Glenn 6,267
63 Willie 6,212
64 Billy 6,147
65 Roy 6,064
66 Arthur 6,053
67 Jack 6,024
68 Philip 6,012
69 Martin 5,966
70 Rodney 5,863
71 Tony 5,858
72 Barry 5,790
73 Ronnie 5,777
74 Harold 5,751
75 Henry 5,734
76 Ralph 5,708
77 Jimmy 5,669
78 Bobby 5,617
79 Phillip 5,543
80 Curtis 5,342
81 Stanley 5,267
82 Samuel 5,237
83 Matthew 5,236
84 Albert 5,045
85 Micheal 4,830
86 Louis 4,695
87 Rick 4,663
88 Jay 4,630
89 Howard 4,615
90 Darrell 4,571
91 Allen 4,413
92 Eugene 4,410
93 Dean 4,387
94 Leonard 4,341
95 Eddie 4,113
96 Jeff 4,092
97 Vincent 4,083
98 Victor 4,081
99 Frederick 4,011
100 Harry 3,806

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 61,103
2 Susan 45,952
3 Linda 44,515
4 Debra 42,727
5 Karen 40,590
6 Deborah 40,095
7 Cynthia 39,340
8 Patricia 39,282
9 Barbara 29,691
10 Donna 28,042
11 Nancy 27,516
12 Pamela 25,014
13 Brenda 24,338
14 Sharon 24,299
15 Sandra 22,766
16 Cheryl 22,644
17 Diane 22,089
18 Carol 21,898
19 Cindy 20,272
20 Kathy 20,235
21 Kathleen 19,742
22 Elizabeth 17,491
23 Janet 15,753
24 Teresa 15,686
25 Denise 15,144
26 Lisa 15,140
27 Debbie 14,383
28 Julie 13,633
29 Margaret 13,013
30 Robin 12,579
31 Laura 12,179
32 Janice 11,968
33 Carolyn 11,575
34 Rebecca 11,482
35 Kim 11,427
36 Theresa 11,188
37 Catherine 11,150
38 Judy 10,544
39 Cathy 10,325
40 Joyce 10,157
41 Christine 9,575
42 Kimberly 9,453
43 Diana 9,433
44 Ann 9,040
45 Lori 8,964
46 Shirley 8,855
47 Connie 8,765
48 Beverly 8,560
49 Paula 8,544
50 Betty 8,479
51 Vicki 8,105
52 Rhonda 8,051
53 Judith 8,022
54 Gail 7,952
55 Sherry 7,805
56 Jane 7,788
57 Darlene 7,784
58 Sheila 7,764
59 Wanda 7,712
60 Joan 7,584
61 Lynn 7,442
62 Peggy 7,384
63 Martha 7,362
64 Bonnie 7,241
65 Kathryn 7,211
66 Gloria 7,120
67 Jean 7,049
68 Terri 6,972
69 Rose 6,896
70 Vickie 6,846
71 Maria 6,779
72 Katherine 6,637
73 Laurie 6,543
74 Dorothy 6,405
75 Virginia 6,238
76 Valerie 6,231
77 Leslie 6,103
78 Rita 6,018
79 Michelle 5,982
80 Tina 5,857
81 Anita 5,811
82 Marilyn 5,743
83 Jo 5,717
84 Ruth 5,667
85 Ellen 5,588
86 Anne 5,486
87 Jennifer 5,485
88 Victoria 5,328
89 Angela 5,326
90 Phyllis 5,305
91 Jacqueline 5,288
92 Terry 5,266
93 Dawn 5,159
94 Joanne 5,111
95 Helen 5,020
96 Elaine 5,013
97 Annette 4,887
98 Marie 4,863
99 Michele 4,746
100 Jill 4,729
← 1956
1958 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1957 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1956 Top Names
National top 100
1958 Top Names
National top 100
1950s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1957 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 official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details.