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 2,951,310 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 92,781 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1957 was Mary, with 61,102 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,636,245 births compared with 1,315,065 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 92,781
2 James 84,337
3 David 82,403
4 Robert 81,765
5 John 79,033
6 William 56,852
7 Mark 52,841
8 Richard 52,446
9 Thomas 44,625
10 Steven 36,842
11 Charles 34,283
12 Joseph 31,851
13 Gary 29,530
14 Kenneth 28,064
15 Donald 27,910
16 Daniel 27,337
17 Ronald 27,209
18 Paul 27,012
19 Timothy 24,733
20 Kevin 24,285
21 Jeffrey 23,982
22 Larry 21,941
23 Gregory 21,472
24 Stephen 19,726
25 Edward 18,711
26 Brian 17,519
27 Anthony 17,057
28 Dennis 16,917
29 George 16,887
30 Douglas 16,730
31 Randy 16,464
32 Scott 15,750
33 Terry 15,624
34 Bruce 13,882
35 Jerry 13,283
36 Keith 12,437
37 Peter 11,603
38 Frank 11,268
39 Raymond 10,810
40 Ricky 10,574
41 Patrick 10,353
42 Roger 9,866
43 Christopher 8,997
44 Steve 8,910
45 Danny 8,820
46 Lawrence 8,741
47 Wayne 8,687
48 Alan 8,208
49 Carl 8,192
50 Dale 7,866
51 Gerald 7,595
52 Jeffery 7,508
53 Mike 7,247
54 Russell 7,223
55 Craig 7,069
56 Andrew 6,997
57 Joe 6,767
58 Walter 6,707
59 Randall 6,675
60 Eric 6,621
61 Johnny 6,507
62 Glenn 6,267
63 Willie 6,211
64 Billy 6,146
65 Roy 6,063
66 Arthur 6,052
67 Jack 6,024
68 Philip 6,012
69 Martin 5,965
70 Rodney 5,862
71 Tony 5,857
72 Barry 5,790
73 Ronnie 5,778
74 Harold 5,752
75 Henry 5,733
76 Ralph 5,709
77 Jimmy 5,667
78 Bobby 5,617
79 Phillip 5,544
80 Curtis 5,342
81 Stanley 5,268
82 Samuel 5,236
83 Matthew 5,234
84 Albert 5,049
85 Micheal 4,831
86 Louis 4,695
87 Rick 4,663
88 Jay 4,630
89 Howard 4,614
90 Darrell 4,570
91 Allen 4,412
92 Eugene 4,410
93 Dean 4,387
94 Leonard 4,340
95 Eddie 4,112
96 Jeff 4,092
97 Vincent 4,083
98 Victor 4,080
99 Frederick 4,010
100 Harry 3,806

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 61,102
2 Susan 45,954
3 Linda 44,517
4 Debra 42,728
5 Karen 40,591
6 Deborah 40,096
7 Cynthia 39,340
8 Patricia 39,283
9 Barbara 29,692
10 Donna 28,042
11 Nancy 27,515
12 Pamela 25,015
13 Brenda 24,339
14 Sharon 24,298
15 Sandra 22,765
16 Cheryl 22,643
17 Diane 22,090
18 Carol 21,898
19 Cindy 20,272
20 Kathy 20,237
21 Kathleen 19,742
22 Elizabeth 17,492
23 Janet 15,753
24 Teresa 15,687
25 Denise 15,145
26 Lisa 15,142
27 Debbie 14,382
28 Julie 13,631
29 Margaret 13,013
30 Robin 12,579
31 Laura 12,181
32 Janice 11,968
33 Carolyn 11,575
34 Rebecca 11,482
35 Kim 11,426
36 Theresa 11,188
37 Catherine 11,151
38 Judy 10,542
39 Cathy 10,325
40 Joyce 10,155
41 Christine 9,575
42 Kimberly 9,454
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 8,024
54 Gail 7,952
55 Sherry 7,804
56 Jane 7,788
57 Darlene 7,784
58 Sheila 7,763
59 Wanda 7,713
60 Joan 7,584
61 Lynn 7,442
62 Peggy 7,383
63 Martha 7,361
64 Bonnie 7,242
65 Kathryn 7,211
66 Gloria 7,123
67 Jean 7,048
68 Terri 6,972
69 Rose 6,896
70 Vickie 6,845
71 Maria 6,778
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 5,718
84 Ruth 5,667
85 Ellen 5,589
86 Anne 5,486
87 Jennifer 5,483
88 Victoria 5,328
89 Angela 5,326
90 Phyllis 5,306
91 Jacqueline 5,288
92 Terry 5,266
93 Dawn 5,159
94 Joanne 5,110
95 Helen 5,019
96 Elaine 5,013
97 Annette 4,888
98 Marie 4,862
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
All Rankings
Browse ranking types

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 the U.S. Social Security Administration. See our methodology for details.