Top Baby Names of 1959

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1959.

What the Data Says About 1959

The Social Security Administration's national 1959 file shows 2,862,374 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 1959 was Michael, with 85,294 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1959 was Mary, with 54,502 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,593,131 births compared with 1,269,243 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.

1959 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1959 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 1959 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 1959. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1959 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1959 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.

← 1958
1959
1960 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 85,294
2 David 83,977
3 James 78,648
4 John 76,446
5 Robert 74,542
6 Mark 56,945
7 William 51,386
8 Richard 47,202
9 Thomas 40,296
10 Steven 33,597
11 Charles 30,797
12 Timothy 30,783
13 Joseph 29,539
14 Kevin 26,790
15 Kenneth 26,640
16 Jeffrey 26,281
17 Paul 25,712
18 Daniel 25,155
19 Donald 23,876
20 Gary 23,303
21 Ronald 23,114
22 Brian 20,737
23 Gregory 19,889
24 Scott 19,765
25 Larry 18,434
26 Anthony 17,972
27 Edward 16,914
28 Stephen 16,504
29 Dennis 16,043
30 Douglas 15,290
31 Randy 15,042
32 George 15,012
33 Terry 14,545
34 Ricky 13,226
35 Christopher 12,915
36 Jerry 12,324
37 Mike 11,995
38 Bruce 11,914
39 Keith 11,758
40 Peter 11,289
41 Steve 11,068
42 Frank 10,942
43 Patrick 10,556
44 Craig 9,933
45 Raymond 9,796
46 Eric 9,726
47 Roger 8,794
48 Danny 8,727
49 Dale 8,343
50 Alan 8,151
51 Wayne 7,878
52 Jeff 7,730
53 Tony 7,564
54 Carl 7,501
55 Jeffery 7,487
56 Russell 7,480
57 Joe 7,389
58 Andrew 7,089
59 Randall 7,059
60 Tim 6,826
61 Gerald 6,636
62 Lawrence 6,601
63 Matthew 6,542
64 Johnny 6,311
65 Billy 6,308
66 Walter 6,128
67 Rodney 5,917
68 Philip 5,862
69 Jimmy 5,830
70 Jim 5,688
71 Bobby 5,677
72 Chris 5,676
73 Barry 5,601
74 Phillip 5,597
75 Curtis 5,536
76 Arthur 5,474
77 Ronnie 5,474
78 Willie 5,374
79 Martin 5,353
80 Glenn 5,352
81 Roy 5,183
82 Tom 5,068
83 Henry 5,061
84 Ralph 5,048
85 Jack 5,015
86 Samuel 4,953
87 Harold 4,943
88 Jay 4,940
89 Rick 4,936
90 Darrell 4,647
91 Greg 4,635
92 Albert 4,605
93 Bill 4,596
94 Bryan 4,488
95 Dean 4,425
96 Micheal 4,369
97 Allen 4,366
98 Stanley 4,343
99 Todd 4,332
100 Louis 4,311

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 54,502
2 Susan 41,617
3 Linda 40,410
4 Karen 36,784
5 Donna 36,468
6 Patricia 35,223
7 Debra 31,388
8 Cynthia 30,186
9 Deborah 29,546
10 Lisa 25,699
11 Barbara 25,359
12 Pamela 24,714
13 Sandra 23,359
14 Nancy 23,079
15 Kathy 21,814
16 Brenda 21,424
17 Sharon 21,292
18 Cheryl 20,947
19 Diane 19,972
20 Debbie 19,540
21 Elizabeth 18,421
22 Carol 18,140
23 Kathleen 17,629
24 Teresa 17,400
25 Cindy 16,973
26 Julie 16,211
27 Lori 15,032
28 Janet 14,964
29 Denise 14,662
30 Laura 14,528
31 Tammy 13,707
32 Robin 12,854
33 Kimberly 12,790
34 Theresa 11,656
35 Kim 11,594
36 Margaret 11,577
37 Janice 10,489
38 Rebecca 10,475
39 Cathy 10,408
40 Catherine 10,025
41 Judy 9,884
42 Carolyn 9,727
43 Christine 9,471
44 Ann 8,918
45 Rhonda 8,861
46 Terri 8,783
47 Michelle 8,776
48 Connie 8,655
49 Diana 8,637
50 Joyce 8,520
51 Paula 8,059
52 Sheila 7,984
53 Tina 7,919
54 Dawn 7,898
55 Beverly 7,796
56 Laurie 7,535
57 Peggy 7,416
58 Sherry 7,341
59 Betty 7,313
60 Valerie 7,302
61 Shirley 7,284
62 Maria 7,249
63 Lynn 7,058
64 Annette 6,919
65 Wanda 6,907
66 Darlene 6,876
67 Jane 6,864
68 Angela 6,772
69 Kathryn 6,746
70 Judith 6,566
71 Bonnie 6,456
72 Martha 6,439
73 Vicki 6,430
74 Kelly 6,380
75 Gail 6,344
76 Joan 6,337
77 Jean 6,233
78 Jennifer 6,233
79 Katherine 6,139
80 Beth 6,069
81 Gloria 5,924
82 Anne 5,745
83 Wendy 5,712
84 Leslie 5,652
85 Amy 5,580
86 Jill 5,554
87 Anita 5,474
88 Rose 5,446
89 Michele 5,445
90 Vickie 5,419
91 Ellen 5,396
92 Joanne 5,347
93 Virginia 5,256
94 Dorothy 5,231
95 Terry 5,215
96 Suzanne 5,161
97 Ruth 5,057
98 Rita 4,952
99 Anna 4,878
100 Renee 4,845
← 1958
1960 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1959 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1958 Top Names
National top 100
1960 Top Names
National top 100
1950s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1959 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.