Top Baby Names of 1961
Most popular names for boys and girls in 1961.
What the Data Says About 1961
The Social Security Administration's national 1961 file shows 2,816,839 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 1961 was Michael, with 86,968 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1961 was Mary, with 47,688 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,580,242 births compared with 1,236,597 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.
1961 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1961 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 1961 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 1961. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1961 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1961 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.
Top 100 Boys' Names Boy
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 86,968 |
| 2 | David | 84,805 |
| 3 | John | 79,973 |
| 4 | James | 75,959 |
| 5 | Robert | 72,963 |
| 6 | Mark | 57,786 |
| 7 | William | 48,035 |
| 8 | Richard | 41,140 |
| 9 | Thomas | 37,568 |
| 10 | Steven | 32,273 |
| 11 | Jeffrey | 32,028 |
| 12 | Joseph | 29,454 |
| 13 | Charles | 29,196 |
| 14 | Kevin | 28,919 |
| 15 | Timothy | 28,246 |
| 16 | Kenneth | 26,101 |
| 17 | Daniel | 25,898 |
| 18 | Paul | 25,641 |
| 19 | Scott | 23,941 |
| 20 | Brian | 22,562 |
| 21 | Gary | 22,168 |
| 22 | Donald | 21,409 |
| 23 | Gregory | 21,360 |
| 24 | Ronald | 20,841 |
| 25 | Anthony | 20,204 |
| 26 | Christopher | 17,216 |
| 27 | Stephen | 16,061 |
| 28 | Douglas | 15,971 |
| 29 | Edward | 15,876 |
| 30 | Larry | 14,581 |
| 31 | George | 13,645 |
| 32 | Terry | 13,190 |
| 33 | Randy | 12,600 |
| 34 | Dennis | 12,498 |
| 35 | Keith | 12,278 |
| 36 | Mike | 11,673 |
| 37 | Jerry | 11,377 |
| 38 | Eric | 11,114 |
| 39 | Patrick | 11,056 |
| 40 | Bruce | 10,704 |
| 41 | Frank | 10,432 |
| 42 | Peter | 10,346 |
| 43 | Craig | 10,233 |
| 44 | Ricky | 10,027 |
| 45 | Steve | 9,998 |
| 46 | Todd | 9,753 |
| 47 | Roger | 9,651 |
| 48 | Raymond | 9,613 |
| 49 | Jeff | 9,462 |
| 50 | Jeffery | 8,924 |
| 51 | Alan | 8,612 |
| 52 | Andrew | 8,483 |
| 53 | Tony | 8,301 |
| 54 | Danny | 8,194 |
| 55 | Russell | 7,335 |
| 56 | Carl | 7,257 |
| 57 | Chris | 7,204 |
| 58 | Dale | 7,192 |
| 59 | Matthew | 7,078 |
| 60 | Joe | 7,058 |
| 61 | Wayne | 6,760 |
| 62 | Gerald | 6,629 |
| 63 | Randall | 6,584 |
| 64 | Glenn | 6,269 |
| 65 | Tim | 6,249 |
| 66 | Barry | 6,217 |
| 67 | Lawrence | 6,096 |
| 68 | Billy | 6,024 |
| 69 | Phillip | 5,977 |
| 70 | Johnny | 5,904 |
| 71 | Jimmy | 5,748 |
| 72 | Rodney | 5,660 |
| 73 | Martin | 5,471 |
| 74 | Walter | 5,467 |
| 75 | Curtis | 5,445 |
| 76 | Bobby | 5,403 |
| 77 | Greg | 5,398 |
| 78 | Jim | 5,351 |
| 79 | Philip | 5,287 |
| 80 | Darryl | 5,133 |
| 81 | Jay | 5,120 |
| 82 | Bryan | 5,028 |
| 83 | Roy | 4,965 |
| 84 | Dean | 4,931 |
| 85 | Arthur | 4,813 |
| 86 | Willie | 4,788 |
| 87 | Bradley | 4,742 |
| 88 | Tom | 4,727 |
| 89 | Samuel | 4,666 |
| 90 | Jack | 4,639 |
| 91 | Henry | 4,621 |
| 92 | Ronnie | 4,620 |
| 93 | Jon | 4,608 |
| 94 | Harold | 4,445 |
| 95 | Ralph | 4,440 |
| 96 | Allen | 4,388 |
| 97 | Albert | 4,320 |
| 98 | Vincent | 4,319 |
| 99 | Victor | 4,299 |
| 100 | Troy | 4,260 |
Top 100 Girls' Names Girl
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 47,688 |
| 2 | Lisa | 42,719 |
| 3 | Susan | 37,530 |
| 4 | Linda | 35,592 |
| 5 | Karen | 34,697 |
| 6 | Patricia | 28,889 |
| 7 | Donna | 28,674 |
| 8 | Cynthia | 24,389 |
| 9 | Sandra | 24,154 |
| 10 | Deborah | 24,105 |
| 11 | Brenda | 23,781 |
| 12 | Barbara | 22,998 |
| 13 | Debra | 22,161 |
| 14 | Lori | 21,875 |
| 15 | Pamela | 21,690 |
| 16 | Nancy | 20,728 |
| 17 | Sharon | 20,458 |
| 18 | Teresa | 18,909 |
| 19 | Elizabeth | 18,855 |
| 20 | Cheryl | 18,299 |
| 21 | Laura | 17,900 |
| 22 | Kimberly | 17,356 |
| 23 | Julie | 17,041 |
| 24 | Carol | 16,668 |
| 25 | Kathy | 16,384 |
| 26 | Diane | 16,204 |
| 27 | Robin | 15,651 |
| 28 | Tammy | 15,529 |
| 29 | Kathleen | 15,393 |
| 30 | Denise | 15,381 |
| 31 | Debbie | 14,883 |
| 32 | Janet | 13,932 |
| 33 | Cindy | 13,387 |
| 34 | Michelle | 12,743 |
| 35 | Theresa | 11,959 |
| 36 | Kim | 11,368 |
| 37 | Jacqueline | 10,981 |
| 38 | Angela | 10,841 |
| 39 | Christine | 10,596 |
| 40 | Margaret | 10,560 |
| 41 | Tina | 10,521 |
| 42 | Carolyn | 10,509 |
| 43 | Laurie | 10,433 |
| 44 | Rebecca | 10,237 |
| 45 | Kelly | 9,641 |
| 46 | Rhonda | 9,468 |
| 47 | Jennifer | 9,266 |
| 48 | Catherine | 9,250 |
| 49 | Dawn | 9,150 |
| 50 | Connie | 8,987 |
| 51 | Terri | 8,730 |
| 52 | Janice | 8,724 |
| 53 | Sherry | 8,359 |
| 54 | Ann | 8,218 |
| 55 | Cathy | 8,208 |
| 56 | Diana | 8,198 |
| 57 | Maria | 7,947 |
| 58 | Judy | 7,918 |
| 59 | Sheila | 7,800 |
| 60 | Paula | 7,746 |
| 61 | Wendy | 7,152 |
| 62 | Joyce | 6,996 |
| 63 | Michele | 6,992 |
| 64 | Tracy | 6,988 |
| 65 | Beth | 6,716 |
| 66 | Beverly | 6,708 |
| 67 | Valerie | 6,675 |
| 68 | Suzanne | 6,611 |
| 69 | Amy | 6,610 |
| 70 | Wanda | 6,465 |
| 71 | Lynn | 6,440 |
| 72 | Jane | 6,362 |
| 73 | Annette | 6,202 |
| 74 | Jill | 6,137 |
| 75 | Bonnie | 6,032 |
| 76 | Vicki | 5,966 |
| 77 | Carla | 5,817 |
| 78 | Stephanie | 5,815 |
| 79 | Renee | 5,782 |
| 80 | Darlene | 5,729 |
| 81 | Martha | 5,724 |
| 82 | Gloria | 5,691 |
| 83 | Judith | 5,689 |
| 84 | Leslie | 5,669 |
| 85 | Shirley | 5,638 |
| 86 | Katherine | 5,632 |
| 87 | Betty | 5,583 |
| 88 | Peggy | 5,568 |
| 89 | Joan | 5,551 |
| 90 | Anne | 5,521 |
| 91 | Anita | 5,503 |
| 92 | Jean | 5,366 |
| 93 | Kathryn | 5,227 |
| 94 | Gail | 4,972 |
| 95 | Melissa | 4,901 |
| 96 | Ruth | 4,896 |
| 97 | Ellen | 4,844 |
| 98 | Regina | 4,761 |
| 99 | Dorothy | 4,731 |
| 100 | Anna | 4,677 |
Nearby Year & Decade Rankings
Compare 1961 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade
Compare 1961 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.