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 2,817,091 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 86,974 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1961 was Mary, with 47,682 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,580,421 births compared with 1,236,670 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.

← 1960
1961
1962 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 86,974
2 David 84,810
3 John 79,983
4 James 75,969
5 Robert 72,977
6 Mark 57,796
7 William 48,045
8 Richard 41,142
9 Thomas 37,565
10 Steven 32,275
11 Jeffrey 32,029
12 Joseph 29,450
13 Charles 29,194
14 Kevin 28,926
15 Timothy 28,253
16 Kenneth 26,100
17 Daniel 25,904
18 Paul 25,640
19 Scott 23,934
20 Brian 22,566
21 Gary 22,174
22 Donald 21,409
23 Gregory 21,364
24 Ronald 20,842
25 Anthony 20,209
26 Christopher 17,223
27 Stephen 16,069
28 Douglas 15,978
29 Edward 15,877
30 Larry 14,580
31 George 13,644
32 Terry 13,194
33 Randy 12,603
34 Dennis 12,503
35 Keith 12,275
36 Mike 11,667
37 Jerry 11,381
38 Eric 11,111
39 Patrick 11,052
40 Bruce 10,705
41 Frank 10,433
42 Peter 10,349
43 Craig 10,235
44 Ricky 10,027
45 Steve 9,997
46 Todd 9,750
47 Roger 9,652
48 Raymond 9,618
49 Jeff 9,463
50 Jeffery 8,923
51 Alan 8,617
52 Andrew 8,483
53 Tony 8,306
54 Danny 8,199
55 Russell 7,333
56 Carl 7,255
57 Chris 7,203
58 Dale 7,193
59 Matthew 7,081
60 Joe 7,056
61 Wayne 6,762
62 Gerald 6,630
63 Randall 6,587
64 Glenn 6,271
65 Tim 6,245
66 Barry 6,220
67 Lawrence 6,094
68 Billy 6,026
69 Phillip 5,976
70 Johnny 5,905
71 Jimmy 5,749
72 Rodney 5,660
73 Martin 5,476
74 Walter 5,467
75 Curtis 5,447
76 Bobby 5,402
77 Greg 5,397
78 Jim 5,352
79 Philip 5,288
80 Darryl 5,134
81 Jay 5,119
82 Bryan 5,028
83 Roy 4,966
84 Dean 4,933
85 Arthur 4,815
86 Willie 4,790
87 Bradley 4,745
88 Tom 4,731
89 Samuel 4,667
90 Jack 4,639
91 Ronnie 4,624
92 Henry 4,620
93 Jon 4,608
94 Harold 4,448
95 Ralph 4,443
96 Allen 4,391
97 Albert 4,324
98 Vincent 4,317
99 Victor 4,301
100 Troy 4,259

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 47,682
2 Lisa 42,720
3 Susan 37,532
4 Linda 35,597
5 Karen 34,707
6 Patricia 28,889
7 Donna 28,679
8 Cynthia 24,393
9 Sandra 24,153
10 Deborah 24,107
11 Brenda 23,781
12 Barbara 23,002
13 Debra 22,160
14 Lori 21,876
15 Pamela 21,691
16 Nancy 20,729
17 Sharon 20,459
18 Teresa 18,909
19 Elizabeth 18,855
20 Cheryl 18,301
21 Laura 17,901
22 Kimberly 17,355
23 Julie 17,040
24 Carol 16,667
25 Kathy 16,385
26 Diane 16,205
27 Robin 15,653
28 Tammy 15,532
29 Kathleen 15,395
30 Denise 15,379
31 Debbie 14,882
32 Janet 13,930
33 Cindy 13,388
34 Michelle 12,741
35 Theresa 11,960
36 Kim 11,367
37 Jacqueline 10,983
38 Angela 10,843
39 Christine 10,598
40 Margaret 10,559
41 Tina 10,521
42 Carolyn 10,509
43 Laurie 10,435
44 Rebecca 10,236
45 Kelly 9,642
46 Rhonda 9,469
47 Jennifer 9,265
48 Catherine 9,251
49 Dawn 9,148
50 Connie 8,986
51 Terri 8,730
52 Janice 8,727
53 Sherry 8,361
54 Ann 8,216
55 Cathy 8,211
56 Diana 8,198
57 Maria 7,947
58 Judy 7,922
59 Sheila 7,805
60 Paula 7,744
61 Wendy 7,154
62 Joyce 6,996
63 Michele 6,995
64 Tracy 6,988
65 Beth 6,716
66 Beverly 6,708
67 Valerie 6,677
68 Suzanne 6,611
69 Amy 6,610
70 Wanda 6,467
71 Lynn 6,441
72 Jane 6,365
73 Annette 6,203
74 Jill 6,137
75 Bonnie 6,033
76 Vicki 5,967
77 Carla 5,817
78 Stephanie 5,816
79 Renee 5,782
80 Darlene 5,728
81 Martha 5,724
82 Gloria 5,691
83 Judith 5,690
84 Leslie 5,668
85 Shirley 5,638
86 Katherine 5,632
87 Betty 5,584
88 Peggy 5,567
89 Joan 5,551
90 Anne 5,524
91 Anita 5,503
92 Jean 5,366
93 Kathryn 5,226
94 Gail 4,973
95 Melissa 4,900
96 Ruth 4,896
97 Ellen 4,844
98 Regina 4,764
99 Dorothy 4,732
100 Anna 4,678
← 1960
1962 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1961 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1960 Top Names
National top 100
1962 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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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.

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