Top Baby Names of 1962

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1962.

What the Data Says About 1962

The Social Security Administration's national 1962 file shows 2,732,952 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 1962 was Michael, with 85,059 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1962 was Lisa, with 46,069 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,536,428 births compared with 1,196,524 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.

1962 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1962 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 Lisa leading 1962 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 1962. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1962 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1962 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.

← 1961
1962
1963 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 85,059
2 David 81,337
3 John 78,427
4 James 72,555
5 Robert 70,199
6 Mark 53,520
7 William 44,853
8 Richard 39,422
9 Thomas 36,529
10 Jeffrey 33,537
11 Scott 30,703
12 Steven 30,688
13 Joseph 30,090
14 Kevin 28,325
15 Charles 27,590
16 Timothy 27,111
17 Daniel 25,543
18 Kenneth 25,241
19 Paul 23,802
20 Brian 23,221
21 Gregory 21,976
22 Gary 20,884
23 Donald 20,425
24 Anthony 20,103
25 Ronald 19,963
26 Christopher 17,535
27 Douglas 15,928
28 Stephen 15,616
29 Edward 15,518
30 Todd 12,752
31 Larry 12,711
32 George 12,544
33 Eric 12,348
34 Terry 12,301
35 Randy 11,840
36 Keith 11,626
37 Dennis 10,633
38 Jerry 10,576
39 Mike 10,530
40 Patrick 10,499
41 Bruce 10,038
42 Frank 9,761
43 Peter 9,585
44 Jeff 9,424
45 Jeffery 9,282
46 Steve 9,154
47 Roger 9,079
48 Raymond 9,070
49 Andrew 8,697
50 Ricky 8,694
51 Craig 8,544
52 Tony 8,197
53 Alan 7,719
54 Danny 7,644
55 Glenn 7,356
56 Matthew 7,279
57 Russell 7,042
58 Carl 6,854
59 Joe 6,793
60 Chris 6,791
61 Barry 6,585
62 Dale 6,365
63 Wayne 6,324
64 Randall 6,236
65 Gerald 6,232
66 Vincent 6,159
67 Troy 6,048
68 Phillip 5,881
69 Johnny 5,777
70 Lawrence 5,619
71 Billy 5,588
72 Tim 5,585
73 Curtis 5,569
74 Martin 5,538
75 Jimmy 5,518
76 Rodney 5,435
77 Greg 5,365
78 Bobby 5,323
79 Walter 5,282
80 Jay 5,158
81 Philip 5,069
82 Bryan 4,992
83 Darryl 4,969
84 Jon 4,785
85 Jim 4,715
86 Dean 4,655
87 Bradley 4,637
88 Samuel 4,552
89 Willie 4,541
90 Roy 4,476
91 Arthur 4,441
92 Henry 4,346
93 Allen 4,272
94 Jonathan 4,253
95 Harold 4,233
96 Victor 4,208
97 Ralph 4,180
98 Tom 4,171
99 Jack 4,170
100 Ronnie 4,113

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Lisa 46,069
2 Mary 43,502
3 Susan 35,752
4 Karen 35,184
5 Linda 31,461
6 Patricia 26,532
7 Donna 25,719
8 Cynthia 24,025
9 Deborah 22,889
10 Sandra 22,420
11 Lori 22,395
12 Brenda 21,274
13 Pamela 21,270
14 Barbara 20,641
15 Debra 20,593
16 Kimberly 20,363
17 Sharon 19,630
18 Teresa 18,517
19 Nancy 18,027
20 Elizabeth 17,806
21 Laura 17,490
22 Julie 17,090
23 Tammy 16,743
24 Cheryl 16,587
25 Robin 15,128
26 Diane 14,823
27 Kathy 14,757
28 Carol 14,523
29 Kathleen 14,188
30 Denise 13,975
31 Michelle 13,353
32 Debbie 13,092
33 Tina 12,781
34 Cindy 12,297
35 Janet 12,256
36 Angela 11,664
37 Kim 11,657
38 Kelly 11,530
39 Christine 11,196
40 Theresa 11,061
41 Jennifer 10,977
42 Laurie 10,675
43 Margaret 10,075
44 Jacqueline 9,832
45 Rhonda 9,803
46 Carolyn 9,692
47 Rebecca 9,403
48 Sherry 9,223
49 Maria 9,089
50 Dawn 8,984
51 Connie 8,882
52 Sheila 8,778
53 Catherine 8,697
54 Terri 8,433
55 Tracy 8,310
56 Ann 8,123
57 Diana 7,842
58 Janice 7,822
59 Michele 7,428
60 Paula 7,193
61 Amy 7,185
62 Cathy 7,145
63 Judy 7,061
64 Wendy 6,977
65 Suzanne 6,851
66 Beth 6,419
67 Valerie 6,335
68 Melissa 6,306
69 Beverly 6,266
70 Stephanie 6,257
71 Lynn 6,217
72 Jill 6,170
73 Jane 6,114
74 Joyce 6,096
75 Annette 6,076
76 Renee 6,012
77 Wanda 6,003
78 Carla 5,820
79 Bonnie 5,812
80 Leslie 5,778
81 Anita 5,521
82 Sherri 5,363
83 Anne 5,272
84 Katherine 5,272
85 Vicki 5,208
86 Judith 5,183
87 Martha 5,159
88 Darlene 5,107
89 Kathryn 5,107
90 Gloria 5,102
91 Regina 5,002
92 Penny 5,001
93 Peggy 4,900
94 Joan 4,879
95 Jean 4,877
96 Shirley 4,869
97 Betty 4,763
98 Sarah 4,548
99 Andrea 4,540
100 Anna 4,430
← 1961
1963 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1962 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1961 Top Names
National top 100
1963 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1962 leaders: Michael vs Lisa → 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.