Top Baby Names of 1963

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1963.

What the Data Says About 1963

The Social Security Administration's national 1963 file shows 2,670,971 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 1963 was Michael, with 83,771 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1963 was Lisa, with 56,047 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,506,298 births compared with 1,164,673 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.

1963 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1963 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 1963 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 1963. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1963 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1963 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.

← 1962
1963
1964 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 83,771
2 John 78,636
3 David 78,444
4 James 71,294
5 Robert 70,007
6 Mark 49,342
7 William 44,453
8 Richard 40,772
9 Thomas 35,490
10 Jeffrey 31,701
11 Kevin 30,613
12 Scott 30,396
13 Joseph 30,077
14 Steven 29,328
15 Timothy 27,187
16 Charles 26,762
17 Paul 26,672
18 Kenneth 25,235
19 Daniel 24,815
20 Brian 24,133
21 Gregory 21,420
22 Anthony 20,250
23 Ronald 19,780
24 Gary 18,929
25 Donald 18,896
26 Christopher 18,339
27 Edward 15,323
28 Douglas 15,086
29 Stephen 14,992
30 Todd 14,789
31 Eric 13,278
32 Terry 12,463
33 Keith 12,243
34 George 12,079
35 Patrick 12,071
36 Larry 11,667
37 Randy 10,535
38 Jerry 10,189
39 Dennis 9,821
40 Peter 9,614
41 Frank 9,527
42 Andrew 9,514
43 Bruce 9,275
44 Mike 9,045
45 Raymond 8,780
46 Jeffery 8,486
47 Ricky 8,114
48 Jeff 8,105
49 Steve 8,050
50 Matthew 8,034
51 Craig 7,899
52 Tony 7,879
53 Roger 7,743
54 Carl 7,128
55 Danny 7,101
56 Alan 6,935
57 Russell 6,703
58 Joe 6,379
59 Chris 6,328
60 Gerald 6,156
61 Vincent 6,152
62 Martin 6,073
63 Wayne 6,031
64 Glenn 5,977
65 Randall 5,972
66 Troy 5,971
67 Barry 5,953
68 Lawrence 5,708
69 Dale 5,700
70 Phillip 5,655
71 Johnny 5,420
72 Curtis 5,376
73 Bryan 5,257
74 Billy 5,241
75 Bobby 5,212
76 Rodney 5,193
77 Walter 5,068
78 Jimmy 5,043
79 Tim 5,016
80 Darryl 5,013
81 Greg 4,854
82 Bradley 4,765
83 Philip 4,757
84 Jon 4,750
85 Jay 4,720
86 Dean 4,616
87 Samuel 4,520
88 Jonathan 4,471
89 Roy 4,440
90 Allen 4,339
91 Arthur 4,275
92 Jim 4,237
93 Willie 4,194
94 Henry 4,184
95 Darrell 4,097
96 Harold 4,093
97 Victor 4,056
98 Jose 4,012
99 Ralph 3,931
100 Albert 3,883

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Lisa 56,047
2 Mary 41,546
3 Susan 33,991
4 Karen 32,492
5 Linda 27,727
6 Donna 25,405
7 Patricia 25,374
8 Lori 23,899
9 Sandra 21,621
10 Cynthia 21,589
11 Kimberly 21,224
12 Tammy 21,199
13 Deborah 21,053
14 Pamela 20,593
15 Brenda 19,611
16 Laura 18,514
17 Barbara 18,295
18 Teresa 17,965
19 Sharon 17,800
20 Elizabeth 17,598
21 Debra 17,335
22 Julie 16,304
23 Nancy 16,266
24 Cheryl 15,047
25 Robin 14,435
26 Michelle 14,383
27 Denise 14,092
28 Kathleen 13,547
29 Christine 13,387
30 Angela 13,277
31 Diane 13,193
32 Kelly 12,550
33 Carol 12,492
34 Kathy 12,215
35 Tina 12,157
36 Jennifer 11,757
37 Cindy 11,090
38 Theresa 11,039
39 Kim 10,683
40 Janet 10,667
41 Debbie 10,444
42 Paula 10,156
43 Maria 9,854
44 Rebecca 9,393
45 Rhonda 9,356
46 Margaret 9,304
47 Laurie 9,276
48 Tracy 9,073
49 Sherry 9,065
50 Sheila 8,706
51 Jacqueline 8,562
52 Dawn 8,412
53 Catherine 8,294
54 Amy 8,227
55 Connie 8,165
56 Carolyn 8,124
57 Ann 7,975
58 Terri 7,704
59 Michele 7,512
60 Wendy 7,333
61 Melissa 7,321
62 Diana 7,310
63 Janice 7,074
64 Stephanie 6,825
65 Suzanne 6,821
66 Beth 6,677
67 Cathy 6,319
68 Jill 6,300
69 Valerie 6,172
70 Judy 6,137
71 Annette 6,050
72 Leslie 5,857
73 Lynn 5,827
74 Renee 5,776
75 Jane 5,767
76 Wanda 5,596
77 Anita 5,473
78 Sherri 5,460
79 Gina 5,337
80 Anne 5,330
81 Beverly 5,280
82 Carla 5,264
83 Bonnie 5,226
84 Joyce 5,222
85 Darlene 5,153
86 Penny 5,129
87 Katherine 5,124
88 Dana 5,048
89 Andrea 5,013
90 Martha 4,887
91 Judith 4,743
92 Regina 4,710
93 Kathryn 4,701
94 Sarah 4,571
95 Joan 4,562
96 Gloria 4,536
97 Jean 4,485
98 Colleen 4,447
99 Shirley 4,387
100 Vicki 4,362
← 1962
1964 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1963 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1962 Top Names
National top 100
1964 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
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Compare 1963 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.