Top Baby Names of 1965

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1965.

What the Data Says About 1965

The Social Security Administration's national 1965 file shows 2,434,368 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 1965 was Michael, with 80,992 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1965 was Lisa, with 60,271 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,377,158 births compared with 1,057,210 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.

1965 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1965 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 1965 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 1965. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1965 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1965 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.

← 1964
1965
1966 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 80,992
2 John 71,493
3 David 67,825
4 James 67,666
5 Robert 63,106
6 William 40,111
7 Mark 38,244
8 Richard 36,817
9 Thomas 31,595
10 Jeffrey 29,574
11 Joseph 28,630
12 Timothy 28,334
13 Kevin 28,177
14 Steven 27,977
15 Scott 25,437
16 Paul 24,919
17 Daniel 24,833
18 Christopher 24,640
19 Brian 24,552
20 Charles 23,494
21 Kenneth 22,677
22 Anthony 20,326
23 Gregory 18,205
24 Ronald 17,619
25 Eric 16,826
26 Donald 16,033
27 Gary 15,259
28 Stephen 14,648
29 Edward 14,404
30 Todd 13,934
31 Patrick 12,929
32 Douglas 12,787
33 Rodney 11,086
34 George 10,680
35 Keith 10,670
36 Matthew 9,982
37 Andrew 9,673
38 Larry 9,403
39 Peter 9,395
40 Terry 9,088
41 Jerry 9,015
42 Randy 8,861
43 Frank 8,319
44 Dennis 8,215
45 Raymond 8,051
46 Craig 7,877
47 Jeffery 7,734
48 Tony 6,815
49 Roger 6,429
50 Bruce 6,325
51 Mike 6,035
52 Darren 5,938
53 Troy 5,856
54 Carl 5,797
55 Steve 5,685
56 Danny 5,675
57 Ricky 5,659
58 Russell 5,645
59 Alan 5,612
60 Chris 5,479
61 Vincent 5,428
62 Jeff 5,406
63 Bryan 5,345
64 Gerald 5,252
65 Wayne 5,112
66 Lawrence 4,961
67 Martin 4,932
68 Darryl 4,925
69 Shawn 4,924
70 Phillip 4,891
71 Joe 4,833
72 Bradley 4,787
73 Randall 4,752
74 Jonathan 4,723
75 Curtis 4,687
76 Johnny 4,687
77 Billy 4,649
78 Jon 4,601
79 Sean 4,594
80 Bobby 4,588
81 Jimmy 4,529
82 Walter 4,483
83 Dale 4,397
84 Samuel 4,395
85 Glenn 4,355
86 Barry 4,324
87 Philip 4,278
88 Dean 4,096
89 Jose 3,966
90 Jay 3,944
91 Darrell 3,888
92 Allen 3,834
93 Willie 3,807
94 Henry 3,801
95 Roy 3,785
96 Arthur 3,779
97 Tim 3,718
98 Victor 3,682
99 Harold 3,539
100 Albert 3,419

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Lisa 60,271
2 Mary 34,270
3 Karen 32,869
4 Kimberly 28,836
5 Susan 26,321
6 Patricia 23,552
7 Donna 19,700
8 Linda 19,345
9 Cynthia 19,239
10 Angela 18,754
11 Tammy 18,013
12 Pamela 17,467
13 Deborah 17,081
14 Julie 16,987
15 Sandra 16,371
16 Elizabeth 16,321
17 Laura 16,218
18 Michelle 16,215
19 Lori 15,695
20 Jennifer 15,207
21 Christine 15,204
22 Sharon 15,129
23 Brenda 15,060
24 Teresa 14,578
25 Barbara 14,023
26 Dawn 13,344
27 Debra 13,098
28 Denise 13,036
29 Tina 12,831
30 Kelly 12,763
31 Cheryl 12,550
32 Nancy 12,255
33 Robin 11,995
34 Kathleen 11,778
35 Amy 11,530
36 Tracy 11,174
37 Rhonda 10,949
38 Melissa 10,563
39 Wendy 10,481
40 Diane 10,365
41 Rebecca 10,211
42 Carol 10,097
43 Kim 10,083
44 Stephanie 9,765
45 Theresa 9,685
46 Maria 9,480
47 Jacqueline 9,413
48 Michele 8,661
49 Paula 7,915
50 Sheila 7,904
51 Jill 7,820
52 Margaret 7,799
53 Cindy 7,777
54 Kathy 7,762
55 Janet 7,654
56 Sherry 7,381
57 Catherine 7,243
58 Carolyn 6,965
59 Ann 6,784
60 Laurie 6,533
61 Connie 6,155
62 Debbie 6,088
63 Andrea 6,080
64 Diana 5,926
65 Suzanne 5,912
66 Beth 5,774
67 Valerie 5,648
68 Renee 5,496
69 Terri 5,373
70 Gina 5,267
71 Annette 5,262
72 Monica 5,113
73 Janice 5,029
74 Christina 4,979
75 Leslie 4,875
76 Carla 4,781
77 Anne 4,726
78 Dana 4,722
79 Katherine 4,706
80 Lynn 4,668
81 Wanda 4,654
82 Regina 4,548
83 Darlene 4,356
84 Stacey 4,269
85 Tracey 4,260
86 Judy 4,243
87 Kathryn 4,157
88 Cathy 4,151
89 Bonnie 4,130
90 Joyce 4,128
91 Sherri 4,065
92 Sarah 4,062
93 Colleen 4,028
94 Anita 4,017
95 Jane 3,927
96 Anna 3,920
97 Penny 3,898
98 Shelly 3,850
99 Martha 3,801
100 Melinda 3,796
← 1964
1966 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1965 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1964 Top Names
National top 100
1966 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1965 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.