Top Names of 1940
The most popular names recorded in 1940 were Mary for girls
and James for boys. Full top-50 lists below, from official SSA data.
Girls
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|
| 1 | Mary | 56,214 |
| 2 | Barbara | 36,735 |
| 3 | Patricia | 32,667 |
| 4 | Judith | 22,385 |
| 5 | Betty | 22,077 |
| 6 | Carol | 21,759 |
| 7 | Nancy | 19,737 |
| 8 | Linda | 18,369 |
| 9 | Shirley | 17,880 |
| 10 | Sandra | 16,154 |
| 11 | Margaret | 15,062 |
| 12 | Dorothy | 14,875 |
| 13 | Joyce | 14,802 |
| 14 | Joan | 13,292 |
| 15 | Carolyn | 12,657 |
| 16 | Judy | 11,383 |
| 17 | Sharon | 11,120 |
| 18 | Helen | 10,203 |
| 19 | Janet | 10,105 |
| 20 | Elizabeth | 9,956 |
| 21 | Virginia | 9,554 |
| 22 | Janice | 9,318 |
| 23 | Donna | 9,232 |
| 24 | Ruth | 8,887 |
| 25 | Marilyn | 8,703 |
| 26 | Martha | 8,695 |
| 27 | Beverly | 8,658 |
| 28 | Frances | 8,621 |
| 29 | Jean | 8,064 |
| 30 | Gloria | 8,026 |
| 31 | Doris | 7,767 |
| 32 | Alice | 7,603 |
| 33 | Phyllis | 7,416 |
| 34 | Karen | 7,283 |
| 35 | Ann | 7,196 |
| 36 | Susan | 6,756 |
| 37 | Peggy | 6,128 |
| 38 | Lois | 6,124 |
| 39 | Bonnie | 5,957 |
| 40 | Kathleen | 5,697 |
| 41 | Marie | 5,542 |
| 42 | Brenda | 5,442 |
| 43 | Norma | 5,334 |
| 44 | Rose | 5,198 |
| 45 | Diane | 5,172 |
| 46 | Geraldine | 5,150 |
| 47 | Jane | 5,092 |
| 48 | Evelyn | 4,982 |
| 49 | Carole | 4,790 |
| 50 | Elaine | 4,782 |
Boys
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|
| 1 | James | 62,481 |
| 2 | Robert | 61,194 |
| 3 | John | 54,784 |
| 4 | William | 44,781 |
| 5 | Richard | 37,425 |
| 6 | Charles | 31,690 |
| 7 | David | 27,691 |
| 8 | Thomas | 23,992 |
| 9 | Donald | 23,113 |
| 10 | Ronald | 20,740 |
| 11 | George | 18,313 |
| 12 | Joseph | 18,207 |
| 13 | Larry | 17,200 |
| 14 | Jerry | 15,213 |
| 15 | Kenneth | 15,131 |
| 16 | Edward | 14,404 |
| 17 | Paul | 14,097 |
| 18 | Michael | 13,228 |
| 19 | Gary | 12,573 |
| 20 | Frank | 10,596 |
| 21 | Gerald | 10,237 |
| 22 | Raymond | 9,568 |
| 23 | Harold | 8,078 |
| 24 | Dennis | 7,845 |
| 25 | Walter | 7,723 |
| 26 | Roger | 7,597 |
| 27 | Billy | 7,596 |
| 28 | Joe | 7,216 |
| 29 | Jack | 7,049 |
| 30 | Bobby | 6,882 |
| 31 | Henry | 6,822 |
| 32 | Carl | 6,752 |
| 33 | Arthur | 6,510 |
| 34 | Daniel | 6,225 |
| 35 | Willie | 6,175 |
| 36 | Lawrence | 6,173 |
| 37 | Ralph | 5,838 |
| 38 | Eugene | 5,802 |
| 39 | Wayne | 5,727 |
| 40 | Fred | 5,582 |
| 41 | Albert | 5,571 |
| 42 | Roy | 5,564 |
| 43 | Peter | 5,049 |
| 44 | Jimmy | 4,962 |
| 45 | Howard | 4,824 |
| 46 | Anthony | 4,769 |
| 47 | Harry | 4,681 |
| 48 | Norman | 4,576 |
| 49 | Stephen | 4,422 |
| 50 | Louis | 4,324 |