Top Names of 1942
The most popular names recorded in 1942 were Mary for girls
and James for boys. Full top-50 lists below, from official SSA data.
Girls
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|
| 1 | Mary | 63,255 |
| 2 | Barbara | 44,739 |
| 3 | Patricia | 39,464 |
| 4 | Linda | 31,614 |
| 5 | Carol | 30,271 |
| 6 | Sandra | 24,993 |
| 7 | Judith | 24,792 |
| 8 | Nancy | 23,328 |
| 9 | Betty | 21,659 |
| 10 | Carolyn | 19,977 |
| 11 | Sharon | 19,648 |
| 12 | Shirley | 17,749 |
| 13 | Joyce | 16,728 |
| 14 | Margaret | 16,548 |
| 15 | Judy | 15,667 |
| 16 | Karen | 15,386 |
| 17 | Dorothy | 15,035 |
| 18 | Joan | 14,514 |
| 19 | Janet | 13,064 |
| 20 | Donna | 12,986 |
| 21 | Susan | 12,015 |
| 22 | Elizabeth | 11,185 |
| 23 | Virginia | 10,802 |
| 24 | Kathleen | 10,696 |
| 25 | Janice | 10,286 |
| 26 | Helen | 10,016 |
| 27 | Marilyn | 9,907 |
| 28 | Diane | 9,550 |
| 29 | Martha | 9,511 |
| 30 | Frances | 9,471 |
| 31 | Gloria | 9,450 |
| 32 | Beverly | 9,411 |
| 33 | Ruth | 9,315 |
| 34 | Bonnie | 8,823 |
| 35 | Carole | 8,407 |
| 36 | Jean | 8,257 |
| 37 | Phyllis | 7,793 |
| 38 | Ann | 7,666 |
| 39 | Alice | 7,382 |
| 40 | Brenda | 7,241 |
| 41 | Doris | 7,176 |
| 42 | Peggy | 6,579 |
| 43 | Marie | 6,559 |
| 44 | Lois | 6,406 |
| 45 | Elaine | 5,986 |
| 46 | Jane | 5,708 |
| 47 | Geraldine | 5,438 |
| 48 | Joanne | 5,342 |
| 49 | Catherine | 5,267 |
| 50 | Rose | 5,253 |
Boys
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|
| 1 | James | 77,180 |
| 2 | Robert | 71,841 |
| 3 | John | 66,041 |
| 4 | William | 54,891 |
| 5 | Richard | 43,592 |
| 6 | David | 35,905 |
| 7 | Charles | 35,855 |
| 8 | Thomas | 31,097 |
| 9 | Ronald | 27,136 |
| 10 | Donald | 23,956 |
| 11 | Joseph | 22,429 |
| 12 | Larry | 22,099 |
| 13 | Michael | 21,728 |
| 14 | George | 21,275 |
| 15 | Kenneth | 18,210 |
| 16 | Jerry | 17,487 |
| 17 | Edward | 17,469 |
| 18 | Gary | 17,067 |
| 19 | Paul | 16,493 |
| 20 | Dennis | 13,281 |
| 21 | Frank | 12,248 |
| 22 | Gerald | 11,483 |
| 23 | Douglas | 11,234 |
| 24 | Raymond | 11,116 |
| 25 | Roger | 9,174 |
| 26 | Walter | 8,681 |
| 27 | Harold | 8,582 |
| 28 | Daniel | 8,507 |
| 29 | Arthur | 8,028 |
| 30 | Lawrence | 7,639 |
| 31 | Henry | 7,562 |
| 32 | Stephen | 7,503 |
| 33 | Joe | 7,383 |
| 34 | Jack | 7,365 |
| 35 | Billy | 7,314 |
| 36 | Carl | 7,267 |
| 37 | Willie | 7,092 |
| 38 | Ralph | 6,635 |
| 39 | Peter | 6,587 |
| 40 | Albert | 6,496 |
| 41 | Wayne | 6,484 |
| 42 | Roy | 6,311 |
| 43 | Bobby | 6,249 |
| 44 | Anthony | 6,210 |
| 45 | Eugene | 6,091 |
| 46 | Fred | 6,088 |
| 47 | Jimmy | 5,948 |
| 48 | Harry | 5,629 |
| 49 | Howard | 5,570 |
| 50 | Bruce | 5,385 |