1940s Baby Names
4,671 names were given to children in the United States between 1940 and 1949, ranked below by how many.
A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.
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#1,075Christian Christian is a boy's name from the Latin christianus, meaning "a follower of Christ."1,602 in the 1940s
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#1,101Rocco Rocco is a boy's name of Germanic origin, generally read from a root meaning rest or repose.1,523 in the 1940s
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#1,102Noah Noah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "rest" or "comfort," from Noach.1,523 in the 1940s
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#1,127Dexter Dexter is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "right-handed" or "skilful."1,462 in the 1940s
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#1,144Pablo Pablo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," the Spanish form of Paul.1,417 in the 1940s
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#1,159Carter Carter is a name of English origin meaning "one who transports goods by cart."1,378 in the 1940s
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#1,202Luke Luke is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "man from Lucania," a region of southern Italy.1,298 in the 1940s
What Made a 1940s Name
Children in the United States were registered with it between 1940 and 1949. A name's position here is how many of them were.
Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade
A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.
Where to Go Next
Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.