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.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#98
Johnny Johnny is a boy's name, the pet form of John, meaning God is gracious.
57,743 in the 1940s
#99
Eugene Eugene is a boy's name from the Greek for well-born, and it is the source of the word eugenics — a connection worth knowing, since the name long predates and has nothing to do with that movement.
57,535 in the 1940s
#101
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
56,872 in the 1940s
#102
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
56,447 in the 1940s
#106
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
53,682 in the 1940s
#107
Dale Dale is a name from the Old English word for a valley, and like Craig and Heather it is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound.
52,401 in the 1940s
#111
Mark Mark is a boy's name of Latin origin, most likely meaning "of Mars," borne by the evangelist who wrote the earliest gospel.
50,827 in the 1940s
#113
Alan Alan is a boy's name of Breton origin whose meaning has never been established.
50,392 in the 1940s
#115
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
49,708 in the 1940s
#117
Philip Philip is a boy's name from Greek elements meaning lover of horses.
48,842 in the 1940s
#118
Patrick Patrick is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "nobleman."
48,803 in the 1940s
#122
Danny Danny is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," a diminutive of Daniel.
46,816 in the 1940s
#123
Stanley Stanley is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "stony clearing."
46,454 in the 1940s
#129
Leonard Leonard is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "lion-strong," and its saint is the patron of prisoners and of women in labor.
44,441 in the 1940s
#132
Timothy Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "honoring God."
43,624 in the 1940s
#134
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
43,322 in the 1940s
#135
Gregory Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert.
43,315 in the 1940s
#138
Norman Norman means a Northman — a Viking.
42,357 in the 1940s
#139
Ernest Ernest is a boy's name from a Germanic word meaning serious or resolute, and it is far stronger in Europe than in America — 252nd in England and Wales and 276th in France against 1,042nd in the United States.
41,985 in the 1940s
#141
Russell Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy.
41,496 in the 1940s
#149
Melvin Melvin is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, and the gentle chieftain reading usually given for it is an invention — the source is a Norman family who took their name from Malleville in France.
39,544 in the 1940s
#150
Earl Earl is a boy's name taken from the English noble title, and it is the only rank in the British peerage with a native English name rather than a French one.
39,366 in the 1940s
#151
Allen Allen is a boy's name whose meaning is unknown — rock, handsome and deer have all been proposed from an unidentified Breton source.
39,266 in the 1940s
#152
Frederick Frederick is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler."
39,200 in the 1940s
#157
Bill Bill comes from William, and the B is the point — medieval English made pet names by rhyming, which is why Will became Bill, Rob became Bob and Rick became Dick.
37,848 in the 1940s
#158
Lee Lee is a name from the Old English word for a woodland clearing, and it is one of the most productive elements in English place names — the ending of Ashley, Bradley, Shirley and Beverly.
37,781 in the 1940s
#159
Eddie Eddie is a boy's name, the pet form of Edward or Edwin, meaning wealth.
37,452 in the 1940s
#161
Tommy Tommy is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin."
37,422 in the 1940s
#162
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
37,075 in the 1940s
#163
Marvin Marvin is a boy's name from the Welsh Merfyn, and the sea friend reading usually given for it is not supported — the Welsh elements point to marrow and eminent instead.
36,643 in the 1940s
#164
Don Don is a boy's name shortened from Donald, meaning world ruler.
36,422 in the 1940s
#165
Clarence Clarence is a boy's name taken from an English dukedom, itself named for a Suffolk town.
36,402 in the 1940s
#166
Steve Steve is a boy's name, the short form of Steven or Stephen, meaning crown or garland.
36,380 in the 1940s
#167
Barry Barry is a boy's name from an Irish surname generally traced to a word for a spear, though a Welsh island gives a competing route.
36,332 in the 1940s
#169
Glenn Glenn is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a narrow valley, and like Craig and Dale it is a plain landscape noun.
35,953 in the 1940s
#173
Jim Jim is a boy's name meaning supplanter, shortened from James — which is the same name as Jacob, split into two by Latin.
35,754 in the 1940s
#177
Mike Mike is a boy's name, the short form of Michael, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
34,774 in the 1940s
#178
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
34,768 in the 1940s
#180
Jeffrey Jeffrey is a boy's name from Germanic roots whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
34,463 in the 1940s
#183
Leroy Leroy is a boy's name that is simply the French for the king, taken as one word.
34,049 in the 1940s
#194
Alfred Alfred is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel."
32,135 in the 1940s
#196
Martin Martin is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "of Mars," borne by Saint Martin of Tours, whose cloak gave Europe the word chapel.
31,498 in the 1940s
#202
Ray Ray is a boy's name that serves as a short form of Raymond and as the English word for a beam of light.
30,087 in the 1940s
#204
Tom Tom is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," a short form of Thomas used as a full name across Europe.
29,983 in the 1940s
#207
Herbert Herbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright army.
28,831 in the 1940s
#208
Gene Gene means well-born, shortened from Eugene — and it has nothing at all to do with genes in biology, which is a separate word coined in 1909 from a different Greek root entirely, by a Danish botanist.
28,750 in the 1940s
#209
Jimmie Jimmie means supplanter, shortened from James, and about 17 percent of recorded births are female — a much higher share than most nickname-names of this shape, which usually resolve firmly to one side or the other.
28,750 in the 1940s
#216
Bernard Bernard is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning brave as a bear.
26,531 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.