1940s Baby Names

7,630 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

#4
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
642,384 in the 1940s
#6
Linda Linda is a girl's name usually read as beautiful in Spanish or as a Germanic element meaning soft or tender.
532,989 in the 1940s
#9
Barbara Barbara is a girl's name from the Greek for foreign or strange, the feminine of the word that gives us barbarian.
426,429 in the 1940s
#10
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
412,654 in the 1940s
#14
Carol Carol is a girl's name with two independent sources: a short form of Caroline, and the word for a joyful song.
294,291 in the 1940s
#16
Sandra Sandra is a girl's name that began as an Italian short form of Alessandra and became independent in the twentieth century.
266,258 in the 1940s
#18
Nancy Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace."
252,646 in the 1940s
#21
Sharon Sharon is a girl's name taken from a place rather than a person — the fertile coastal plain of Sharon in Israel, known from the rose of Sharon in the Song of Songs.
221,973 in the 1940s
#22
Judith Judith is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman of Judea," borne by the heroine who beheads Holofernes in the deuterocanonical book named for her.
218,647 in the 1940s
#24
Susan Susan is a girl's name from a Hebrew word for lily, taken in turn from an Egyptian word for lotus.
212,527 in the 1940s
#27
Betty Betty is a girl's name that began as a short form of Elizabeth and is now used in its own right.
195,365 in the 1940s
#29
Carolyn Carolyn is a girl's name, an English elaboration of Caroline meaning free man through Charles.
182,381 in the 1940s
#31
Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.
173,518 in the 1940s
#32
Shirley Shirley is a girl's name from an English place name meaning bright clearing, and it was a boys' name until Charlotte Brontë used it for a heroine in 1849.
173,253 in the 1940s
#34
Judy Judy is a girl's name, the pet form of Judith, from a Hebrew word meaning a woman of Judea.
168,202 in the 1940s
#35
Karen Karen is a girl's name, the Danish form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
168,154 in the 1940s
#36
Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.
165,995 in the 1940s
#38
Kathleen Kathleen is a girl's name anglicizing the Irish Caitlín, a form of Catherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
153,343 in the 1940s
#39
Joyce Joyce is a girl's name that was a man's name for most of its history, from a Breton saint called Iodoc. It is stable, and its highest current rank is France at 334th — not any English-speaking market.
152,088 in the 1940s
#40
Dorothy Dorothy is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God."
132,766 in the 1940s
#41
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
131,093 in the 1940s
#42
Diane Diane is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "divine" or "heavenly," the French form of the Roman goddess Diana.
123,200 in the 1940s
#44
Janice Janice is a girl's name usually credited to a 1899 novel, though it is on record from 1894 — five years before the book.
119,227 in the 1940s
#46
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
116,909 in the 1940s
#48
Brenda Brenda is a girl's name from an Old Norse word for a sword or a torch, and it appears to have been invented for a novel — Walter Scott used it in The Pirate in 1822, and no earlier use is recorded.
112,724 in the 1940s
#52
Gloria Gloria is a girl's name that is simply the Latin word for glory, taken unchanged.
105,467 in the 1940s
#54
Virginia Virginia is a girl's name from a Roman family name, and the American state was named before the name became common in America — both honoring Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
99,320 in the 1940s
#55
Marilyn Marilyn is a girl's name usually read as a blend of Mary and Lyn.
99,226 in the 1940s
#56
Beverly Beverly is a name from an English town meaning beaver stream, and it began as a boys' name before crossing decisively to girls.
95,866 in the 1940s
#57
Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."
95,679 in the 1940s
#58
Helen Helen is a girl's name from Greek whose meaning is not settled, though torch and shining are the usual readings.
91,076 in the 1940s
#61
Bonnie Bonnie is a girl's name of Scots origin meaning "pretty" or "fine."
87,600 in the 1940s
#62
Ruth Ruth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin usually given as "companion" or "friend," though the derivation is not secure.
85,966 in the 1940s
#63
Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.
85,953 in the 1940s
#70
Ann Ann is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor, and the spelling without the final e.
77,013 in the 1940s
#71
Phyllis Phyllis is a girl's name from the Greek for foliage, borne by a mythological princess who was turned into an almond tree.
76,383 in the 1940s
#76
Pamela Pamela is a girl's name invented by a poet: Sir Philip Sidney coined it for his Arcadia around 1580, apparently from Greek elements meaning all sweetness.
73,299 in the 1940s
#79
Jane Jane is a girl's name from the Hebrew for God is gracious, the English feminine of John.
72,764 in the 1940s
#80
Alice Alice is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," arrived at by a long contraction of Adelaide.
72,651 in the 1940s
#81
Peggy Peggy is a girl's name meaning pearl, a pet form of Margaret by way of Meg.
72,307 in the 1940s
#83
Cheryl Cheryl is a girl's name coined in twentieth-century America, probably by blending Cherie with Beryl.
71,098 in the 1940s
#89
Doris Doris is a girl's name from Greek mythology, where she is a sea nymph and the mother of the fifty Nereids.
64,584 in the 1940s
#91
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
62,269 in the 1940s
#94
Elaine Elaine is a girl's name, the Old French form of Helen, whose meaning was never established.
60,260 in the 1940s
#95
Cynthia Cynthia is a girl's name that began as a title for the moon goddess — it means she of Mount Cynthus, the peak on Delos where Artemis was said to have been born.
58,207 in the 1940s
#96
Connie Connie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "steadfast" or "constant."
58,205 in the 1940s
#97
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
57,747 in the 1940s
#100
Lois Lois is a girl's name that appears once in the New Testament, in a letter naming Timothy's grandmother, and its meaning has never been established.
57,142 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.