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.
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#1,198Elsa Elsa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," a German short form of Elisabeth.1,306 in the 1940s
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#1,217Sophie Sophie is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "wisdom," the French form of Sophia.1,286 in the 1940s
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#1,218Matilda Matilda is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "mighty in battle."1,284 in the 1940s
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#1,219Louisa Louisa is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," a Latinate form of Louise.1,284 in the 1940s
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#1,244Phoebe Phoebe is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bright" or "radiant."1,230 in the 1940s
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#1,257Rhea Rhea is a girl's name of Greek origin borne by the Titan who was mother of Zeus.1,206 in the 1940s
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#1,260Colette Colette is a girl's name meaning victory of the people, a French diminutive of Nicole.1,204 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 The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.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.