1940s Baby Names

1,256 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

#45
Joan Joan is a girl's name, the medieval English feminine of John meaning God is gracious, and it was once as common as Mary.
118,156 in the 1940s
#66
Jean Jean is a unisex name on record: the French form of John, meaning "God is gracious," and separately a Scottish feminine form of Jane.
81,936 in the 1940s
#119
Jo Jo is a name serving as the short form of Joanne, Josephine and Joan for women and Joseph for men.
48,722 in the 1940s
#130
Ronnie Ronnie is a name of Old Norse origin meaning "ruler's counsel."
44,321 in the 1940s
#133
Lynn Lynn is a name from a Welsh and Gaelic word for a lake or a pool below a waterfall.
43,590 in the 1940s
#137
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
42,400 in the 1940s
#185
Kay Kay serves two unrelated sources — the initial of Katherine, and Sir Kay of Arthurian legend, who is Arthur's foster brother and one of the oldest figures in the whole cycle.
33,379 in the 1940s
#197
Jackie Jackie is the third most evenly divided name on this site — 48.9 percent of recorded births are female, behind only Emerson and Riley among names with more than 50,000 births.
31,215 in the 1940s
#211
Marion Marion is a French diminutive of Mary that has crossed sexes twice over — it is 81 percent female on record, yet its most famous bearer was John Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison.
28,158 in the 1940s
#219
Johnnie Johnnie means God is gracious, a pet form of John.
26,172 in the 1940s
#243
Jessie Jessie is a name that arrives from two unrelated directions — the Scottish pet form of Janet, and a feminine of the Hebrew Jesse.
22,472 in the 1940s
#247
Pat Pat is one of the most evenly divided names on this site — about 60 percent of recorded births are female, because it shortens both Patricia and Patrick and neither side ever won.
21,637 in the 1940s
#267
Charlie Charlie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man."
19,475 in the 1940s
#297
Lonnie Lonnie shortens Alonzo and Alphonso, meaning noble and ready — and the Germanic original reached Spain with the Visigoths, so a name that reads as American South is Gothic by descent.
17,099 in the 1940s
#358
Michele Michele is a girl's name, the single-l spelling of Michelle, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
11,734 in the 1940s
#379
Sidney Sidney is a name of Old English origin meaning "wide meadow."
10,559 in the 1940s
#384
Frankie Frankie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frenchman."
10,365 in the 1940s
#386
Bennie Bennie means son of the right hand, and Jacob renamed the child to get there — his dying mother called him son of my sorrow, and his father would not let the name stand.
10,353 in the 1940s
#396
Robin Robin is a name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
9,854 in the 1940s
#402
Sandy Sandy shortens Alexander and Alexandra, meaning defender of the people — and in Scotland it is the standard familiar form of Alexander, which is why it reads as Scottish rather than merely short.
9,617 in the 1940s
#403
Sammy Sammy means God has heard, or possibly name of God — the Hebrew admits both readings, and the Bible's own explanation of Samuel uses a pun on asking that fits neither.
9,606 in the 1940s
#418
Tommie Tommie means twin, and it is one of the most evenly split names on this site — 33 percent of recorded births are female, because it serves as a short form of both Thomas and Thomasina.
9,064 in the 1940s
#428
Carroll Carroll is one of the more evenly divided names on this site — 14 percent of recorded births are female, and it belonged to the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.
8,800 in the 1940s
#454
Perry Perry means at the pear tree, from an English place name — and it is reviving, at 1,373rd in the United States and 1,681st in England and Wales.
8,052 in the 1940s
#456
Gale
8,009 in the 1940s
#466
Ira Ira means watchful, and it is 12 percent female on record despite being a man's name in the Hebrew Bible — one of David's priests carries it in Samuel.
7,813 in the 1940s
#467
Guadalupe Guadalupe is half Arabic and half Latin — wadi, a valley or river, joined to a word for a wolf.
7,812 in the 1940s
#471
Laverne Laverne means the alder grove, and the goddess sometimes cited for it is a poor fit — Laverna was the Roman patroness of thieves, which is not a namesake most sources mention when they list her.
7,723 in the 1940s
#513
Loren Loren means from Laurentum, a town rather than a plant — the laurel reading came second, and the town itself was probably named for its laurels, so the connection is real but runs the long way round.
6,535 in the 1940s
#539
Roosevelt
5,922 in the 1940s
#544
Mickey
5,869 in the 1940s
#554
Ollie Ollie is a name of Norse origin meaning "ancestor's descendant."
5,675 in the 1940s
#556
Sammie
5,637 in the 1940s
#565
Kerry Kerry is 53 percent female on record — the fourth-closest to an even split on this site, behind only Emerson, Riley and Jackie.
5,517 in the 1940s
#568
Teddy Teddy is a boy's name that shortens either Edward, meaning "wealthy guardian," or Theodore, meaning "gift of God."
5,485 in the 1940s
#587
Lou Lou is a girl's name in France, a short form of Louise and Louis meaning "famous warrior."
5,149 in the 1940s
#606
Lupe
4,864 in the 1940s
#617
Ellis Ellis is a name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord is my God."
4,741 in the 1940s
#623
Dallas Dallas is the only rising name in this group — it peaked in 2015 and is still climbing, at 238th in the United States.
4,669 in the 1940s
#638
Noel Noel means Christmas, and its American peak was 2014 — the most recent peak of any name in this group by a wide margin.
4,456 in the 1940s
#679
Kim Kim is a name that arrives from three unrelated directions — an English place name, Kipling's 1901 novel, and the most common Korean surname in the world.
4,007 in the 1940s
#688
Garland
3,929 in the 1940s
#692
Robbie Robbie is a unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," a diminutive of Robert.
3,909 in the 1940s
#725
Jewell
3,661 in the 1940s
#734
Dee
3,514 in the 1940s
#741
Kelly Kelly is a name from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, borne almost entirely by men for most of its history and now 86 percent female on record.
3,423 in the 1940s
#760
Harley Harley is a name of Old English origin meaning "hare's meadow."
3,215 in the 1940s
#766
Marlin
3,143 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.