1940s Baby Names

13,557 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

#49
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
109,452 in the 1940s
#50
Roger Roger is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning famous spear.
107,917 in the 1940s
#51
Stephen Stephen is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, borne by the first Christian martyr.
107,050 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
#53
Gerald Gerald is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning rule of the spear, and it gave Ireland one of its great Norman dynasties, the FitzGeralds.
103,738 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
#59
Terry Terry is a name serving as a short form of Terence and of the Germanic Theodoric, two unrelated names, and it is genuinely mixed — about 18 percent of the births in our records are female.
90,663 in the 1940s
#60
Willie Willie is a pet form of William meaning resolute protector, and one of the more genuinely mixed names in our records — a quarter of the births we hold are female, which is unusual for a name read today as male.
90,520 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
#64
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
84,106 in the 1940s
#65
Harold Harold is a boy's name from Norse and Old English elements meaning army ruler, and it belongs to the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, killed at Hastings in 1066.
82,452 in the 1940s
#66
Jean Jean is a unisex name in our data: the French form of John, meaning "God is gracious," and separately a Scottish feminine form of Jane.
81,936 in the 1940s
#67
Steven Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen.
81,351 in the 1940s
#68
Douglas Douglas is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic for dark water, originally a river and then a powerful border family.
81,000 in the 1940s
#69
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
80,717 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
#72
Wayne Wayne is an occupational surname meaning a wagon maker, and its life as a given name follows one man — John Wayne, who was born Marion Robert Morrison and renamed by a studio.
75,337 in the 1940s
#73
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
74,329 in the 1940s
#74
Joe Joe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," a short form of Joseph that has become the English word for an ordinary person.
74,186 in the 1940s
#75
Jack Jack is a boy's name of English origin that began as a pet form of John, by way of the medieval nickname Jankin.
74,129 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
#77
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
73,055 in the 1940s
#78
Henry Henry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler," from heim, meaning home or estate, and ric, meaning ruler or power.
72,989 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
#82
Bruce Bruce is a boy's name from a Norman place name, and Scotland's most famous king carried it as an import — the Bruces came from Normandy, not from Scotland.
72,295 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
#84
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
69,513 in the 1940s
#85
Billy Billy is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector."
68,441 in the 1940s
#86
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
66,007 in the 1940s
#87
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
65,163 in the 1940s
#88
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is genuinely unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
65,023 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
#90
Jimmy Jimmy is a boy's name, the pet form of James, meaning supplanter.
63,889 in the 1940s
#91
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is genuinely unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
62,269 in the 1940s
#92
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
60,561 in the 1940s
#93
Bobby Bobby is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
60,445 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

What made a 1940s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1940 and 1949, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1940s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

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.