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 mixed — about 18 percent of recorded births are female.
90,663 in the 1940s
#60
Willie Willie is a pet form of William meaning resolute protector, and one of the more mixed names on record — 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 on record: 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 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 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

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.