1950s Baby Names

5,178 names were given to children in the United States between 1950 and 1959, 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

#106
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
79,064 in the 1950s
#107
Christopher Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ," from Christos and pherein, to carry.
78,655 in the 1950s
#110
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.
76,519 in the 1950s
#114
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
72,529 in the 1950s
#118
Craig Craig is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a rock or crag, and one of the few names that is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound.
69,642 in the 1950s
#122
Johnny Johnny is a boy's name, the pet form of John, meaning God is gracious.
66,415 in the 1950s
#123
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
66,028 in the 1950s
#124
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.
64,464 in the 1950s
#126
Steve Steve is a boy's name, the short form of Steven or Stephen, meaning crown or garland.
64,417 in the 1950s
#129
Randall Randall is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning shield-wolf.
62,669 in the 1950s
#131
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.
62,591 in the 1950s
#132
Russell Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy.
62,589 in the 1950s
#133
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.
62,535 in the 1950s
#134
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.
62,406 in the 1950s
#135
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
62,182 in the 1950s
#137
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
61,181 in the 1950s
#138
Philip Philip is a boy's name from Greek elements meaning lover of horses.
60,952 in the 1950s
#139
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
60,625 in the 1950s
#143
Billy Billy is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector."
59,760 in the 1950s
#144
Glenn Glenn is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a narrow valley, and like Craig and Dale it is a plain landscape noun.
58,996 in the 1950s
#147
Stanley Stanley is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "stony clearing."
57,366 in the 1950s
#151
Jimmy Jimmy is a boy's name, the pet form of James, meaning supplanter.
55,237 in the 1950s
#152
Barry Barry is a boy's name from an Irish surname generally traced to a word for a spear, though a Welsh island gives a competing route.
55,008 in the 1950s
#153
Rodney Rodney is a boy's name from an English place name, and its rise as a given name follows a single admiral — George Rodney, who broke the French line at the Saintes in 1782.
54,964 in the 1950s
#154
Bobby Bobby is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
54,499 in the 1950s
#156
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
53,985 in the 1950s
#158
Eric Eric is a boy's name of Old Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler" or "sole ruler."
53,444 in the 1950s
#159
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
53,083 in the 1950s
#161
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
52,645 in the 1950s
#166
Martin Martin is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "of Mars," borne by Saint Martin of Tours, whose cloak gave Europe the word chapel.
51,137 in the 1950s
#169
Lee Lee is a name from the Old English word for a woodland clearing, and it is one of the most productive elements in English place names — the ending of Ashley, Bradley, Shirley and Beverly.
49,687 in the 1950s
#172
Eugene Eugene is a boy's name from the Greek for well-born, and it is the source of the word eugenics — a connection worth knowing, since the name long predates and has nothing to do with that movement.
48,479 in the 1950s
#173
Mike Mike is a boy's name, the short form of Michael, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
48,475 in the 1950s
#174
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
48,187 in the 1950s
#175
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
48,009 in the 1950s
#177
Allen Allen is a boy's name whose meaning is unknown — rock, handsome and deer have all been proposed from an unidentified Breton source.
47,528 in the 1950s
#181
Curtis Curtis is a boy's name from a Norman French nickname meaning courteous, and it is one of very few names that describes manners rather than birth, appearance or trade.
46,651 in the 1950s
#183
Jeffery Jeffery is a boy's name whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
46,087 in the 1950s
#184
Frederick Frederick is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler."
44,449 in the 1950s
#186
Leonard Leonard is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "lion-strong," and its saint is the patron of prisoners and of women in labor.
43,730 in the 1950s
#187
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
43,489 in the 1950s
#195
Micheal Micheal is a boy's name of Hebrew origin whose full form is a rhetorical question — who is like God?
41,138 in the 1950s
#196
Tony Tony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning has never been established.
41,118 in the 1950s
#198
Eddie Eddie is a boy's name, the pet form of Edward or Edwin, meaning wealth.
40,178 in the 1950s
#200
Ernest Ernest is a boy's name from a Germanic word meaning serious or resolute, and it is far stronger in Europe than in America — 252nd in England and Wales and 276th in France against 1,042nd in the United States.
39,875 in the 1950s
#209
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
37,584 in the 1950s
#210
Darrell Darrell does not mean beloved.
37,455 in the 1950s
#211
Jay Jay is a name serving as an initial-letter shortening for any J name, as a bird name, and as an Indian name meaning victory.
37,435 in the 1950s

What Made a 1950s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1950 and 1959. 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.