1950s Baby Names

9,057 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

#6
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
627,144 in the 1950s
#8
Linda Linda is a girl's name usually read as beautiful in Spanish or as a Germanic element meaning soft or tender.
565,533 in the 1950s
#10
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
460,702 in the 1950s
#12
Susan Susan is a girl's name from a Hebrew word for lily, taken in turn from an Egyptian word for lotus.
438,469 in the 1950s
#13
Deborah Deborah is a girl's name from the Hebrew for bee, borne by the only woman to lead Israel as a judge.
431,325 in the 1950s
#16
Barbara Barbara is a girl's name from the Greek for foreign or strange, the feminine of the word that gives us barbarian.
346,415 in the 1950s
#17
Debra Debra is a girl's name, the phonetic respelling of Deborah, from the Hebrew for bee.
341,939 in the 1950s
#19
Karen Karen is a girl's name, the Danish form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
333,094 in the 1950s
#22
Nancy Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace."
287,352 in the 1950s
#25
Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.
270,842 in the 1950s
#26
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.
263,892 in the 1950s
#29
Sandra Sandra is a girl's name that began as an Italian short form of Alessandra and became independent in the twentieth century.
252,071 in the 1950s
#32
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.
237,775 in the 1950s
#33
Sharon Sharon is a girl's name taken from a place rather than a person — the fertile coastal plain of Sharon in Israel, known from the rose of Sharon in the Song of Songs.
233,299 in the 1950s
#34
Kathleen Kathleen is a girl's name anglicizing the Irish Caitlín, a form of Catherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
224,736 in the 1950s
#35
Carol Carol is a girl's name with two independent sources: a short form of Caroline, and the word for a joyful song.
223,570 in the 1950s
#36
Diane Diane is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "divine" or "heavenly," the French form of the Roman goddess Diana.
211,057 in the 1950s
#37
Brenda Brenda is a girl's name from an Old Norse word for a sword or a torch, and it appears to have been invented for a novel — Walter Scott used it in The Pirate in 1822, and no earlier use is recorded.
209,689 in the 1950s
#46
Cheryl Cheryl is a girl's name coined in twentieth-century America, probably by blending Cherie with Beryl.
171,679 in the 1950s
#47
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
167,829 in the 1950s
#48
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
166,022 in the 1950s
#50
Kathy Kathy is a girl's name, the pet form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
158,226 in the 1950s
#51
Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.
149,898 in the 1950s
#56
Janice Janice is a girl's name usually credited to a 1899 novel, though it is on record from 1894 — five years before the book.
133,881 in the 1950s
#57
Carolyn Carolyn is a girl's name, an English elaboration of Caroline meaning free man through Charles.
124,378 in the 1950s
#58
Denise Denise is a girl's name, the French feminine of Denis, and like it traces to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
124,104 in the 1950s
#60
Judy Judy is a girl's name, the pet form of Judith, from a Hebrew word meaning a woman of Judea.
118,315 in the 1950s
#61
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
115,894 in the 1950s
#62
Joyce Joyce is a girl's name that was a man's name for most of its history, from a Breton saint called Iodoc. It is stable, and its highest current rank is France at 334th — not any English-speaking market.
115,289 in the 1950s
#63
Teresa Teresa is a girl's name whose meaning is uncertain, though harvester is the usual reading.
114,514 in the 1950s
#64
Christine Christine is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, the French form of Christina.
113,598 in the 1950s
#69
Shirley Shirley is a girl's name from an English place name meaning bright clearing, and it was a boys' name until Charlotte Brontë used it for a heroine in 1849.
109,429 in the 1950s
#71
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.
109,059 in the 1950s
#72
Judith Judith is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman of Judea," borne by the heroine who beheads Holofernes in the deuterocanonical book named for her.
108,955 in the 1950s
#73
Betty Betty is a girl's name that began as a short form of Elizabeth and is now used in its own right.
103,515 in the 1950s
#75
Beverly Beverly is a name from an English town meaning beaver stream, and it began as a boys' name before crossing decisively to girls.
98,327 in the 1950s
#78
Lisa Lisa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," a short form of Elisabeth that became a name in its own right.
96,012 in the 1950s
#79
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
95,743 in the 1950s
#82
Connie Connie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "steadfast" or "constant."
89,988 in the 1950s
#83
Theresa Theresa is a girl's name of uncertain meaning, the German and English spelling of Teresa.
89,789 in the 1950s
#85
Ann Ann is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor, and the spelling without the final e.
87,228 in the 1950s
#86
Gloria Gloria is a girl's name that is simply the Latin word for glory, taken unchanged.
87,034 in the 1950s
#88
Gail Gail is a girl's name meaning my father rejoices, clipped from Abigail.
86,925 in the 1950s
#89
Julie Julie is a girl's name, the French form of Julia, from a Roman family name of uncertain origin.
86,841 in the 1950s
#91
Paula Paula is a girl's name from the Latin for small or humble, the feminine of Paul.
85,028 in the 1950s
#92
Peggy Peggy is a girl's name meaning pearl, a pet form of Margaret by way of Meg.
84,462 in the 1950s
#95
Cindy Cindy is a girl's name, a pet form of Cynthia, which was a title of the moon goddess Artemis.
84,107 in the 1950s
#96
Bonnie Bonnie is a girl's name of Scots origin meaning "pretty" or "fine."
83,505 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.