1950s Baby Names

1,436 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

#76
Robin Robin is a name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
97,648 in the 1950s
#90
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.
85,452 in the 1950s
#104
Lynn Lynn is a name from a Welsh and Gaelic word for a lake or a pool below a waterfall.
79,823 in the 1950s
#109
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.
77,288 in the 1950s
#112
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.
73,779 in the 1950s
#127
Jo Jo is a name serving as the short form of Joanne, Josephine and Joan for women and Joseph for men.
64,223 in the 1950s
#160
Ronnie Ronnie is a name of Old Norse origin meaning "ruler's counsel."
52,878 in the 1950s
#192
Michele Michele is a girl's name, the single-l spelling of Michelle, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
42,232 in the 1950s
#207
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.
37,749 in the 1950s
#213
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
36,880 in the 1950s
#263
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.
28,492 in the 1950s
#280
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.
24,966 in the 1950s
#316
Kerry Kerry is 53 percent female on record — the fourth-closest to an even split on this site, behind only Emerson, Riley and Jackie.
20,858 in the 1950s
#323
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.
20,347 in the 1950s
#326
Johnnie Johnnie means God is gracious, a pet form of John.
20,231 in the 1950s
#335
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.
19,144 in the 1950s
#352
Tracy Tracy is a Norman place name that became a surname, then a boys' name, then overwhelmingly a girls' name — about 81 percent of recorded births are female.
18,137 in the 1950s
#356
Jessie Jessie is a name that arrives from two unrelated directions — the Scottish pet form of Janet, and a feminine of the Hebrew Jesse.
17,818 in the 1950s
#362
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.
17,364 in the 1950s
#368
Jody Jody serves Judith, Joseph and Jude at once, which is why it is 64 percent female rather than resolving to one side — three unrelated parents pulling in different directions.
16,680 in the 1950s
#380
Charlie Charlie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man."
16,055 in the 1950s
#408
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.
14,357 in the 1950s
#420
Jamie Jamie is a unisex name of Hebrew origin, a Scottish diminutive of James meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel."
13,349 in the 1950s
#444
Gale
11,774 in the 1950s
#458
Frankie Frankie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frenchman."
11,111 in the 1950s
#473
Sidney Sidney is a name of Old English origin meaning "wide meadow."
10,524 in the 1950s
#482
Patrice Patrice is masculine in French and feminine in English — the same spelling, opposite sexes on either side of the Channel.
10,297 in the 1950s
#489
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.
10,076 in the 1950s
#508
Lou Lou is a girl's name in France, a short form of Louise and Louis meaning "famous warrior."
9,597 in the 1950s
#518
Joni
9,262 in the 1950s
#529
Guadalupe Guadalupe is half Arabic and half Latin — wadi, a valley or river, joined to a word for a wolf.
8,966 in the 1950s
#545
Marty
8,387 in the 1950s
#548
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.
8,256 in the 1950s
#549
Mickey
8,218 in the 1950s
#550
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.
8,200 in the 1950s
#553
Rickie
8,119 in the 1950s
#564
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.
7,579 in the 1950s
#565
Shannon Shannon is a name from Ireland's longest river, and it is 86 percent female on record.
7,544 in the 1950s
#577
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.
7,307 in the 1950s
#579
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.
7,252 in the 1950s
#601
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.
6,741 in the 1950s
#609
Robbie Robbie is a unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," a diminutive of Robert.
6,628 in the 1950s
#610
Joey Joey is a name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will increase."
6,613 in the 1950s
#661
Karin
5,769 in the 1950s
#666
Roosevelt
5,728 in the 1950s
#670
Tracey Tracey is a Norman place name, not an Irish one — it comes from Tracy in Normandy, and the warrior reading widely given for it has no basis in the French original at all.
5,676 in the 1950s
#675
Teddy Teddy is a boy's name that shortens either Edward, meaning "wealthy guardian," or Theodore, meaning "gift of God."
5,637 in the 1950s
#684
Kris
5,525 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.