1950s Baby Names

15,671 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

#49
Kevin Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "gentle birth," and its saint founded Glendalough and by tradition lived to 120.
159,697 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
#52
Douglas Douglas is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic for dark water, originally a river and then a powerful border family.
148,503 in the 1950s
#53
Jerry Jerry is a name that serves as the short form of at least three unrelated names — Jeremiah from Hebrew, Gerald and Gerard from Germanic — so its meaning depends entirely on which one a family had in mind.
139,095 in the 1950s
#54
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
137,192 in the 1950s
#55
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.
136,786 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
#59
Randy Randy is a boy's name, the short form of Randall or Randolph, meaning shield-wolf.
122,475 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
#65
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
112,698 in the 1950s
#66
Brian Brian is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed, and neither is secure.
112,529 in the 1950s
#67
Scott Scott is a boy's name meaning a Scot, from the surname given to people from Scotland.
112,035 in the 1950s
#68
Roger Roger is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning famous spear.
110,440 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
#70
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
109,298 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
#74
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
102,931 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
#76
Robin Robin is a name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
97,648 in the 1950s
#77
Patrick Patrick is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "nobleman."
97,135 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
#80
Keith Keith is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, probably from a Brittonic word for a wood.
91,546 in the 1950s
#81
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
91,386 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
#84
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.
88,366 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
#87
Danny Danny is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," a diminutive of Daniel.
86,933 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
#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
#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
#93
Dale Dale is a name from the Old English word for a valley, and like Craig and Heather it is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound.
84,208 in the 1950s
#94
Alan Alan is a boy's name of Breton origin whose meaning has never been established.
84,118 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.