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

#145
Phyllis Phyllis is a girl's name from the Greek for foliage, borne by a mythological princess who was turned into an almond tree.
57,882 in the 1950s
#146
Helen Helen is a girl's name from Greek whose meaning is not settled, though torch and shining are the usual readings.
57,749 in the 1950s
#147
Stanley Stanley is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "stony clearing."
57,366 in the 1950s
#148
Vickie Vickie is an American name that now charts only in France — it peaked at 6,957 US births in 1956 and has left the American rankings entirely, surviving at 6,405th in a market it was never native to.
57,040 in the 1950s
#149
Lori Lori is a girl's name, a short form of Laura meaning laurel.
56,168 in the 1950s
#150
Ellen Ellen is a girl's name of Greek origin, a medieval English form of Helen whose meaning has never been settled.
55,507 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
#155
Elaine Elaine is a girl's name, the Old French form of Helen, whose meaning was never established.
54,320 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
#157
Joanne Joanne is a girl's name meaning God is gracious, one of the many feminines of John.
53,639 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
#160
Ronnie Ronnie is a name of Old Norse origin meaning "ruler's counsel."
52,878 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
#162
Anne Anne is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning favor or grace.
52,498 in the 1950s
#163
Valerie Valerie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "strong" or "healthy," from the verb valere, meaning to be strong or to be well.
52,346 in the 1950s
#164
Alice Alice is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," arrived at by a long contraction of Adelaide.
52,230 in the 1950s
#165
Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.
51,604 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
#167
Suzanne Suzanne is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lily," from shoshannah.
50,414 in the 1950s
#168
Kimberly Kimberly is a girl's name that reached America by way of a South African diamond town, which was itself named after a British colonial secretary.
50,196 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
#170
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
49,416 in the 1950s
#171
Victoria Victoria is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "victory."
49,218 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
#176
Anita Anita is a girl's name, the Spanish diminutive of Ana, meaning grace.
47,698 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
#178
Laurie Laurie is a name meaning laurel, and it is mixed by country — masculine in Britain as a short form of Laurence, feminine in America as a short form of Laura.
47,249 in the 1950s
#179
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
46,896 in the 1950s
#180
Sally Sally is a girl's name meaning princess, a pet form of Sarah reached by medieval rhyming.
46,805 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
#182
Terri Terri shortens Teresa, whose meaning has never been established — harvester, summer and a Greek island are all proposed and none of them is settled.
46,604 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
#185
Marcia Marcia means dedicated to Mars, and that god's name is also where the month of March comes from — the Roman year began in March, because that was when the campaigning season opened up again after the winter.
43,801 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
#188
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
43,159 in the 1950s
#189
Doris Doris is a girl's name from Greek mythology, where she is a sea nymph and the mother of the fifty Nereids.
43,109 in the 1950s
#190
Maureen Maureen is the Irish Máirín, a diminutive of Máire, which is itself the Irish form of Mary.
42,901 in the 1950s
#191
Wendy Wendy is usually credited to J.
42,786 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

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.