1960s Baby Names

18,229 names were given to children in the United States between 1960 and 1969, 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

#1
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
836,771 in the 1960s
#2
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
736,477 in the 1960s
#3
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
716,135 in the 1960s
#4
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
687,738 in the 1960s
#5
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
653,466 in the 1960s
#6
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.
498,279 in the 1960s
#7
Mark Mark is a boy's name of Latin origin, most likely meaning "of Mars," borne by the evangelist who wrote the earliest gospel.
442,737 in the 1960s
#8
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
423,227 in the 1960s
#9
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
375,372 in the 1960s
#10
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
356,586 in the 1960s
#11
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
328,237 in the 1960s
#12
Jeffrey Jeffrey is a boy's name from Germanic roots whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
302,954 in the 1960s
#13
Steven Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen.
291,564 in the 1960s
#14
Susan Susan is a girl's name from a Hebrew word for lily, taken in turn from an Egyptian word for lotus.
288,375 in the 1960s
#15
Karen Karen is a girl's name, the Danish form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
286,775 in the 1960s
#16
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
284,271 in the 1960s
#17
Timothy Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "honoring God."
277,906 in the 1960s
#18
Kevin Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "gentle birth," and its saint founded Glendalough and by tradition lived to 120.
272,549 in the 1960s
#19
Scott Scott is a boy's name meaning a Scot, from the surname given to people from Scotland.
267,570 in the 1960s
#20
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.
260,126 in the 1960s
#21
Brian Brian is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed, and neither is secure.
258,898 in the 1960s
#22
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
250,687 in the 1960s
#23
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
243,419 in the 1960s
#24
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
242,889 in the 1960s
#25
Christopher Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ," from Christos and pherein, to carry.
238,077 in the 1960s
#26
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
231,904 in the 1960s
#27
Kenneth Kenneth is a boy's name anglicizing two separate Gaelic names, one meaning born of fire and one meaning handsome.
228,556 in the 1960s
#28
Linda Linda is a girl's name usually read as beautiful in Spanish or as a Germanic element meaning soft or tender.
226,138 in the 1960s
#29
Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.
214,042 in the 1960s
#30
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
209,009 in the 1960s
#31
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
204,449 in the 1960s
#32
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.
197,150 in the 1960s
#33
Gregory Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert.
188,298 in the 1960s
#34
Sandra Sandra is a girl's name that began as an Italian short form of Alessandra and became independent in the twentieth century.
184,409 in the 1960s
#35
Deborah Deborah is a girl's name from the Hebrew for bee, borne by the only woman to lead Israel as a judge.
183,931 in the 1960s
#36
Ronald Ronald is a boy's name from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, meaning ruler's counsel, brought to Scotland by Norse settlement.
182,990 in the 1960s
#37
Tammy Tammy is a girl's name meaning palm tree, a pet form of Tamara.
182,845 in the 1960s
#38
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.
182,401 in the 1960s
#39
Lori Lori is a girl's name, a short form of Laura meaning laurel.
176,972 in the 1960s
#40
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
174,634 in the 1960s
#41
Donald Donald is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall, meaning world ruler.
173,390 in the 1960s
#42
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.
169,465 in the 1960s
#43
Gary Gary is a boy's name that reached the charts by an unusually traceable route: a surname became a steel town in Indiana, the town's name was given to an actor, and the actor made it a first name.
166,727 in the 1960s
#44
Julie Julie is a girl's name, the French form of Julia, from a Roman family name of uncertain origin.
166,539 in the 1960s
#45
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.
165,013 in the 1960s
#46
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
164,857 in the 1960s
#47
Barbara Barbara is a girl's name from the Greek for foreign or strange, the feminine of the word that gives us barbarian.
160,276 in the 1960s
#48
Angela Angela is a girl's name from the Greek for messenger, the word that also gives us angel.
159,698 in the 1960s

What Made a 1960s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1960 and 1969. 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.