1960s Baby Names

10,861 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

#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
#10
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
356,586 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 genuinely unknown meaning.
286,775 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
#26
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
231,904 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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#50
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.
155,408 in the 1960s
#51
Debra Debra is a girl's name, the phonetic respelling of Deborah, from the Hebrew for bee.
154,181 in the 1960s
#54
Teresa Teresa is a girl's name whose meaning is genuinely uncertain, though harvester is the usual reading.
152,204 in the 1960s
#56
Nancy Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace."
143,135 in the 1960s
#57
Christine Christine is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, the French form of Christina.
139,728 in the 1960s
#58
Cheryl Cheryl is a girl's name coined in twentieth-century America, probably by blending Cherie with Beryl.
136,001 in the 1960s
#61
Denise Denise is a girl's name, the French feminine of Denis, and like it traces to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
129,281 in the 1960s
#65
Tina Tina is a girl's name that serves as the tail end of several unrelated names — Christina, Martina, Valentina and Bettina — so its meaning depends entirely on which one a family had in mind.
126,772 in the 1960s
#67
Kathleen Kathleen is a girl's name anglicizing the Irish Caitlín, a form of Catherine, and it inherits that name's genuinely unknown meaning.
121,252 in the 1960s
#68
Melissa Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter.
119,509 in the 1960s
#69
Amy Amy is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "beloved," and unusually the name is a past participle — someone who has been loved rather than someone lovable.
117,062 in the 1960s
#70
Diane Diane is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "divine" or "heavenly," the French form of the Roman goddess Diana.
114,777 in the 1960s
#71
Dawn Dawn is a girl's name taken directly from the English word for daybreak, and it is the English counterpart of Aurora rather than a translation of it.
114,607 in the 1960s
#74
Carol Carol is a girl's name with two independent sources: a short form of Caroline, and the word for a joyful song.
112,904 in the 1960s
#78
Kathy Kathy is a girl's name, the pet form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's genuinely unknown meaning.
101,375 in the 1960s
#79
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
99,750 in the 1960s
#81
Theresa Theresa is a girl's name of uncertain meaning, the German and English spelling of Teresa.
97,412 in the 1960s
#85
Rhonda Rhonda is a girl's name from a Welsh river valley, and the great spear reading usually given for it is wrong — the Rhondda is named for its own noisiness, not for a weapon.
93,863 in the 1960s
#86
Stephanie Stephanie is a girl's name from the Greek for crown or garland, the feminine of Stephen.
93,098 in the 1960s
#88
Cindy Cindy is a girl's name, a pet form of Cynthia, which was a title of the moon goddess Artemis.
91,808 in the 1960s
#89
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
89,549 in the 1960s
#90
Maria Maria is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Latin and Greek form of Miryam.
89,321 in the 1960s
#91
Wendy Wendy is usually credited to J.
89,212 in the 1960s
#93
Michele Michele is a girl's name, the single-l spelling of Michelle, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
87,530 in the 1960s
#95
Jacqueline Jacqueline is a girl's name, the French feminine of Jacques, and it inherits the meaning supplanter from Jacob.
84,691 in the 1960s
#96
Debbie Debbie is a girl's name meaning bee, a pet form of Deborah.
84,393 in the 1960s

What made a 1960s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1960 and 1969, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1960s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

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.