Here are the most popular names of the decade.
- SSA is Social Security Administration (alternate spellings are not combined) and
- SFS is Some Fun Site (alternate spellings are combined).
Male names are first. Or you can start with the female names.
- Most Popular is the total of the names over the whole decade.
- Most Change is the difference in count between the first year and last year of the decade. It has the subcategories of Rising and Falling
- Rising is the highest difference in count
(which name has improved the most over the decade).
- Falling is the lowest difference in count between the first year and last year of the decade
(which name has dropped the most over the decade).
Top 25 Names of the Decade - 1940s
Male Names
Most Popular
Original (SSA)
| 1. |
James |
795061 |
| 2. |
Robert |
757403 |
| 3. |
John |
710948 |
| 4. |
William |
555908 |
| 5. |
Richard |
477042 |
| 6. |
David |
425972 |
| 7. |
Charles |
361419 |
| 8. |
Thomas |
350512 |
| 9. |
Michael |
336291 |
| 10. |
Ronald |
282184 |
| 11. |
Larry |
255653 |
| 12. |
Donald |
247542 |
| 13. |
Joseph |
230071 |
| 14. |
Gary |
217539 |
| 15. |
George |
208836 |
| 16. |
Kenneth |
198379 |
| 17. |
Paul |
183188 |
| 18. |
Edward |
174629 |
| 19. |
Jerry |
167068 |
| 20. |
Dennis |
161946 |
| 21. |
Frank |
119290 |
| 22. |
Daniel |
112665 |
| 23. |
Raymond |
108951 |
| 24. |
Roger |
107484 |
| 25. |
Stephen |
106682 |
Adjusted (SFS)
| 1. |
James |
795061 |
| 2. |
Robert |
757403 |
| 3. |
John |
729970 |
| 4. |
William |
555908 |
| 5. |
Richard |
477042 |
| 6. |
David |
425972 |
| 7. |
Charles |
361419 |
| 8. |
Thomas |
352114 |
| 9. |
Michael |
348093 |
| 10. |
Ronald |
282184 |
| 11. |
Larry |
255822 |
| 12. |
Donald |
247542 |
| 13. |
Joseph |
230071 |
| 14. |
Gary |
227849 |
| 15. |
George |
208836 |
| 16. |
Kenneth |
200121 |
| 17. |
Stephen |
187842 |
| 18. |
Paul |
183188 |
| 19. |
Edward |
174629 |
| 20. |
Jerry |
171044 |
| 21. |
Dennis |
165660 |
| 22. |
Frank |
119290 |
| 23. |
Gerald |
114948 |
| 24. |
Daniel |
113329 |
| 25. |
Roger |
112767 |
Most Change
Rising (SSA)
| 1. |
Michael |
46657 |
| 2. |
David |
31818 |
| 3. |
John |
26220 |
| 4. |
James |
24282 |
| 5. |
Robert |
22469 |
| 6. |
Thomas |
21124 |
| 7. |
Steven |
18316 |
| 8. |
William |
16592 |
| 9. |
Gary |
16320 |
| 10. |
Stephen |
16009 |
| 11. |
Larry |
14535 |
| 12. |
Dennis |
13846 |
| 13. |
Richard |
13459 |
| 14. |
Mark |
12531 |
| 15. |
Daniel |
11987 |
| 16. |
Ronald |
10697 |
| 17. |
Gregory |
10206 |
| 18. |
Bruce |
8452 |
| 19. |
Terry |
8451 |
| 20. |
Kenneth |
8423 |
| 21. |
Charles |
8274 |
| 22. |
Joseph |
8129 |
| 23. |
Timothy |
7943 |
| 24. |
Douglas |
7561 |
| 25. |
Paul |
7439 |
Rising (SFS)
| 1. |
Michael |
48989 |
| 2. |
Stephen |
34325 |
| 3. |
David |
31818 |
| 4. |
John |
26554 |
| 5. |
James |
24282 |
| 6. |
Robert |
22469 |
| 7. |
Thomas |
21212 |
| 8. |
Gary |
17178 |
| 9. |
William |
16592 |
| 10. |
Larry |
14591 |
| 11. |
Dennis |
13966 |
| 12. |
Alan |
13851 |
| 13. |
Mark |
13803 |
| 14. |
Richard |
13459 |
| 15. |
Daniel |
12067 |
| 16. |
Ronald |
10697 |
| 17. |
Gregory |
10206 |
| 18. |
Bruce |
8452 |
| 19. |
Terry |
8451 |
| 20. |
Kenneth |
8427 |
| 21. |
Charles |
8274 |
| 22. |
Joseph |
8129 |
| 23. |
Timothy |
7943 |
| 24. |
Jeffrey |
7710 |
| 25. |
Douglas |
7637 |
Falling (SSA)
| 1. |
Billy |
-1803 |
| 2. |
Bobby |
-1777 |
| 3. |
Wendell |
-916 |
| 4. |
Norman |
-915 |
| 5. |
Fred |
-880 |
| 6. |
Franklin |
-770 |
| 7. |
Joe |
-705 |
| 8. |
Bob |
-619 |
| 9. |
Gene |
-615 |
| 10. |
Dick |
-571 |
| 11. |
Bill |
-513 |
| 12. |
Don |
-495 |
| 13. |
Gerald |
-440 |
| 14. |
Leroy |
-374 |
| 15. |
Elmer |
-353 |
| 16. |
Jimmie |
-331 |
| 17. |
Earl |
-307 |
| 18. |
Harold |
-281 |
| 19. |
Cecil |
-270 |
| 20. |
Lowell |
-238 |
| 21. |
Bobbie |
-224 |
| 22. |
Wilbur |
-218 |
| 23. |
Willard |
-211 |
| 24. |
Marion |
-210 |
| 25. |
Delbert |
-206 |
Falling (SFS)
| 1. |
Allen |
-7008 |
| 2. |
Billy |
-2008 |
| 3. |
Bobby |
-2001 |
| 4. |
Bennie |
-1611 |
| 5. |
Wendell |
-1020 |
| 6. |
Norman |
-915 |
| 7. |
Fred |
-880 |
| 8. |
Franklin |
-778 |
| 9. |
Joe |
-705 |
| 10. |
Roosevelt |
-705 |
| 11. |
Bob |
-619 |
| 12. |
Gene |
-603 |
| 13. |
Dick |
-571 |
| 14. |
Bill |
-513 |
| 15. |
Dominick |
-485 |
| 16. |
Leroy |
-431 |
| 17. |
Irwin |
-363 |
| 18. |
Laverne |
-355 |
| 19. |
Elmer |
-353 |
| 20. |
Carroll |
-349 |
| 21. |
Gerald |
-340 |
| 22. |
Earl |
-317 |
| 23. |
Wilbur |
-305 |
| 24. |
Harold |
-281 |
| 25. |
Cecil |
-270 |
Female Names
Most Popular
Original (SSA)
| 1. |
Mary |
639807 |
| 2. |
Linda |
531485 |
| 3. |
Barbara |
425124 |
| 4. |
Patricia |
411302 |
| 5. |
Carol |
292233 |
| 6. |
Sandra |
265449 |
| 7. |
Nancy |
251960 |
| 8. |
Sharon |
221175 |
| 9. |
Judith |
217955 |
| 10. |
Susan |
211943 |
| 11. |
Betty |
194572 |
| 12. |
Carolyn |
181803 |
| 13. |
Margaret |
172970 |
| 14. |
Shirley |
171736 |
| 15. |
Judy |
167666 |
| 16. |
Karen |
167646 |
| 17. |
Donna |
165476 |
| 18. |
Kathleen |
152937 |
| 19. |
Joyce |
151440 |
| 20. |
Dorothy |
132196 |
| 21. |
Janet |
130725 |
| 22. |
Diane |
122850 |
| 23. |
Janice |
118857 |
| 24. |
Joan |
117658 |
| 25. |
Elizabeth |
116503 |
Adjusted (SFS)
| 1. |
Mary |
643028 |
| 2. |
Linda |
559433 |
| 3. |
Barbara |
426266 |
| 4. |
Patricia |
411302 |
| 5. |
Carol |
349234 |
| 6. |
Sandra |
272315 |
| 7. |
Nancy |
253500 |
| 8. |
Sharon |
234991 |
| 9. |
Judith |
217955 |
| 10. |
Susan |
213550 |
| 11. |
Betty |
208426 |
| 12. |
Carolyn |
196931 |
| 13. |
Margaret |
183731 |
| 14. |
Karen |
175389 |
| 15. |
Judy |
174480 |
| 16. |
Shirley |
172784 |
| 17. |
Donna |
168894 |
| 18. |
Diane |
160797 |
| 19. |
Kathleen |
157316 |
| 20. |
Catherine |
154550 |
| 21. |
Joyce |
151440 |
| 22. |
Dorothy |
138652 |
| 23. |
Janet |
134342 |
| 24. |
Janice |
133716 |
| 25. |
Elizabeth |
118056 |
Most Change
Rising (SSA)
| 1. |
Linda |
72572 |
| 2. |
Susan |
30931 |
| 3. |
Kathleen |
20631 |
| 4. |
Deborah |
18728 |
| 5. |
Karen |
15172 |
| 6. |
Brenda |
15085 |
| 7. |
Sharon |
14568 |
| 8. |
Pamela |
14492 |
| 9. |
Sandra |
14469 |
| 10. |
Patricia |
13652 |
| 11. |
Donna |
12801 |
| 12. |
Diane |
12060 |
| 13. |
Cheryl |
11712 |
| 14. |
Cynthia |
11008 |
| 15. |
Mary |
10605 |
| 16. |
Christine |
9629 |
| 17. |
Nancy |
9480 |
| 18. |
Kathy |
7849 |
| 19. |
Rebecca |
6214 |
| 20. |
Barbara |
5840 |
| 21. |
Connie |
5417 |
| 22. |
Diana |
5334 |
| 23. |
Paula |
5195 |
| 24. |
Janice |
5126 |
| 25. |
Carol |
5010 |
Rising (SFS)
| 1. |
Linda |
75130 |
| 2. |
Susan |
31194 |
| 3. |
Kathleen |
21464 |
| 4. |
Deborah |
21222 |
| 5. |
Karen |
16083 |
| 6. |
Diane |
15383 |
| 7. |
Sharon |
15251 |
| 8. |
Brenda |
15085 |
| 9. |
Pamela |
14802 |
| 10. |
Sandra |
14634 |
| 11. |
Cheryl |
14045 |
| 12. |
Patricia |
13652 |
| 13. |
Catherine |
13355 |
| 14. |
Kathy |
13007 |
| 15. |
Donna |
12877 |
| 16. |
Cynthia |
11008 |
| 17. |
Mary |
10928 |
| 18. |
Christine |
10831 |
| 19. |
Nancy |
9561 |
| 20. |
Vicki |
8380 |
| 21. |
Janice |
7007 |
| 22. |
Theresa |
6798 |
| 23. |
Diana |
6603 |
| 24. |
Rebecca |
6310 |
| 25. |
Marcia |
6240 |
Falling (SSA)
| 1. |
Betty |
-7123 |
| 2. |
Judith |
-4782 |
| 3. |
Dorothy |
-4456 |
| 4. |
Joan |
-4091 |
| 5. |
Helen |
-2507 |
| 6. |
Doris |
-2486 |
| 7. |
Eleanor |
-2068 |
| 8. |
Carole |
-2027 |
| 9. |
Norma |
-1933 |
| 10. |
Mildred |
-1305 |
| 11. |
Joyce |
-1243 |
| 12. |
Geraldine |
-1240 |
| 13. |
Ruth |
-1237 |
| 14. |
Lois |
-1220 |
| 15. |
Pat |
-1191 |
| 16. |
Frances |
-1187 |
| 17. |
Dolores |
-1141 |
| 18. |
Myrna |
-1050 |
| 19. |
Ruby |
-1041 |
| 20. |
Alice |
-936 |
| 21. |
Wilma |
-898 |
| 22. |
Florence |
-897 |
| 23. |
Marjorie |
-893 |
| 24. |
Arlene |
-868 |
| 25. |
Thelma |
-833 |
Falling (SFS)
| 1. |
Betty |
-7430 |
| 2. |
Dolores |
-7320 |
| 3. |
Judith |
-4782 |
| 4. |
Dorothy |
-4591 |
| 5. |
Joan |
-4091 |
| 6. |
Helen |
-2604 |
| 7. |
Doris |
-2580 |
| 8. |
Eleanor |
-2396 |
| 9. |
Norma |
-1933 |
| 10. |
Geraldine |
-1312 |
| 11. |
Mildred |
-1305 |
| 12. |
Frances |
-1244 |
| 13. |
Joyce |
-1243 |
| 14. |
Ruth |
-1237 |
| 15. |
Lois |
-1220 |
| 16. |
Pat |
-1191 |
| 17. |
Arlene |
-1172 |
| 18. |
Ruby |
-1093 |
| 19. |
Myrna |
-1050 |
| 20. |
Alice |
-944 |
| 21. |
Marion |
-930 |
| 22. |
Marjorie |
-905 |
| 23. |
Wilma |
-898 |
| 24. |
Florence |
-897 |
| 25. |
Jerry |
-886 |
View Top 1000 Names for each year of the 1940s
