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The most popular baby names of 1939

SSA recorded 2,203,464 births in 1939 across all reported names — 1,096,612 girls and 1,106,852 boys.

Top 100 girls' names in 1939

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1938.
#NameBirthsvs 1938
1 Mary 54,900 —
2 Barbara 37,257 —
3 Patricia 29,701 —
4 Betty 23,639 —
5 Shirley 20,447 —
6 Carol 20,166 —
7 Nancy 19,723 —
8 Judith 16,625 +4
9 Dorothy 15,169 -1
10 Margaret 14,949 -1
11 Joan 14,143 -1
12 Joyce 13,394 -1
13 Sandra 11,970 +1
14 Carolyn 11,290 +1
15 Linda 10,713 +16
16 Helen 10,420 -3
17 Janet 10,120 -1
18 Elizabeth 9,709 -1
19 Marilyn 9,538 —
20 Donna 9,371 —
21 Virginia 9,227 +1
22 Ruth 9,062 -1
23 Sharon 9,014 +7
24 Janice 8,778 —
25 Beverly 8,706 -7
26 Frances 8,577 -3
27 Martha 8,493 -1
28 Judy 8,081 +13
29 Doris 7,687 -4
30 Phyllis 7,590 -2
31 Alice 7,365 -2
32 Jean 7,292 -5
33 Ann 6,551 -1
34 Peggy 6,050 +1
35 Lois 6,034 -2
36 Gloria 5,939 —
37 Marie 5,890 —
38 Norma 5,827 -4
39 Karen 5,541 +11
40 Evelyn 5,332 -2
41 Geraldine 5,160 +4
42 Rose 5,040 -3
43 Anna 4,929 -3
44 Susan 4,887 +27
45 Elaine 4,785 -3
46 Jane 4,771 -2
47 Carole 4,679 -1
48 Kathleen 4,656 +10
49 Catherine 4,577 -1
50 Wanda 4,557 -1
51 Diane 4,340 +13
52 Sally 4,244 +2
53 Joanne 4,225 +4
54 Annie 4,155 -7
55 Mildred 4,137 -3
56 Patsy 4,111 -1
57 Joann 3,994 +11
58 Dolores 3,980 -15
59 Louise 3,956 —
60 Marjorie 3,907 -7
61 Bonnie 3,887 +4
62 Sylvia 3,870 -6
63 Eleanor 3,810 -3
64 Marlene 3,773 -13
65 Loretta 3,769 -3
66 Charlotte 3,739 +4
67 Ruby 3,712 -6
68 Sarah 3,671 -1
69 Arlene 3,578 -6
70 Jo 3,524 +8
71 Roberta 3,409 +2
72 Jacqueline 3,388 -3
73 Gail 3,355 +4
74 Irene 3,331 -2
75 Darlene 3,287 +1
76 Kay 3,260 +5
77 Juanita 3,212 +3
78 Rita 3,188 -4
79 Delores 3,018 -4
80 Ellen 3,005 +9
81 Edna 2,904 +1
82 Jeanette 2,893 +9
83 June 2,867 -4
84 Josephine 2,837 -1
85 Anne 2,769 -1
86 Brenda 2,756 +158
87 Wilma 2,701 -2
88 Thelma 2,696 -2
89 Emma 2,685 +7
90 Yvonne 2,648 +11
91 Julia 2,635 +16
92 Sue 2,623 +12
93 Rosemary 2,612 +2
94 Theresa 2,611 -2
95 Lorraine 2,593 -2
96 Florence 2,592 -7
97 Anita 2,588 +2
98 Audrey 2,569 -11
99 Lillian 2,551 -11
100 Ethel 2,496 -6

Top 100 boys' names in 1939

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1938.
#NameBirthsvs 1938
1 Robert 59,666 —
2 James 59,636 —
3 John 51,025 —
4 William 42,071 —
5 Richard 35,386 —
6 Charles 30,789 —
7 David 25,360 +1
8 Donald 24,056 -1
9 Thomas 22,129 —
10 Ronald 19,837 —
11 George 17,886 —
12 Joseph 17,722 —
13 Kenneth 14,715 +1
14 Larry 14,532 +2
15 Edward 14,427 -2
16 Jerry 13,729 +1
17 Paul 13,337 -2
18 Michael 10,828 +3
19 Gerald 10,057 —
20 Frank 9,991 -2
21 Gary 9,684 +1
22 Raymond 9,252 -2
23 Harold 8,299 —
24 Billy 7,474 —
25 Walter 7,322 +1
26 Jack 7,306 -1
27 Joe 7,189 +1
28 Roger 7,155 +3
29 Bobby 7,057 -2
30 Carl 6,593 -1
31 Henry 6,561 -1
32 Arthur 6,380 —
33 Willie 6,308 +1
34 Dennis 6,212 +15
35 Ralph 5,959 —
36 Lawrence 5,882 —
37 Eugene 5,869 -4
38 Daniel 5,797 +1
39 Wayne 5,653 +1
40 Fred 5,538 -2
41 Albert 5,477 -4
42 Roy 5,156 -1
43 Jimmy 4,753 +2
44 Norman 4,742 -1
45 Harry 4,661 -1
46 Peter 4,639 +2
47 Howard 4,613 -5
48 Anthony 4,610 -2
49 Louis 4,224 -2
50 Earl 3,896 —
51 Melvin 3,853 +3
52 Marvin 3,758 —
53 Francis 3,721 -2
54 Leonard 3,711 +3
55 Ernest 3,688 —
56 Don 3,589 -4
57 Stanley 3,570 +2
58 Douglas 3,564 +2
59 Dale 3,531 -3
60 Clarence 3,482 -2
61 Leroy 3,388 —
62 Johnny 3,371 +1
63 Samuel 3,254 -1
64 Bruce 3,233 +2
65 Stephen 3,176 +9
66 Philip 3,174 -2
67 Bill 3,161 —
68 Herbert 3,097 —
69 Gene 3,014 -4
70 Alfred 2,990 -1
71 Frederick 2,972 —
72 Allen 2,928 +1
73 Russell 2,833 -3
74 Ray 2,709 -2
75 Jim 2,636 +6
76 Bernard 2,624 -1
77 Tommy 2,622 —
78 Lee 2,589 +2
79 Patrick 2,530 +9
80 Jimmie 2,524 -4
81 Eddie 2,511 -2
82 Gordon 2,508 -4
83 Terry 2,444 +3
84 Andrew 2,440 -2
85 Alan 2,330 +6
86 Leon 2,327 -1
87 Glenn 2,303 -4
88 Clifford 2,290 +1
89 Bob 2,244 +5
90 Theodore 2,196 -6
91 Martin 2,192 -4
92 Phillip 2,175 +3
93 Jerome 2,153 —
94 Floyd 2,094 +2
95 Lloyd 2,087 -3
96 Edwin 2,063 -6
97 Tom 2,028 +9
98 Curtis 2,012 +3
99 Jesse 2,010 +8
100 Vernon 1,994 +3

Names that climbed fastest in 1939

Ranked by places gained against 1938, among names with at least 200 births in both years.

NameRank 1939Rank 1938Change
Brenda girls 86 244 +158
Tyrone boys 270 393 +123
Penny girls 317 439 +122
Kathy girls 328 426 +98
Arleen girls 303 375 +72
Sharron girls 317 389 +72
Rosalind girls 349 415 +66
Dale girls 401 466 +65
Darla girls 368 428 +60
Laurel girls 339 397 +58
Andrea girls 246 303 +57
Lynda girls 219 272 +53
Kenny boys 326 378 +52
Spencer boys 345 397 +52
Jill girls 362 413 +51

Names that fell fastest in 1939

NameRank 1939Rank 1938Change
Arline girls 446 344 -102
Sonia girls 398 302 -96
Cheryl girls 390 312 -78
Rosalee girls 466 403 -63
Nola girls 408 350 -58
Luis boys 365 310 -55
Cleo girls 372 318 -54
Nell girls 409 356 -53
Doreen girls 409 357 -52
Norris boys 401 349 -52
Ilene girls 397 347 -50
Shelba girls 471 421 -50
Rosalie girls 114 66 -48
Mario boys 368 320 -48
Adele girls 374 328 -46

Names that first appear in 1939

1939 is the earliest year these names clear the SSA reporting threshold of five births.

Names that peaked in 1939

For these names, 1939 is the single biggest year in the whole 1880–2025 record.