ninan.org

The most popular baby names of 1940

SSA recorded 2,302,700 births in 1940 across all reported names — 1,143,528 girls and 1,159,172 boys.

Top 100 girls' names in 1940

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1939.
#NameBirthsvs 1939
1 Mary 56,216 —
2 Barbara 36,736 —
3 Patricia 32,665 —
4 Judith 22,385 +4
5 Betty 22,077 -1
6 Carol 21,759 —
7 Nancy 19,737 —
8 Linda 18,370 +7
9 Shirley 17,881 -4
10 Sandra 16,153 +3
11 Margaret 15,063 -1
12 Dorothy 14,875 -3
13 Joyce 14,801 -1
14 Joan 13,292 -3
15 Carolyn 12,657 -1
16 Judy 11,382 +12
17 Sharon 11,121 +6
18 Helen 10,203 -2
19 Janet 10,105 -2
20 Elizabeth 9,955 -2
21 Virginia 9,554 —
22 Janice 9,318 +2
23 Donna 9,232 -3
24 Ruth 8,888 -2
25 Marilyn 8,704 -6
26 Martha 8,695 +1
27 Beverly 8,657 -2
28 Frances 8,621 -2
29 Jean 8,063 +3
30 Gloria 8,026 +6
31 Doris 7,767 -2
32 Alice 7,603 -1
33 Phyllis 7,416 -3
34 Karen 7,283 +5
35 Ann 7,196 -2
36 Susan 6,756 +8
37 Peggy 6,128 -3
38 Lois 6,125 -3
39 Bonnie 5,957 +22
40 Kathleen 5,697 +8
41 Marie 5,542 -4
42 Brenda 5,442 +44
43 Norma 5,334 -5
44 Rose 5,198 -2
45 Diane 5,172 +6
46 Geraldine 5,150 -5
47 Jane 5,091 -1
48 Evelyn 4,982 -8
49 Carole 4,790 -2
50 Elaine 4,782 -5
51 Anna 4,717 -8
52 Wanda 4,708 -2
53 Catherine 4,584 -4
54 Joanne 4,418 -1
55 Charlotte 4,291 +11
56 Annie 4,216 -2
57 Patsy 4,079 -1
58 Mildred 3,938 -3
59 Louise 3,928 —
60 Sarah 3,869 +8
61 Sally 3,803 -9
62 Sylvia 3,802 —
63 Joann 3,789 -6
64 Marjorie 3,681 -4
65 Gail 3,621 +8
66 Ruby 3,619 +1
67 Dolores 3,604 -9
68 Eleanor 3,584 -5
69 Loretta 3,502 -4
70 Rita 3,442 +8
71 Roberta 3,431 —
72 Jo 3,427 -2
73 Irene 3,394 +1
74 Ellen 3,318 +6
75 Arlene 3,257 -6
76 Jacqueline 3,215 -4
77 Kay 3,200 -1
78 Juanita 3,174 -1
79 Darlene 3,120 -4
80 Marlene 3,118 -16
81 Sue 3,104 +11
82 June 2,949 +1
83 Delores 2,929 -4
84 Anne 2,897 +1
85 Rosemary 2,874 +8
86 Edna 2,835 -5
87 Anita 2,828 +10
88 Connie 2,795 +23
89 Josephine 2,744 -5
90 Jeanette 2,727 -8
91 Julia 2,709 —
91 Katherine 2,709 +10
93 Wilma 2,621 -6
94 Emma 2,606 -5
95 Lorraine 2,579 —
96 Rebecca 2,555 +38
97 Lillian 2,525 +2
98 Edith 2,510 +4
99 Audrey 2,501 -1
100 Florence 2,467 -4

Top 100 boys' names in 1940

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1939.
#NameBirthsvs 1939
1 James 62,481 +1
2 Robert 61,198 -1
3 John 54,786 —
4 William 44,779 —
5 Richard 37,425 —
6 Charles 31,689 —
7 David 27,690 —
8 Thomas 23,991 +1
9 Donald 23,115 -1
10 Ronald 20,741 —
11 George 18,315 —
12 Joseph 18,208 —
13 Larry 17,199 +1
14 Jerry 15,213 +2
15 Kenneth 15,132 -2
16 Edward 14,405 -1
17 Paul 14,097 —
18 Michael 13,228 —
19 Gary 12,573 +2
20 Frank 10,595 —
21 Gerald 10,236 -2
22 Raymond 9,567 —
23 Harold 8,080 —
24 Dennis 7,845 +10
25 Walter 7,723 —
26 Roger 7,598 +2
27 Billy 7,596 -3
28 Joe 7,216 -1
29 Jack 7,048 -3
30 Bobby 6,882 -1
31 Henry 6,822 —
32 Carl 6,752 -2
33 Arthur 6,510 -1
34 Daniel 6,225 +4
35 Willie 6,176 -2
36 Lawrence 6,173 —
37 Ralph 5,838 -2
38 Eugene 5,804 -1
39 Wayne 5,727 —
40 Fred 5,581 —
41 Albert 5,572 —
42 Roy 5,565 —
43 Peter 5,049 +3
44 Jimmy 4,962 -1
45 Howard 4,824 +2
46 Anthony 4,769 +2
47 Harry 4,681 -2
48 Norman 4,576 -4
49 Stephen 4,423 +16
50 Louis 4,324 -1
51 Johnny 4,006 +11
52 Earl 3,944 -2
53 Melvin 3,935 -2
54 Leonard 3,817 —
55 Bruce 3,789 +9
56 Douglas 3,732 +2
57 Dale 3,699 +2
58 Ernest 3,698 -3
59 Stanley 3,694 -2
60 Philip 3,674 +6
61 Francis 3,607 -8
62 Don 3,547 -6
63 Marvin 3,502 -11
64 Clarence 3,487 -4
65 Samuel 3,364 -2
66 Leroy 3,311 -5
67 Bill 3,267 —
68 Frederick 3,096 +3
69 Alfred 3,062 +1
70 Gene 3,060 -1
71 Allen 3,029 +1
72 Russell 3,012 +1
73 Terry 2,982 +10
74 Patrick 2,883 +5
75 Herbert 2,875 -7
76 Tommy 2,827 +1
77 Ray 2,795 -3
78 Jim 2,715 -3
79 Phillip 2,628 +13
80 Lee 2,624 -2
81 Eddie 2,576 —
82 Bernard 2,468 -6
83 Glenn 2,465 +4
84 Andrew 2,431 —
85 Martin 2,423 +6
86 Jimmie 2,408 -6
87 Franklin 2,391 +19
88 Alan 2,377 -3
89 Leon 2,318 -3
90 Theodore 2,306 —
91 Gordon 2,296 -9
92 Tom 2,287 +5
93 Jesse 2,205 +6
94 Clifford 2,185 -6
95 Jerome 2,178 -2
96 Edwin 2,116 —
97 Curtis 2,103 +1
98 Harvey 2,088 +4
99 Bob 2,082 -10
100 Lloyd 2,067 -5

Names that climbed fastest in 1940

Ranked by places gained against 1939, among names with at least 200 births in both years.

NameRank 1940Rank 1939Change
Jeffrey boys 183 284 +101
Pamela girls 251 347 +96
Sandy girls 326 420 +94
Wendell boys 114 205 +91
Stephanie girls 319 398 +79
Kathy girls 256 328 +72
Gale girls 323 392 +69
Becky girls 348 416 +68
Christina girls 350 418 +68
Mickey boys 293 358 +65
Lanny boys 329 388 +59
Denise girls 362 420 +58
Judie girls 404 460 +56
Lynda girls 165 219 +54
Julie girls 180 232 +52

Names that fell fastest in 1940

NameRank 1940Rank 1939Change
Arleen girls 417 303 -114
Angelina girls 450 375 -75
Laurel girls 404 339 -65
Lenore girls 440 383 -57
Corinne girls 446 390 -56
Jewel girls 366 311 -55
Ilene girls 451 397 -54
Marlys girls 394 343 -51
Angeline girls 457 414 -43
Camille girls 391 349 -42
Delmar boys 379 337 -42
Mavis girls 353 314 -39
Lavonne girls 358 321 -37
Merle girls 443 406 -37
Lance boys 358 321 -37

Names that first appear in 1940

1940 is the earliest year these names clear the SSA reporting threshold of five births.

Names that peaked in 1940

For these names, 1940 is the single biggest year in the whole 1880–2025 record.