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The most popular baby names of 1942

SSA recorded 2,731,880 births in 1942 across all reported names — 1,350,719 girls and 1,381,161 boys.

Top 100 girls' names in 1942

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1941.
#NameBirthsvs 1941
1 Mary 63,256 —
2 Barbara 44,739 —
3 Patricia 39,465 —
4 Linda 31,613 +1
5 Carol 30,272 -1
6 Sandra 24,994 +3
7 Judith 24,792 -1
8 Nancy 23,327 —
9 Betty 21,659 -2
10 Carolyn 19,978 +1
11 Sharon 19,648 +4
12 Shirley 17,750 -2
13 Joyce 16,728 —
14 Margaret 16,549 -2
15 Judy 15,667 +1
16 Karen 15,387 +3
17 Dorothy 15,037 -3
18 Joan 14,514 -1
19 Janet 13,065 -1
20 Donna 12,987 —
21 Susan 12,015 +6
22 Elizabeth 11,186 -1
23 Virginia 10,803 —
24 Kathleen 10,696 +12
25 Janice 10,286 -3
26 Helen 10,016 -2
27 Marilyn 9,906 +3
28 Diane 9,551 +12
29 Martha 9,513 -4
30 Frances 9,471 +1
31 Gloria 9,450 -5
32 Beverly 9,411 -3
33 Ruth 9,315 -5
34 Bonnie 8,823 -1
35 Carole 8,407 +13
36 Jean 8,257 -4
37 Phyllis 7,793 -2
38 Ann 7,666 -1
39 Alice 7,382 -5
40 Brenda 7,241 +1
41 Doris 7,176 -3
42 Peggy 6,580 -3
43 Marie 6,559 -1
44 Lois 6,406 -1
45 Elaine 5,986 -1
46 Jane 5,707 —
47 Geraldine 5,437 -2
48 Joanne 5,342 +6
49 Catherine 5,267 +2
50 Rose 5,253 -1
51 Charlotte 5,022 +4
52 Norma 4,971 -5
53 Evelyn 4,940 -3
54 Wanda 4,792 -1
55 Rita 4,706 +8
56 Sally 4,655 +5
57 Patsy 4,559 -5
58 Joann 4,506 —
59 Anna 4,488 -3
60 Gail 4,445 +8
61 Louise 4,343 +1
62 Annie 4,293 -3
63 Dolores 4,267 -6
64 Ellen 4,197 +3
65 Jo 4,175 +1
66 Roberta 4,105 +6
67 Sarah 4,100 -7
68 Diana 3,857 +32
69 Jacqueline 3,831 +4
70 Connie 3,825 +9
71 Mildred 3,808 -7
72 Sylvia 3,728 -7
73 Sue 3,631 +2
74 Marjorie 3,625 -3
75 Kay 3,622 -5
76 Anne 3,526 +6
77 Ruby 3,519 -8
78 Darlene 3,517 -2
79 Loretta 3,406 +2
80 Irene 3,383 -6
81 Katherine 3,376 +4
82 Kathryn 3,350 +5
83 Arlene 3,331 -6
84 Marlene 3,253 -1
85 Rebecca 3,241 +1
86 Delores 3,171 -6
87 Eleanor 3,165 -9
88 Eileen 3,108 +33
89 Glenda 3,089 +7
90 Juanita 3,074 -6
91 Lorraine 3,010 +2
92 Rosemary 3,005 +2
93 Anita 2,998 -2
94 Sheila 2,973 +16
95 Julia 2,906 -7
96 Christine 2,900 +5
97 Maria 2,817 +5
98 Theresa 2,799 -3
99 Edna 2,764 -10
100 Josephine 2,748 -8

Top 100 boys' names in 1942

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1941.
#NameBirthsvs 1941
1 James 77,182 —
2 Robert 71,845 —
3 John 66,043 —
4 William 54,890 —
5 Richard 43,593 —
6 David 35,905 +1
7 Charles 35,854 -1
8 Thomas 31,100 —
9 Ronald 27,138 —
10 Donald 23,955 —
11 Joseph 22,429 +1
12 Larry 22,099 -1
13 Michael 21,728 +3
14 George 21,275 -1
15 Kenneth 18,210 —
16 Jerry 17,488 -2
17 Edward 17,470 —
18 Gary 17,068 +1
19 Paul 16,492 -1
20 Dennis 13,281 +3
21 Frank 12,248 —
22 Gerald 11,484 -2
23 Douglas 11,233 +30
24 Raymond 11,116 -2
25 Roger 9,174 —
26 Walter 8,682 —
27 Harold 8,582 -3
28 Daniel 8,507 +3
29 Arthur 8,027 +4
30 Lawrence 7,639 +4
31 Henry 7,561 -3
32 Stephen 7,503 +9
33 Joe 7,383 -3
34 Jack 7,365 -2
35 Billy 7,313 -8
36 Carl 7,268 -7
37 Willie 7,094 -1
38 Ralph 6,637 —
39 Peter 6,587 +5
40 Albert 6,496 —
41 Wayne 6,484 -4
42 Roy 6,311 -3
43 Bobby 6,248 -8
44 Anthony 6,210 +2
45 Eugene 6,092 -3
46 Fred 6,088 -3
47 Jimmy 5,949 -2
48 Harry 5,629 —
49 Howard 5,571 -2
50 Bruce 5,385 +1
51 Louis 5,151 -1
52 Terry 4,810 +12
53 Norman 4,683 -4
54 Philip 4,604 -2
55 Johnny 4,588 —
56 Stanley 4,587 +1
57 Leonard 4,370 -3
58 Francis 4,297 +2
59 Samuel 4,190 +6
60 Melvin 4,188 -4
61 Ernest 4,079 —
62 Earl 4,050 -4
63 Dale 3,863 -4
64 Patrick 3,804 +6
65 Bill 3,794 +3
66 Marvin 3,792 -3
67 Clarence 3,741 -5
68 Frederick 3,738 +1
69 Leroy 3,717 -2
70 Russell 3,676 +5
71 Allen 3,571 +2
72 Don 3,564 -6
73 Tommy 3,532 -2
74 Jim 3,514 +6
75 Steven 3,505 +15
76 Alfred 3,408 -2
77 Phillip 3,373 —
78 Ronnie 3,363 +1
79 Barry 3,209 +12
80 Andrew 3,142 +2
81 Alan 3,134 +3
82 Gene 3,127 -10
83 Herbert 3,113 -7
84 Ray 3,067 -1
85 Martin 3,045 —
86 Eddie 3,019 -8
87 Lee 2,923 -6
88 Glenn 2,888 -2
89 Tom 2,875 -1
90 Bernard 2,724 -3
91 Theodore 2,665 +4
92 Gordon 2,606 —
93 Leon 2,550 —
94 Jimmie 2,541 -5
95 Clifford 2,533 -1
96 Lloyd 2,462 —
97 Warren 2,423 +8
98 Curtis 2,420 +2
99 Victor 2,397 +19
100 Jesse 2,396 -1

Names that climbed fastest in 1942

Ranked by places gained against 1941, among names with at least 200 births in both years.

NameRank 1942Rank 1941Change
Paulette girls 211 413 +202
Judi girls 385 492 +107
Randy boys 315 406 +91
Mack boys 190 275 +85
Vicki girls 197 274 +77
Cathy girls 314 389 +75
Edwina girls 402 476 +74
Terry girls 235 307 +72
Corinne girls 413 483 +70
Craig boys 175 235 +60
Jonathan boys 243 303 +60
Diann girls 427 485 +58
Madeleine girls 427 485 +58
Leslie girls 231 288 +57
Rae girls 436 490 +54

Names that fell fastest in 1942

NameRank 1942Rank 1941Change
Imogene girls 443 362 -81
Earline girls 419 340 -79
Marva girls 439 365 -74
Shelby girls 279 213 -66
Lizzie girls 414 353 -61
Neva girls 519 458 -61
Luella girls 507 447 -60
Roscoe boys 406 351 -55
Errol boys 409 354 -55
Nadine girls 318 264 -54
Merlin boys 418 364 -54
Angie girls 512 459 -53
Nelda girls 321 270 -51
Jeanie girls 464 414 -50
Dolly girls 466 416 -50

Names that first appear in 1942

1942 is the earliest year these names clear the SSA reporting threshold of five births.

Names that peaked in 1942

For these names, 1942 is the single biggest year in the whole 1880–2025 record.