Most Popular Baby Names Since 1950

In this article we'll look at what the most popular baby names are since 1950. These names are taken directly from the Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

The table below shows the top 10 most popular baby names since 1950, with a total count for the number of births registered with that given name since 1950.

Boys Girls
Rank Name Count Name Count
1 Michael 3,927,337 Jennifer 1,458,836
2 James 2,914,040 Mary 1,356,752
3 David 2,907,302 Elizabeth 1,097,745
4 John 2,763,233 Jessica 1,045,233
5 Robert 2,587,600 Lisa 962,847
6 William 2,152,240 Linda 883,854
7 Christopher 2,028,970 Sarah 879,290
8 Joseph 1,722,576 Susan 864,126
9 Daniel 1,713,115 Patricia 854,827
10 Matthew 1,599,296 Ashley 853,399

More Popular Baby Names

You can also use the links below to research more about the most popular baby names.

Top 1000 most popular boy names: 1-250 | 251-500 | 501-750 | 751-1000

Top 1000 most popular girl names: 1-250 | 251-500 | 501-750 | 751-1000

Historical Data for Baby Names

If you're interested to see how the trends and popularity of baby names have changed, you can use the links below to view the historical data by decade.

Most popular first names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Most popular boy names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Most popular girl names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and excludes any names with fewer than 5 occurrences in any geographic area.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Most Popular Baby Names Since 1950". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 19, 2024. https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1950/.

  • "Most Popular Baby Names Since 1950". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1950/. Accessed 19 March, 2024

  • Most Popular Baby Names Since 1950. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1950/.