US baby names · 1939

Most popular baby names of 1939

In 1939, Social Security card applications recorded 1,096,612 girls and 1,106,852 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 4,950 distinct girls’ names and 3,968 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (54,900 girls) and Robert (59,666 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 23% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 33% of boys. Compared with 1938, 9,139 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1938, 4 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1939 are newcomers (girls: Brenda, Yvonne, Julia; boys: Tom, Curtis, Jesse). Of these names, 11 of the 100 girls’ names and 17 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1939 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

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Top 100 girls’ names, 1939

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

Top 100 boys’ names, 1939

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