US baby names · 1940

Most popular baby names of 1940

In 1940, Social Security card applications recorded 1,143,528 girls and 1,159,172 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,028 distinct girls’ names and 3,937 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (56,216 girls) and James (62,481 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 1939, 99,236 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1939, 4 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1940 are newcomers (girls: Connie, Katherine, Rebecca; boys: Franklin, Harvey). 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 1940 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1939 1941 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1940

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

Top 100 boys’ names, 1940

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