US baby names · 1959

Most popular baby names of 1959

In 1959, Social Security card applications recorded 2,023,462 girls and 2,134,518 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 7,202 distinct girls’ names and 4,572 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (54,502 girls) and Michael (85,294 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 18% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 29% of boys. Compared with 1958, 23,952 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1958, 5 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1959 are newcomers (girls: Kelly, Wendy, Suzanne; boys: Greg, Bryan, Todd). Of these names, 2 of the 100 girls’ names and 18 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 1959 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1958 1960 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1959

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	54,502
#2	Susan	41,617
#3	Linda	40,410
#4	Karen	36,784
#5	Donna	36,468
#6	Patricia	35,223
#7	Debra	31,388
#8	Cynthia	30,186
#9	Deborah	29,546
#10	Lisa	25,699
#11	Barbara	25,359
#12	Pamela	24,714
#13	Sandra	23,359
#14	Nancy	23,079
#15	Kathy	21,814
#16	Brenda	21,424
#17	Sharon	21,292
#18	Cheryl	20,947
#19	Diane	19,972
#20	Debbie	19,540
#21	Elizabeth	18,421
#22	Carol	18,140
#23	Kathleen	17,629
#24	Teresa	17,400
#25	Cindy	16,973
#26	Julie	16,211
#27	Lori	15,032
#28	Janet	14,964
#29	Denise	14,662
#30	Laura	14,528
#31	Tammy	13,707
#32	Robin	12,854
#33	Kimberly	12,790
#34	Theresa	11,656
#35	Kim	11,594
#36	Margaret	11,577
#37	Janice	10,489
#38	Rebecca	10,475
#39	Cathy	10,408
#40	Catherine	10,025
#41	Judy	9,884
#42	Carolyn	9,727
#43	Christine	9,471
#44	Ann	8,918
#45	Rhonda	8,861
#46	Terri	8,783
#47	Michelle	8,776
#48	Connie	8,655
#49	Diana	8,637
#50	Joyce	8,520
#51	Paula	8,059
#52	Sheila	7,984
#53	Tina	7,919
#54	Dawn	7,898
#55	Beverly	7,796
#56	Laurie	7,535
#57	Peggy	7,416
#58	Sherry	7,341
#59	Betty	7,313
#60	Valerie	7,302
#61	Shirley	7,284
#62	Maria	7,249
#63	Lynn	7,058
#64	Annette	6,919
#65	Wanda	6,907
#66	Darlene	6,876
#67	Jane	6,864
#68	Angela	6,772
#69	Kathryn	6,746
#70	Judith	6,566
#71	Bonnie	6,456
#72	Martha	6,439
#73	Vicki	6,430
#74	Kelly	6,380
#75	Gail	6,344
#76	Joan	6,337
#77	Jean	6,233
#78	Jennifer	6,233
#79	Katherine	6,139
#80	Beth	6,069
#81	Gloria	5,924
#82	Anne	5,745
#83	Wendy	5,712
#84	Leslie	5,652
#85	Amy	5,580
#86	Jill	5,554
#87	Anita	5,474
#88	Rose	5,446
#89	Michele	5,445
#90	Vickie	5,419
#91	Ellen	5,396
#92	Joanne	5,347
#93	Virginia	5,256
#94	Dorothy	5,231
#95	Terry	5,215
#96	Suzanne	5,161
#97	Ruth	5,057
#98	Rita	4,952
#99	Anna	4,878
#100	Renee	4,845

Top 100 boys’ names, 1959

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	Michael	85,294
#2	David	83,977
#3	James	78,648
#4	John	76,446
#5	Robert	74,542
#6	Mark	56,945
#7	William	51,386
#8	Richard	47,202
#9	Thomas	40,296
#10	Steven	33,597
#11	Charles	30,797
#12	Timothy	30,783
#13	Joseph	29,539
#14	Kevin	26,790
#15	Kenneth	26,640
#16	Jeffrey	26,281
#17	Paul	25,712
#18	Daniel	25,155
#19	Donald	23,876
#20	Gary	23,303
#21	Ronald	23,114
#22	Brian	20,737
#23	Gregory	19,889
#24	Scott	19,765
#25	Larry	18,434
#26	Anthony	17,972
#27	Edward	16,914
#28	Stephen	16,504
#29	Dennis	16,043
#30	Douglas	15,290
#31	Randy	15,042
#32	George	15,012
#33	Terry	14,545
#34	Ricky	13,226
#35	Christopher	12,915
#36	Jerry	12,324
#37	Mike	11,995
#38	Bruce	11,914
#39	Keith	11,758
#40	Peter	11,289
#41	Steve	11,068
#42	Frank	10,942
#43	Patrick	10,556
#44	Craig	9,933
#45	Raymond	9,796
#46	Eric	9,726
#47	Roger	8,794
#48	Danny	8,727
#49	Dale	8,343
#50	Alan	8,151
#51	Wayne	7,878
#52	Jeff	7,730
#53	Tony	7,564
#54	Carl	7,501
#55	Jeffery	7,487
#56	Russell	7,480
#57	Joe	7,389
#58	Andrew	7,089
#59	Randall	7,059
#60	Tim	6,826
#61	Gerald	6,636
#62	Lawrence	6,601
#63	Matthew	6,542
#64	Johnny	6,311
#65	Billy	6,308
#66	Walter	6,128
#67	Rodney	5,917
#68	Philip	5,862
#69	Jimmy	5,830
#70	Jim	5,688
#71	Bobby	5,677
#72	Chris	5,676
#73	Barry	5,601
#74	Phillip	5,597
#75	Curtis	5,536
#76	Arthur	5,474
#77	Ronnie	5,474
#78	Willie	5,374
#79	Martin	5,353
#80	Glenn	5,352
#81	Roy	5,183
#82	Tom	5,068
#83	Henry	5,061
#84	Ralph	5,048
#85	Jack	5,015
#86	Samuel	4,953
#87	Harold	4,943
#88	Jay	4,940
#89	Rick	4,936
#90	Darrell	4,647
#91	Greg	4,635
#92	Albert	4,605
#93	Bill	4,596
#94	Bryan	4,488
#95	Dean	4,425
#96	Micheal	4,369
#97	Allen	4,366
#98	Stanley	4,343
#99	Todd	4,332
#100	Louis	4,311