Top 100 baby names in the United States in 1940
See the most popular baby names, how many were recorded, and how each rank changed from 1939.
Top 100
| Rank | Name | Recorded count | Change from 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 62,740 | 0 |
| 2 | Robert | 61,404 | 0 |
| 3 | Mary | 56,519 | 0 |
| 4 | John | 54,994 | 0 |
| 5 | William | 44,931 | 0 |
| 6 | Richard | 37,533 | +1 |
| 7 | Barbara | 36,876 | -1 |
| 8 | Patricia | 32,805 | +1 |
| 9 | Charles | 31,829 | -1 |
| 10 | David | 27,774 | 0 |
| 11 | Thomas | 24,077 | +2 |
| 12 | Donald | 23,199 | -1 |
| 13 | Judith | 22,467 | +7 |
| 14 | Betty | 22,192 | -2 |
| 15 | Carol | 22,012 | 0 |
| 16 | Ronald | 20,799 | 0 |
| 17 | Nancy | 19,809 | 0 |
| 18 | George | 18,444 | 0 |
| 19 | Linda | 18,429 | +14 |
| 20 | Joseph | 18,272 | -1 |
| 21 | Shirley | 18,095 | -7 |
| 22 | Larry | 17,272 | +2 |
| 23 | Sandra | 16,202 | +7 |
| 24 | Jerry | 15,735 | +2 |
| 25 | Kenneth | 15,186 | -2 |
| 26 | Margaret | 15,129 | -4 |
| 27 | Dorothy | 14,960 | -6 |
| 28 | Joyce | 14,884 | 0 |
| 29 | Edward | 14,450 | -4 |
| 30 | Paul | 14,150 | -1 |
| 31 | Joan | 13,355 | -4 |
| 32 | Michael | 13,308 | 0 |
| 33 | Carolyn | 12,703 | -2 |
| 34 | Gary | 12,617 | +5 |
| 35 | Judy | 11,425 | +17 |
| 36 | Sharon | 11,185 | +9 |
| 37 | Frank | 10,631 | 0 |
| 38 | Gerald | 10,279 | -2 |
| 39 | Helen | 10,241 | -5 |
| 40 | Janet | 10,144 | -5 |
| 41 | Elizabeth | 10,007 | -3 |
| 42 | Virginia | 9,598 | +1 |
| 43 | Raymond | 9,595 | -1 |
| 44 | Janice | 9,365 | +2 |
| 45 | Donna | 9,279 | -4 |
| 46 | Ruth | 8,924 | -2 |
| 47 | Beverly | 8,752 | 0 |
| 48 | Marilyn | 8,745 | -8 |
| 49 | Martha | 8,740 | 0 |
| 50 | Frances | 8,681 | -2 |
| 51 | Jean | 8,214 | +5 |
| 52 | Harold | 8,115 | -2 |
| 53 | Willie | 8,113 | -2 |
| 54 | Gloria | 8,078 | +17 |
| 55 | Dennis | 7,884 | +12 |
| 56 | Doris | 7,841 | -3 |
| 57 | Walter | 7,762 | +2 |
| 58 | Billy | 7,656 | -3 |
| 59 | Alice | 7,637 | -1 |
| 60 | Roger | 7,625 | +2 |
| 61 | Phyllis | 7,450 | -7 |
| 62 | Joe | 7,433 | -5 |
| 63 | Karen | 7,320 | +16 |
| 64 | Ann | 7,219 | +1 |
| 65 | Jack | 7,068 | -5 |
| 66 | Bobby | 7,031 | -5 |
| 67 | Henry | 6,877 | -3 |
| 68 | Carl | 6,783 | -5 |
| 68 | Susan | 6,783 | +18 |
| 70 | Arthur | 6,549 | -4 |
| 71 | Daniel | 6,248 | +5 |
| 72 | Lawrence | 6,197 | +1 |
| 73 | Lois | 6,162 | -5 |
| 74 | Peggy | 6,142 | -5 |
| 75 | Bonnie | 6,023 | +35 |
| 76 | Ralph | 5,865 | -6 |
| 77 | Eugene | 5,835 | -3 |
| 78 | Wayne | 5,747 | -1 |
| 79 | Kathleen | 5,723 | +14 |
| 80 | Fred | 5,612 | -2 |
| 81 | Albert | 5,608 | -1 |
| 82 | Roy | 5,602 | +1 |
| 83 | Marie | 5,567 | -11 |
| 84 | Brenda | 5,461 | +79 |
| 85 | Norma | 5,355 | -10 |
| 86 | Rose | 5,231 | -2 |
| 87 | Diane | 5,199 | +12 |
| 88 | Geraldine | 5,173 | -6 |
| 89 | Jane | 5,120 | -1 |
| 90 | Peter | 5,069 | +4 |
| 91 | Evelyn | 5,006 | -10 |
| 92 | Jimmy | 4,993 | -3 |
| 93 | Howard | 4,834 | +2 |
| 94 | Carole | 4,813 | -3 |
| 95 | Elaine | 4,797 | -8 |
| 96 | Anthony | 4,788 | 0 |
| 97 | Anna | 4,742 | -12 |
| 98 | Wanda | 4,733 | 0 |
| 99 | Harry | 4,698 | -7 |
| 100 | Catherine | 4,601 | -3 |
| 100 | Norman | 4,601 | -10 |
Data from US Social Security Administration · through 2025.