In the United States, Social Security tracks the most popular given names for children born in each decade. Above, the most popular names for babies born in 2020.
Although some of the 2020 names are familiar from my family tree, I expect to find many more of the names popular in the 1940s and 1950s as I search for ancestors in the U.S. Census for 1950, being released on April 1.
According to the Social Security database, the top 10 given names for girls in the 1950s were:
- Mary
- Linda
- Patricia
- Susan
- Deborah
- Barbara
- Debra
- Karen
- Nancy
- Donna
- James
- Michael
- Robert
- John
- David
- William
- Richard
- Thomas
- Mark
- Charles
Interestingly, top given names from the 1940s were not very different. I will definitely find most of these names as I search for ancestors in the 1950 US Census.
According to Social Security, the top 10 given names for girls in the 1940s were:
- Mary
- Linda
- Barbara
- Patricia
- Carol
- Sandra
- Nancy
- Sharon
- Judith
- Susan
The top 10 given names for boys in the 1940s were:
- James
- Robert
- John
- William
- Richard
- David
- Charles
- Thomas
- Michael
- Ronald
Fun and interesting post! My mom's name was Judith, and I am excited to find her in the 1950 Census! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised at Linda - there were 4 of us in my kindergarten class!
ReplyDeleteI had 2 in my kindergarten class, also.
DeleteThe 2020 list is soooo different from the others! I was surprised that Michael wasn't on the 2020 list, it is a perennial favorite. Ooops, seems I'm wrong. Thank you for the interesting post.
ReplyDeleteMichael was number 12 in 2020. Not top ten but close.
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