The Names That Filled The Decade’s Most-Used Lists
Some names stick around long after the decade that made them popular. That’s part of why a list from the 1950s still feels so familiar. You’ve probably heard many of these names in your own family, at work, or in everyday conversation, even though the decade ended many years ago. These rankings cover recorded given names for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia throughout the 1950s. This list brings together the top ten boy and girl names from decades past.
1. James
James took the top spot among boys with 843,768 recorded occurrences during the decade. That was the highest total across both the boys’ and girls’ top tens. Even with such a large number, James didn’t hold a huge lead over second place. Michael finished only 6,297 uses behind.
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2. Michael
Michael ranked second among boys with 837,471 occurrences. Michael also finished only 7,076 ahead of Robert, the name in third place. James, Michael, and Robert all appeared more than 830,000 times during the decade, so the top three formed a very tight group.
3. Robert
Robert rounded out the boys’ top three with 830,395 recorded occurrences. Only 13,373 uses separated Robert in third from James in first, which shows just how close those leading names were. Robert fell behind both James and Michael, yet it still passed the 830,000 mark.
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4. John
John placed fourth among boys with 797,922 occurrences. It didn’t quite reach 800,000, though it still ranked among the five boys’ names that passed three-quarters of a million uses during the 1950s. It finished 27,959 uses ahead of David, giving John a clear hold on fourth place.
5. David
David came in fifth with 769,963 recorded occurrences, the final boys’ name to pass 750,000. David finished 27,959 behind John, but the gap below it was much bigger. William followed with 591,228 occurrences, leaving a difference of 178,735 between fifth and sixth place.
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6. William
William took sixth place with 591,228 occurrences. Its total was much lower than David’s, though it remained comfortably ahead of the names below it. It was also the sixth of seven boys’ names to appear more than half a million times during the decade.
7. Richard
Richard ranked seventh among boys with 535,461 recorded occurrences. Richard’s position also marked a clear dividing point. Every boys’ name above it passed half a million, while every name below it stayed under that line.
8. Thomas
Thomas held eighth place with 454,385 occurrences. It finished 81,076 behind Richard, giving seventh and eighth place one of the larger gaps in the boys’ rankings. Thomas also stayed 71,796 uses ahead of Mark, which came in ninth.
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9. Mark
Mark came in ninth among boys with 382,589 recorded occurrences. Its total remained above 380,000, even after the list had moved away from the much larger numbers at the top. Charles followed only 21,412 uses behind, which kept the final two boys’ names relatively close.
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10. Charles
Charles completed the boys’ top ten with 361,177 occurrences. The full difference between Charles in tenth and James in first was 482,591. That’s a wide gap from the top to the bottom, but Charles still appeared more than 360,000 times.
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11. Mary
Mary led the girls’ rankings with 625,606 recorded occurrences. It was the only girls’ name in the top ten to pass 600,000 uses during the decade. Mary finished 61,242 ahead of Linda, which took second place.
12. Linda
Linda ranked second among girls with 564,364 occurrences. It finished comfortably behind Mary, though it still held a very large lead over Patricia in third place. Linda was 104,683 uses ahead of Patricia, which was the biggest gap between any two neighboring names in the girls’ top ten. Mary and Linda were the only two girls’ names to pass 500,000 recorded occurrences during the 1950s.
13. Patricia
Patricia took third place with 459,681 recorded occurrences. Susan followed with 437,774, and Deborah came next with 430,537. All three names passed 430,000 uses, placing third through fifth within the same general range. The difference between Patricia and Deborah was only 29,144, which was much smaller than the 104,683-use drop from Linda to Patricia. Patricia began a closely grouped part of the girls’ list, where the totals didn’t change nearly as sharply from one spot to the next.
14. Susan
Susan ranked fourth among girls with 437,774 occurrences. It finished 21,907 uses behind Patricia and only 7,237 ahead of Deborah. That 7,237-use difference was the smallest gap among the girls’ top five.
15. Deborah
Deborah came in fifth with 430,537 recorded occurrences. That number applies only to the Deborah spelling because Debra was counted separately. Keeping the spellings apart affected both names’ totals and their positions on the list. Deborah stayed in the top five, while Debra appeared two places lower.
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16. Barbara
Barbara ranked sixth among girls with 345,722 occurrences. It finished 84,815 uses behind Deborah, which created a fairly large gap between fifth and sixth place. That was the smallest gap between any two names next to each other in the girls’ top ten.
17. Debra
Debra took seventh place with 341,348 recorded occurrences. Its total was kept separate from Deborah’s. Debra finished only 4,374 behind Barbara, and also stayed 8,817 uses ahead of Karen in eighth.
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18. Karen
Karen ranked eighth among girls with 332,531 occurrences. It finished 8,817 uses behind Debra, so seventh and eighth place were still fairly close. The next gap was much wider. Nancy came in ninth with 286,812 occurrences, leaving Karen 45,719 uses ahead.
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19. Nancy
Nancy came in ninth with 286,812 recorded occurrences. It was the first girls’ name in the top ten to fall below 300,000 uses during the decade. Karen stood 45,719 ahead, creating a noticeable drop between eighth and ninth place. Nancy may have landed near the bottom of the list, but it still appeared more than a quarter of a million times.
20. Donna
Donna completed the girls’ top ten with 270,338 recorded occurrences. It finished 16,474 uses behind Nancy, making the final two positions relatively close. The full difference between Donna in tenth and Mary in first was 355,268. That gap shows how much the totals changed from the top of the girls’ list to the bottom. Even so, Donna still appeared more than a quarter of a million times during the 1950s, which made it one of the decade’s most frequently used girls’ names.
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