Names by year · United States
The names of 1940
In 1940, the SSA recorded 2,302,700 babies with names given at least five times. Mary was the top girls' name and James the top boys' name.
Girls
| Rank | Name | born | in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary1 in 20 | 56,216 | #125 |
| 2 | Barbara1 in 31 | 36,736 | #968 |
| 3 | Patricia1 in 35 | 32,665 | #1,336 |
| 4 | Judith1 in 51 | 22,385 | #790 |
| 5 | Betty1 in 52 | 22,077 | #1,113 |
| 6 | Carol1 in 53 | 21,759 | #2,242 |
| 7 | Nancy1 in 58 | 19,737 | #967 |
| 8 | Linda1 in 62 | 18,370 | #902 |
| 9 | Shirley1 in 64 | 17,881 | #1,586 |
| 10 | Sandra1 in 71 | 16,153 | #1,210 |
| 11 | Margaret1 in 76 | 15,063 | #112 |
| 12 | Dorothy1 in 77 | 14,875 | #421 |
| 13 | Joyce1 in 77 | 14,801 | #1,074 |
| 14 | Joan1 in 86 | 13,292 | #1,087 |
| 15 | Carolyn1 in 90 | 12,657 | #1,222 |
| 16 | Judy1 in 100 | 11,382 | #1,874 |
| 17 | Sharon1 in 103 | 11,121 | #1,256 |
| 18 | Helen1 in 112 | 10,203 | #462 |
| 19 | Janet1 in 113 | 10,105 | #2,791 |
| 20 | Elizabeth1 in 115 | 9,955 | #17 |
| 21 | Virginia1 in 120 | 9,554 | #526 |
| 22 | Janice1 in 123 | 9,318 | #2,522 |
| 23 | Donna1 in 124 | 9,232 | #1,965 |
| 24 | Ruth1 in 129 | 8,888 | #173 |
| 25 | Marilyn1 in 131 | 8,704 | #761 |
Boys
| Rank | Name | born | in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James1 in 19 | 62,481 | #6 |
| 2 | Robert1 in 19 | 61,198 | #92 |
| 3 | John1 in 21 | 54,786 | #23 |
| 4 | William1 in 26 | 44,779 | #9 |
| 5 | Richard1 in 31 | 37,425 | #234 |
| 6 | Charles1 in 37 | 31,689 | #48 |
| 7 | David1 in 42 | 27,690 | #35 |
| 8 | Thomas1 in 48 | 23,991 | #34 |
| 9 | Donald1 in 50 | 23,115 | #690 |
| 10 | Ronald1 in 56 | 20,741 | #638 |
| 11 | George1 in 63 | 18,315 | #126 |
| 12 | Joseph1 in 64 | 18,208 | #29 |
| 13 | Larry1 in 67 | 17,199 | #1,085 |
| 14 | Jerry1 in 76 | 15,213 | #907 |
| 15 | Kenneth1 in 77 | 15,132 | #294 |
| 16 | Edward1 in 80 | 14,405 | #224 |
| 17 | Paul1 in 82 | 14,097 | #262 |
| 18 | Michael1 in 88 | 13,228 | #21 |
| 19 | Gary1 in 92 | 12,573 | #1,073 |
| 20 | Frank1 in 109 | 10,595 | #514 |
| 21 | Gerald1 in 113 | 10,236 | #1,206 |
| 22 | Raymond1 in 121 | 9,567 | #395 |
| 23 | Harold1 in 143 | 8,080 | #993 |
| 24 | Dennis1 in 148 | 7,845 | #707 |
| 25 | Walter1 in 150 | 7,723 | #252 |
Born in 1940?
See your own name’s life, then and now.