Born in 1939 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1939
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,203,464 babies born in 1939: 1,096,612 girls and 1,106,852 boys. Mary and Robert were the most popular names, and 28.2% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 29.4% ten years later. The name most tied to 1939 is Shelby: among girls, it was 12× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,203,464
- 1,096,612 girls · 1,106,852 boys
- Different names
- 4,950
- for girls, plus 3,968 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 28.2%
- of babies got one · girls 23.0%, boys 33.4%
Top 10 names of 1939
- Mary was already the #1 name for girls in 1935 and stayed there through 1946.
- Robert was already the #1 name for boys in 1935 and stayed there through 1939.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1939, 28.2% of babies were given one of that year's 10 most popular names. Across all years, that share fell from 29.0% in 1935 to 7.5% in 2025.
Names that sound like 1939
These names were far more common in 1939 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1939 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Girl | #170 | 12× |
| Myrna | Girl | #144 | 6.5× |
| Carole | Girl | #47 | 5.5× |
| Sondra | Girl | #201 | 4.9× |
| Sonja | Girl | #203 | 4.7× |
| Judith | Girl | #8 | 4.2× |
| Pat | Girl | #142 | 4.2× |
| Deanna | Girl | #133 | 3.8× |
| Marlene | Girl | #64 | 3.7× |
| Claudette | Girl | #265 | 3.7× |
Names that peaked in 1939
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1939, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1939.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Gerald | Boy | #19 |
| Kay | Girl | #76 |
| Jeanette | Girl | #82 |
| Sondra | Girl | #201 |
| Benny | Boy | #172 |
| Jerry | Girl | #276 |
| Darrel | Boy | #243 |
| Arleen | Girl | #303 |
| Peggie | Girl | #466 |
| Gerry | Girl | #471 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1939
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1939 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Karel69 babies
- Karon69 babies
- Glynda65 babies
- Tamara65 babies
- Suzann63 babies
- Fran61 babies
- Nanci60 babies
- Shelley59 babies
Boys
- Ronal61 babies
- Jeffery53 babies
- Randell52 babies
- Joey49 babies
- Nicky47 babies
- Leonel46 babies
- Harlon44 babies
- Lawrance44 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1939 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1939 and 2025.
Girls
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data