Born in 1940 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1940
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,302,700 babies born in 1940: 1,143,528 girls and 1,159,172 boys. Mary and James were the most popular names, and 28.3% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 29.1% ten years later. The name most tied to 1940 is Shelby: among girls, it was 9.9× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,302,700
- 1,143,528 girls · 1,159,172 boys
- Different names
- 5,028
- for girls, plus 3,937 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 28.3%
- of babies got one · girls 23.1%, boys 33.5%
Top 10 names of 1940
- Mary was already the #1 name for girls in 1935 and stayed there through 1946.
- James was the #1 name for boys every year from 1940 to 1952.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1940, 28.3% 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 1940
These names were far more common in 1940 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1940 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Girl | #187 | 9.9× |
| Judith | Girl | #4 | 5.9× |
| Myrna | Girl | #150 | 5.5× |
| Carole | Girl | #49 | 5.5× |
| Sondra | Girl | #199 | 4.5× |
| Pat | Girl | #134 | 4.5× |
| Sonja | Girl | #238 | 3.6× |
| Sharron | Girl | #297 | 3.5× |
| Deanna | Girl | #136 | 3.5× |
| Kay | Girl | #77 | 3.4× |
Names that peaked in 1940
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1940, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1940.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Judith | Girl | #4 |
| Priscilla | Girl | #127 |
| Pat | Girl | #134 |
| Wendell | Boy | #114 |
| Earnestine | Girl | #301 |
| Freddy | Boy | #324 |
| Kennith | Boy | #423 |
| Dickie | Boy | #491 |
| Windell | Boy | #549 |
| Merlene | Girl | #723 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1940
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1940 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1940 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1940 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