Born in 1942 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1942
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,731,880 babies born in 1942: 1,350,719 girls and 1,381,161 boys. Mary and James were the most popular names, and 29.0% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 28.6% ten years later. The name most tied to 1942 is Carole: among girls, it was 7.8× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,731,880
- 1,350,719 girls · 1,381,161 boys
- Different names
- 5,378
- for girls, plus 4,044 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.0%
- of babies got one · girls 24.0%, boys 33.8%
Top 10 names of 1942
- 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 1942, 29.0% 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 1942
These names were far more common in 1942 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1942 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carole | Girl | #35 | 7.8× |
| Judith | Girl | #7 | 6.2× |
| Saundra | Girl | #238 | 5.1× |
| Sharron | Girl | #264 | 4.9× |
| Lanny | Boy | #299 | 4.4× |
| Judy | Girl | #15 | 4.0× |
| Shelby | Girl | #279 | 3.9× |
| Pat | Girl | #144 | 3.6× |
| Penelope | Girl | #267 | 3.6× |
| Sondra | Girl | #219 | 3.5× |
Names that peaked in 1942
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1942, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1942.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Carolyn | Girl | #10 |
| Janet | Girl | #19 |
| Douglas | Boy | #23 |
| Bonnie | Girl | #34 |
| Carole | Girl | #35 |
| Saundra | Girl | #238 |
| Jerald | Boy | #223 |
| Rosalind | Girl | #292 |
| Mac | Boy | #308 |
| Judie | Girl | #368 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1942
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1942 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1942 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1942 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