Born in 1944 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1944
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,690,098 babies born in 1944: 1,327,223 girls and 1,362,875 boys. Mary and James were the most popular names, and 29.4% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 27.9% ten years later. The name most tied to 1944 is Judith: among girls, it was 5.9× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,690,098
- 1,327,223 girls · 1,362,875 boys
- Different names
- 5,243
- for girls, plus 3,909 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.4%
- of babies got one · girls 24.2%, boys 34.4%
Top 10 names of 1944
- 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 1944, 29.4% 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 1944
These names were far more common in 1944 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1944 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judith | Girl | #9 | 5.9× |
| Sharron | Girl | #250 | 5.2× |
| Carole | Girl | #43 | 5.1× |
| Judy | Girl | #12 | 4.9× |
| Saundra | Girl | #260 | 4.5× |
| Penelope | Girl | #265 | 3.9× |
| Paulette | Girl | #164 | 3.4× |
| Lynda | Girl | #113 | 3.2× |
| Carol | Girl | #5 | 3.2× |
| Carolyn | Girl | #11 | 3.1× |
Names that peaked in 1944
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1944, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1944.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| James | Boy | #1 |
| Jimmy | Boy | #41 |
| Tommy | Boy | #70 |
| Glenda | Girl | #79 |
| Jan | Boy | #247 |
| Marilynn | Girl | #348 |
| Dottie | Girl | #434 |
| Sherrill | Girl | #448 |
| Dorinda | Girl | #606 |
| Jonnie | Girl | #687 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1944
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1944 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Dorinda147 babies
- Teri121 babies
- Alana104 babies
- Danna87 babies
- Maribeth86 babies
- Pamala86 babies
- Rosalinda85 babies
- Kim84 babies
Boys
- Rickie59 babies
- Lenny47 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1944 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1944 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