Born in 1948 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1948
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,452,526 babies born in 1948: 1,697,908 girls and 1,754,618 boys. Linda and James were the most popular names, and 29.8% of all babies got a top-10 name, up from 28.4% in 1938. The name most tied to 1948 is Linda: among girls, it was 6.2× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,452,526
- 1,697,908 girls · 1,754,618 boys
- Different names
- 6,040
- for girls, plus 4,199 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.8%
- of babies got one · girls 25.5%, boys 33.9%
Top 10 names of 1948
- Linda was the #1 name for girls every year from 1947 to 1952.
- James was the #1 name for boys every year from 1940 to 1952.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1948, 29.8% 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 1948
These names were far more common in 1948 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1948 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linda | Girl | #1 | 6.2× |
| Paulette | Girl | #123 | 5.5× |
| Lynda | Girl | #84 | 4.5× |
| Janis | Girl | #121 | 4.3× |
| Marsha | Girl | #76 | 4.1× |
| Judy | Girl | #16 | 3.5× |
| Dianne | Girl | #86 | 3.4× |
| Lana | Girl | #188 | 3.4× |
| Larry | Boy | #11 | 3.1× |
| Penelope | Girl | #275 | 3.0× |
Names that peaked in 1948
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1948, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1948.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Linda | Girl | #1 |
| Danny | Boy | #39 |
| Philip | Boy | #54 |
| Maureen | Girl | #88 |
| Dianna | Girl | #172 |
| Lana | Girl | #188 |
| Noreen | Girl | #299 |
| Cherry | Girl | #429 |
| Delois | Girl | #445 |
| Cheryle | Girl | #498 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1948
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1948 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Regenia125 babies
- Debora118 babies
- Maura99 babies
- Caryn97 babies
- Hollis96 babies
- Kristie95 babies
- Lizabeth85 babies
- Regena85 babies
Boys
- Stevie78 babies
- Derrick65 babies
- Jerel54 babies
- Cesar53 babies
- Baron51 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1948 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1948 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