Born in 1950 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1950
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,503,316 babies born in 1950: 1,713,054 girls and 1,790,262 boys. Linda and James were the most popular names, and 29.1% of all babies got a top-10 name, up from 28.3% in 1940. The name most tied to 1950 is Linda: among girls, it was 5.0× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,503,316
- 1,713,054 girls · 1,790,262 boys
- Different names
- 6,109
- for girls, plus 4,196 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.1%
- of babies got one · girls 24.1%, boys 33.8%
Top 10 names of 1950
- 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 1950, 29.1% 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 1950
These names were far more common in 1950 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1950 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linda | Girl | #1 | 5.0× |
| Marsha | Girl | #68 | 4.6× |
| Paulette | Girl | #151 | 3.8× |
| Janis | Girl | #136 | 3.8× |
| Deborah | Girl | #7 | 3.3× |
| Lynda | Girl | #107 | 3.2× |
| Dianne | Girl | #90 | 3.1× |
| Dale | Girl | #263 | 3.0× |
| Dennis | Boy | #17 | 2.9× |
| Candace | Girl | #172 | 2.9× |
Names that peaked in 1950
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1950, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1950.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Brenda | Girl | #14 |
| Marsha | Girl | #68 |
| Constance | Girl | #85 |
| Donnie | Boy | #150 |
| Bonita | Girl | #181 |
| Monte | Boy | #296 |
| Marta | Girl | #384 |
| Roseanna | Girl | #487 |
| Jacque | Girl | #539 |
| Roseanne | Girl | #550 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1950
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1950 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1950 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1950 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