Born in 1951 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1951
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,683,696 babies born in 1951: 1,800,859 girls and 1,882,837 boys. Linda and James were the most popular names, and 29.0% of all babies got a top-10 name, up from 28.6% in 1941. The name most tied to 1951 is Deborah: among girls, it was 5.1× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,683,696
- 1,800,859 girls · 1,882,837 boys
- Different names
- 6,213
- for girls, plus 4,253 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.0%
- of babies got one · girls 24.0%, boys 33.8%
Top 10 names of 1951
- 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 1951, 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 1951
These names were far more common in 1951 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1951 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah | Girl | #4 | 5.1× |
| Kathie | Girl | #281 | 4.5× |
| Linda | Girl | #1 | 4.3× |
| Kim | Boy | #172 | 4.2× |
| Janis | Girl | #131 | 4.1× |
| Marsha | Girl | #76 | 4.1× |
| Paulette | Girl | #148 | 3.8× |
| Gail | Girl | #36 | 3.3× |
| Vicki | Girl | #58 | 3.2× |
| Dale | Girl | #250 | 3.2× |
Names that peaked in 1951
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1951, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1951.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Patricia | Girl | #3 |
| Thomas | Boy | #8 |
| Gary | Boy | #10 |
| Kenneth | Boy | #16 |
| Stephen | Boy | #19 |
| Bruce | Boy | #26 |
| Gail | Girl | #36 |
| Kathryn | Girl | #45 |
| Alan | Boy | #40 |
| Marcia | Girl | #74 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1951
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1951 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1951 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1951 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