Born in 1953 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1953
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,853,600 babies born in 1953: 1,881,301 girls and 1,972,299 boys. Mary and Robert were the most popular names, and 28.3% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 29.3% in 1943. The name most tied to 1953 is Kim: among boys, it was 8.0× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,853,600
- 1,881,301 girls · 1,972,299 boys
- Different names
- 6,497
- for girls, plus 4,341 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 28.3%
- of babies got one · girls 23.1%, boys 33.2%
Top 10 names of 1953
- Mary was the #1 name for girls every year from 1953 to 1961.
- Robert was the #1 name for boys in 1953.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1953, 28.3% 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 1953
These names were far more common in 1953 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1953 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kim | Boy | #127 | 8.0× |
| Deborah | Girl | #3 | 7.2× |
| Debra | Girl | #7 | 6.5× |
| Luann | Girl | #229 | 6.4× |
| Rickie | Boy | #222 | 5.6× |
| Kathie | Girl | #286 | 4.5× |
| Rickey | Boy | #113 | 4.5× |
| Vickie | Girl | #79 | 3.9× |
| Jan | Girl | #140 | 3.5× |
| Marsha | Girl | #83 | 3.5× |
Names that peaked in 1953
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1953, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1953.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Gwendolyn | Girl | #112 |
| Dwight | Boy | #122 |
| Bradford | Boy | #240 |
| Rosanne | Girl | #303 |
| Janette | Girl | #310 |
| Luanne | Girl | #348 |
| Louann | Girl | #518 |
| Cinda | Girl | #600 |
| Geary | Boy | #494 |
| Cathey | Girl | #724 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1953
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1953 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1953 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1953 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