Born in 1954 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1954
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,980,666 babies born in 1954: 1,941,915 girls and 2,038,751 boys. Mary and Michael were the most popular names, and 27.9% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 29.4% in 1944. The name most tied to 1954 is Kim: among boys, it was 9.8× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,980,666
- 1,941,915 girls · 2,038,751 boys
- Different names
- 6,625
- for girls, plus 4,360 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 27.9%
- of babies got one · girls 23.0%, boys 32.5%
Top 10 names of 1954
- Mary was the #1 name for girls every year from 1953 to 1961.
- Michael was the #1 name for boys every year from 1954 to 1959.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1954, 27.9% 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 1954
These names were far more common in 1954 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1954 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kim | Boy | #109 | 9.8× |
| Luann | Girl | #192 | 9.3× |
| Debra | Girl | #6 | 8.9× |
| Deborah | Girl | #3 | 7.6× |
| Rickie | Boy | #218 | 6.2× |
| Rickey | Boy | #113 | 5.0× |
| Kathie | Girl | #274 | 4.9× |
| Vickie | Girl | #69 | 4.8× |
| Jan | Girl | #131 | 4.0× |
| Vicki | Girl | #50 | 4.0× |
Names that peaked in 1954
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1954, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1954.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Deborah | Girl | #3 |
| Susan | Girl | #5 |
| Pamela | Girl | #12 |
| Terry | Boy | #27 |
| Vicki | Girl | #50 |
| Roxanne | Girl | #158 |
| Garry | Boy | #138 |
| Luann | Girl | #192 |
| Rickie | Boy | #218 |
| Kathie | Girl | #274 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1954
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1954 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1954 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1954 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