Born in 1955 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1955
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 4,015,166 babies born in 1955: 1,955,277 girls and 2,059,889 boys. Mary and Michael were the most popular names, and 27.3% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 29.1% in 1945. The name most tied to 1955 is Kim: among boys, it was 11× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 4,015,166
- 1,955,277 girls · 2,059,889 boys
- Different names
- 6,732
- for girls, plus 4,400 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 27.3%
- of babies got one · girls 22.3%, boys 32.1%
Top 10 names of 1955
- 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 1955, 27.3% 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 1955
These names were far more common in 1955 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1955 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kim | Boy | #98 | 11× |
| Debra | Girl | #4 | 11× |
| Sheree | Girl | #228 | 8.5× |
| Luann | Girl | #219 | 8.3× |
| Deborah | Girl | #2 | 7.3× |
| Debora | Girl | #166 | 7.1× |
| Rickie | Boy | #237 | 5.3× |
| Vickie | Girl | #68 | 5.1× |
| Rickey | Boy | #114 | 5.0× |
| Cathy | Girl | #44 | 4.2× |
Names that peaked in 1955
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1955, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1955.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| David | Boy | #2 |
| Debra | Girl | #4 |
| Steven | Boy | #10 |
| Diane | Girl | #14 |
| Connie | Girl | #35 |
| Terry | Girl | #83 |
| Kim | Boy | #98 |
| Marla | Girl | #193 |
| Suzan | Girl | #397 |
| Roxann | Girl | #429 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1955
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1955 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Roni295 babies
- Sheilah199 babies
- Athena176 babies
- Jeryl155 babies
- Danita153 babies
- Gisele141 babies
- Sherree137 babies
- Migdalia129 babies
Boys
- Davy195 babies
- Tad89 babies
- Rhett77 babies
- Ty71 babies
- Mitch68 babies
- Jefferey67 babies
- Dann61 babies
- Timmothy61 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1955 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1955 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