Born in 1957 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1957
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 4,202,087 babies born in 1957: 2,044,851 girls and 2,157,236 boys. Mary and Michael were the most popular names, and 25.6% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 30.1% in 1947. The name most tied to 1957 is Debra: among girls, it was 9.4× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 4,202,087
- 2,044,851 girls · 2,157,236 boys
- Different names
- 7,015
- for girls, plus 4,552 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 25.6%
- of babies got one · girls 20.1%, boys 30.8%
Top 10 names of 1957
- 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 1957, 25.6% 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 1957
These names were far more common in 1957 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1957 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debra | Girl | #4 | 9.4× |
| Debora | Girl | #161 | 8.8× |
| Debbie | Girl | #27 | 8.3× |
| Cindy | Girl | #19 | 6.9× |
| Luann | Girl | #279 | 6.7× |
| Kim | Boy | #162 | 5.6× |
| Rickey | Boy | #108 | 5.4× |
| Pam | Girl | #184 | 5.1× |
| Kathy | Girl | #20 | 5.0× |
| Cathy | Girl | #39 | 5.0× |
Names that peaked in 1957
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1957, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1957.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Cynthia | Girl | #7 |
| Cindy | Girl | #19 |
| Peter | Boy | #37 |
| Micheal | Boy | #85 |
| Sheryl | Girl | #112 |
| Marianne | Girl | #139 |
| Vicky | Girl | #142 |
| Jayne | Girl | #216 |
| Jeannie | Girl | #222 |
| Gale | Girl | #244 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1957
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1957 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Tammie618 babies
- Tamera255 babies
- Tamra244 babies
- Traci226 babies
- Tammi176 babies
- Deb172 babies
- Cyndi146 babies
- Tamela146 babies
Boys
- Cheyenne71 babies
- Kenney71 babies
- Brien69 babies
- Derick66 babies
- Devin64 babies
- Robb64 babies
- Kerwin61 babies
- Grayling58 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1957 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1957 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