Born in 1959 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1959
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 4,157,980 babies born in 1959: 2,023,462 girls and 2,134,518 boys. Mary and Michael were the most popular names, and 23.8% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 29.4% in 1949. The name most tied to 1959 is Debbie: among girls, it was 14× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 4,157,980
- 2,023,462 girls · 2,134,518 boys
- Different names
- 7,202
- for girls, plus 4,572 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 23.8%
- of babies got one · girls 17.9%, boys 29.4%
Top 10 names of 1959
- 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 1959, 23.8% 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 1959
These names were far more common in 1959 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1959 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debbie | Girl | #20 | 14× |
| Pam | Girl | #125 | 13× |
| Debora | Girl | #184 | 7.5× |
| Tim | Boy | #60 | 6.9× |
| Cindy | Girl | #25 | 6.5× |
| Doug | Boy | #179 | 6.1× |
| Debra | Girl | #7 | 5.8× |
| Kim | Girl | #35 | 5.7× |
| Jeff | Boy | #52 | 5.7× |
| Ricky | Boy | #34 | 5.6× |
Names that peaked in 1959
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1959, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1959.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Donna | Girl | #5 |
| Debbie | Girl | #20 |
| Steve | Boy | #41 |
| Terri | Girl | #46 |
| Valerie | Girl | #60 |
| Becky | Girl | #102 |
| Pam | Girl | #125 |
| Dave | Boy | #119 |
| Patty | Girl | #140 |
| Perry | Boy | #132 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1959
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1959 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Bridgett159 babies
- Cari159 babies
- Tori146 babies
- Edie140 babies
- Alesia135 babies
- Ivette132 babies
- Jaime128 babies
- Kerrie128 babies
Boys
- Darrin102 babies
- Flint100 babies
- Darin97 babies
- Daren87 babies
- Efrem85 babies
- Kieth65 babies
- Micah65 babies
- Raynard63 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1959 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1959 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