Born in 1961 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1961
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 4,142,690 babies born in 1961: 2,018,495 girls and 2,124,195 boys. Mary and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.9% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 29.0% in 1951. The name most tied to 1961 is Pam: among girls, it was 13× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 4,142,690
- 2,018,495 girls · 2,124,195 boys
- Different names
- 7,527
- for girls, plus 4,657 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.9%
- of babies got one · girls 16.3%, boys 29.1%
Top 10 names of 1961
- Mary was the #1 name for girls every year from 1953 to 1961.
- Michael was the #1 name for boys every year from 1961 to 1998.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1961, 22.9% 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 1961
These names were far more common in 1961 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1961 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pam | Girl | #144 | 13× |
| Debbie | Girl | #31 | 11× |
| Jeff | Boy | #49 | 8.3× |
| Doug | Boy | #172 | 7.6× |
| Tim | Boy | #65 | 7.6× |
| Kim | Girl | #36 | 6.7× |
| Chris | Girl | #215 | 6.1× |
| Greg | Boy | #77 | 5.7× |
| Chuck | Boy | #217 | 5.5× |
| Shari | Girl | #142 | 5.4× |
Names that peaked in 1961
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1961, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1961.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Robin | Girl | #27 |
| Theresa | Girl | #35 |
| Chris | Boy | #57 |
| Dean | Boy | #84 |
| Jackie | Girl | #112 |
| Dwayne | Boy | #111 |
| Belinda | Girl | #141 |
| Shari | Girl | #142 |
| Toni | Girl | #149 |
| Chris | Girl | #215 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1961
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1961 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Johnna489 babies
- Velvet332 babies
- Corina270 babies
- Jeana161 babies
- Angelique145 babies
- Marnita145 babies
- Jonna143 babies
- Machelle135 babies
Boys
- Brook139 babies
- Shayne112 babies
- Lorne92 babies
- Parrish78 babies
- Drake76 babies
- Norberto74 babies
- Kalvin70 babies
- Regan69 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1961 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1961 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