Born in 1963 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1963
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,958,585 babies born in 1963: 1,927,507 girls and 2,031,078 boys. Lisa and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.6% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 28.3% in 1953. The name most tied to 1963 is Pam: among girls, it was 9.0× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,958,585
- 1,927,507 girls · 2,031,078 boys
- Different names
- 7,661
- for girls, plus 4,621 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.6%
- of babies got one · girls 16.1%, boys 28.7%
Top 10 names of 1963
- Lisa was the #1 name for girls every year from 1962 to 1969.
- Michael was the #1 name for boys every year from 1961 to 1998.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1963, 22.6% 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 1963
These names were far more common in 1963 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1963 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pam | Girl | #166 | 9.0× |
| Jeff | Boy | #48 | 7.8× |
| Doug | Boy | #174 | 7.6× |
| Tim | Boy | #79 | 6.6× |
| Kim | Girl | #39 | 6.1× |
| Debbie | Girl | #41 | 6.1× |
| Chris | Girl | #231 | 5.9× |
| Lori | Girl | #8 | 5.8× |
| Greg | Boy | #81 | 5.4× |
| Tammie | Girl | #172 | 5.3× |
Names that peaked in 1963
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1963, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1963.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Lori | Girl | #8 |
| Paula | Girl | #42 |
| Sherry | Girl | #49 |
| Sheila | Girl | #50 |
| Vincent | Boy | #61 |
| Sherri | Girl | #78 |
| Penny | Girl | #86 |
| Karl | Boy | #136 |
| Darla | Girl | #165 |
| Marty | Boy | #186 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1963
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1963 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Shirl152 babies
- Hillary148 babies
- Lesli145 babies
- Jena139 babies
- Brigette137 babies
- Tamala134 babies
- Shana132 babies
- Delisa128 babies
Boys
- Stoney259 babies
- Tal87 babies
- Jaimie85 babies
- Trenton73 babies
- Andreas71 babies
- Pamela63 babies
- Vinson62 babies
- Mauricio59 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1963 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1963 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