Born in 1964 · Baby Boomers
Baby names of 1964
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,887,553 babies born in 1964: 1,894,855 girls and 1,992,698 boys. Lisa and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.5% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 27.9% in 1954. The name most tied to 1964 is Deneen: among girls, it was 76× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Baby Boomers
- Born 1946–1964
- Babies on record
- 3,887,553
- 1,894,855 girls · 1,992,698 boys
- Different names
- 7,806
- for girls, plus 4,594 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.5%
- of babies got one · girls 15.6%, boys 29.0%
Top 10 names of 1964
- 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 1964, 22.5% 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 1964
These names were far more common in 1964 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1964 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deneen | Girl | #216 | 76× |
| Jeff | Boy | #52 | 6.4× |
| Doug | Boy | #199 | 6.0× |
| Pam | Girl | #196 | 5.8× |
| Tim | Boy | #82 | 5.7× |
| Kim | Girl | #42 | 5.5× |
| Chris | Girl | #233 | 5.4× |
| Tammie | Girl | #180 | 5.3× |
| Tammy | Girl | #10 | 5.3× |
| Timmy | Boy | #211 | 4.9× |
Names that peaked in 1964
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1964, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1964.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Paul | Boy | #16 |
| Denise | Girl | #25 |
| Jacqueline | Girl | #37 |
| Beth | Girl | #65 |
| Colleen | Girl | #94 |
| Karla | Girl | #182 |
| Deneen | Girl | #216 |
| Terence | Boy | #241 |
| Zina | Girl | #338 |
| Valarie | Girl | #379 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1964
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1964 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1964 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1964 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