Screenwriting guide
1940s Names: Popular Baby Names of the 1940s
The top 1940s names were Mary, Linda, Barbara, Patricia and Carol for girls, and James, Robert, John, William and Richard for boys, from Social Security birth records. James was #1 every year from 1940 to 1949. Mary held #1 until 1946, then Linda took it in 1947.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
What the records show
Mary
#1 for girls in 7 of the 10 years from 1940 to 1949. The rest: Linda 3.
James
#1 for boys every year from 1940 to 1949, all 10 years.
640,070
Babies named Mary in the 1940s SSA records, the most of any girl’s name.
795,767
Babies named James in the 1940s SSA records, the most of any boy’s name.
46
Girls’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1940s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
15
Boys’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1940s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
The top 100 names of the 1940s
Women
| Mary | #1 | 640,070 | 1880s | #133 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda | #2 | 531,658 | 1940s | #830 |
| Barbara | #3 | 425,267 | 1930s | #896 |
| Patricia | #4 | 411,412 | 1950s | #1,170 |
| Carol | #5 | 292,330 | 1940s | #2,249 |
| Sandra | #6 | 265,536 | 1940s | #1,057 |
| Nancy | #7 | 252,058 | 1940s | #944 |
| Sharon | #8 | 221,236 | 1940s | #1,230 |
| Judith | #9 | 218,035 | 1940s | #890 |
| Susan | #10 | 212,014 | 1960s | #1,097 |
| Betty | #11 | 194,622 | 1930s | #1,138 |
| Carolyn | #12 | 181,855 | 1940s | #1,105 |
| Margaret | #13 | 173,025 | 1890s | #128 |
| Shirley | #14 | 171,780 | 1930s | #1,584 |
| Judy | #15 | 167,718 | 1940s | #1,645 |
| Karen | #16 | 167,699 | 1960s | #1,071 |
| Donna | #17 | 165,523 | 1960s | #1,847 |
| Kathleen | #18 | 152,981 | 1950s | #1,042 |
| Joyce | #19 | 151,493 | 1930s | #1,002 |
| Dorothy | #20 | 132,255 | 1920s | #486 |
| Janet | #21 | 130,754 | 1950s | #2,079 |
| Diane | #22 | 122,877 | 1950s | #2,250 |
| Janice | #23 | 118,892 | 1940s | #2,089 |
| Joan | #24 | 117,708 | 1930s | #1,381 |
| Elizabeth | #25 | 116,551 | 1880s | #14 |
Men
| James | #1 | 795,767 | 1940s | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert | #2 | 758,115 | 1920s | #81 |
| John | #3 | 711,600 | 1880s | #24 |
| William | #4 | 556,469 | 1880s | #6 |
| Richard | #5 | 477,472 | 1930s | #219 |
| David | #6 | 426,365 | 1960s | #29 |
| Charles | #7 | 361,760 | 1880s | #50 |
| Thomas | #8 | 350,771 | 1940s | #46 |
| Michael | #9 | 336,564 | 1960s | #16 |
| Ronald | #10 | 282,478 | 1940s | #580 |
| Larry | #11 | 255,907 | 1940s | #925 |
| Donald | #12 | 247,829 | 1930s | #639 |
| Joseph | #13 | 230,281 | 1910s | #27 |
| Gary | #14 | 217,769 | 1950s | #964 |
| George | #15 | 209,005 | 1880s | #137 |
| Kenneth | #16 | 198,551 | 1930s | #260 |
| Paul | #17 | 183,356 | 1910s | #253 |
| Edward | #18 | 174,798 | 1910s | #215 |
| Jerry | #19 | 167,250 | 1940s | #742 |
| Dennis | #20 | 162,113 | 1940s | #666 |
| Frank | #21 | 119,420 | 1880s | #454 |
| Daniel | #22 | 112,776 | 2000s | #15 |
| Raymond | #23 | 109,070 | 1920s | #343 |
| Roger | #24 | 107,597 | 1940s | #722 |
| Stephen | #25 | 106,810 | 1950s | #348 |
Generate a full name for a character born in the 1940s
Born in the 1940s, first names from that decade’s SSA top 200.
Surnames are common US Census surnames. Tap a name to keep it, then reroll the other half.
- peak 1880s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1920s
- peak 1930s
- peak 1940s
- peak 1920s
- peak 1940s
- peak 1920s
- peak 1930s
- peak 1880s
For writers: names that date a character
Time markers reached the top 100 in the 1940s, had their best decade ever there, and rank below #300 today. Traps are today’s top 100 names that were outside the top 1000, or missing from the records, throughout the 1940s.
Women
Names that place a character in time
- Linda
- Barbara
- Carol
- Sandra
- Nancy
- Sharon
- Judith
- Carolyn
- Judy
- Janice
- Gloria
- Bonnie
Anachronism traps
- Mia #6 nowbest #3,042 then
- Harper #10 nownot recorded then
- Luna #11 nowbest #3,313 then
- Camila #12 nowbest #5,890 then
- Sofia #13 nowbest #1,375 then
- Gianna #16 nownot recorded then
- Scarlett #17 nowbest #1,101 then
- Abigail #18 nowbest #1,023 then
- Chloe #21 nowbest #1,116 then
- Avery #22 nowbest #2,919 then
- Aria #23 nowbest #5,887 then
- Mila #24 nowbest #2,239 then
Men
Names that place a character in time
- Ronald
- Larry
- Jerry
- Dennis
- Roger
- Lawrence
- Wayne
- Jimmy
- Johnny
- Philip
- Ronnie
- Allen
Anachronism traps
- Liam #1 nowbest #6,257 then
- Lucas #8 nowbest #1,388 then
- Mateo #11 nowbest #2,256 then
- Ethan #18 nowbest #1,396 then
- Asher #23 nowbest #2,365 then
- Hudson #31 nowbest #1,459 then
- Aiden #32 nownot recorded then
- Luca #37 nowbest #6,276 then
- Grayson #38 nowbest #1,435 then
- Dylan #39 nownot recorded then
- Maverick #43 nownot recorded then
- Jayden #47 nownot recorded then
How to use it
- 1
Scan the ranked table for the 1940s and sort it by rank, births or where a name sits today. Copy the list if you want it.
- 2
Use the generator to pair real first names from that decade with common US surnames. Tap a half to keep it and reroll the rest.
- 3
Check the anachronism traps before you commit, so a modern name does not give your period character away.
Which names place a character in the 1940s?
Linda is the clearest marker. It was #2 for the decade, peaked in the 1940s, and is #830 in the 2020s. Barbara, Carol, Sandra, Nancy, Sharon and Judith follow the same curve. For boys, Ronald, Larry, Jerry, Dennis and Roger all had their best decade in the 1940s and sit below #300 today.
A character with one of these names in a present day story reads as someone in their late seventies or eighties. That is a fast, free piece of characterisation.
Why do some boys’ names barely change?
The 1940s boys’ top five, James, Robert, John, William and Richard, were also near the top in the 1920s and 1950s. Men’s names moved slowly for most of the century, so a common boys’ name dates a man less precisely than a girls’ name dates a woman. Use the signature names when the decade matters.
Which modern names would be wrong in the 1940s?
Liam was #6,257 for boys in the 1940s, a handful of births a year. Harper and Aiden do not appear in the 1940s records at all. Mia ranked #3,042. The traps list below checks every name in the 2020s top 100 against the 1940s data.
Names by era
Questions writers ask
What were popular girl names in the 1940s?
Mary, Linda, Barbara, Patricia, Carol, Sandra, Nancy, Sharon, Judith and Susan were the top ten girls’ names of the 1940s in US Social Security records.
What were popular boy names in the 1940s?
James, Robert, John, William, Richard, David, Charles, Thomas, Michael and Ronald were the top ten.
When did Linda become the #1 girls’ name?
In 1947. Linda was #1 from 1947 to 1952, interrupting Mary, which had held the top spot every year since the records began in 1880.
What names did people born in the 1940s have that are rare now?
Carol, Judith, Janice and Carolyn for women and Ronnie, Larry and Dennis for men were common in the 1940s and rank far lower now. The table shows each name’s rank today.
Does this cover the whole decade?
Yes. Every birth year from 1940 to 1949 is counted.