Screenwriting guide
1950s Names: Popular Girl and Boy Names
The most popular 1950s names were Mary, Linda, Patricia, Susan and Deborah for girls, and James, Michael, Robert, John and David for boys, from Social Security records. Michael took #1 in 1954 and held it to 1959. Linda was #1 from 1950 to 1952, then Mary returned.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
What the records show
Mary
#1 for girls in 7 of the 10 years from 1950 to 1959. The rest: Linda 3.
Michael
#1 for boys in 6 of the 10 years from 1950 to 1959. The rest: James 3, Robert 1.
625,609
Babies named Mary in the 1950s SSA records, the most of any girl’s name.
843,776
Babies named James in the 1950s SSA records, the most of any boy’s name.
43
Girls’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1950s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
5
Boys’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1950s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
The top 100 names of the 1950s
Women
| Mary | #1 | 625,609 | 1880s | #133 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda | #2 | 564,363 | 1940s | #830 |
| Patricia | #3 | 459,686 | 1950s | #1,170 |
| Susan | #4 | 437,773 | 1960s | #1,097 |
| Deborah | #5 | 430,541 | 1950s | #907 |
| Barbara | #6 | 345,723 | 1930s | #896 |
| Debra | #7 | 341,347 | 1950s | #3,764 |
| Karen | #8 | 332,533 | 1960s | #1,071 |
| Nancy | #9 | 286,812 | 1940s | #944 |
| Donna | #10 | 270,333 | 1960s | #1,847 |
| Cynthia | #11 | 263,429 | 1960s | #852 |
| Sandra | #12 | 251,594 | 1940s | #1,057 |
| Pamela | #13 | 237,395 | 1950s | #1,906 |
| Sharon | #14 | 232,809 | 1940s | #1,230 |
| Kathleen | #15 | 224,341 | 1950s | #1,042 |
| Carol | #16 | 222,654 | 1940s | #2,249 |
| Diane | #17 | 210,627 | 1950s | #2,250 |
| Brenda | #18 | 209,243 | 1950s | #1,233 |
| Cheryl | #19 | 171,390 | 1950s | #3,915 |
| Janet | #20 | 167,519 | 1950s | #2,079 |
| Elizabeth | #21 | 165,658 | 1880s | #14 |
| Kathy | #22 | 157,930 | 1950s | #2,497 |
| Margaret | #23 | 149,583 | 1890s | #128 |
| Janice | #24 | 133,619 | 1940s | #2,089 |
| Carolyn | #25 | 124,067 | 1940s | #1,105 |
Men
| James | #1 | 843,776 | 1940s | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | #2 | 837,466 | 1960s | #16 |
| Robert | #3 | 830,391 | 1920s | #81 |
| John | #4 | 797,917 | 1880s | #24 |
| David | #5 | 769,951 | 1960s | #29 |
| William | #6 | 591,226 | 1880s | #6 |
| Richard | #7 | 535,453 | 1930s | #219 |
| Thomas | #8 | 454,385 | 1940s | #46 |
| Mark | #9 | 382,585 | 1960s | #240 |
| Charles | #10 | 361,178 | 1880s | #50 |
| Steven | #11 | 333,657 | 1950s | #241 |
| Gary | #12 | 329,935 | 1950s | #964 |
| Joseph | #13 | 300,006 | 1910s | #27 |
| Donald | #14 | 273,576 | 1930s | #639 |
| Ronald | #15 | 271,146 | 1940s | #580 |
| Kenneth | #16 | 262,822 | 1930s | #260 |
| Paul | #17 | 253,191 | 1910s | #253 |
| Larry | #18 | 245,690 | 1940s | #925 |
| Daniel | #19 | 243,725 | 2000s | #15 |
| Stephen | #20 | 207,276 | 1950s | #348 |
| Dennis | #21 | 204,267 | 1940s | #666 |
| Timothy | #22 | 198,322 | 1960s | #204 |
| Edward | #23 | 188,328 | 1910s | #215 |
| Jeffrey | #24 | 184,663 | 1960s | #451 |
| George | #25 | 181,029 | 1880s | #137 |
Generate a full name for a character born in the 1950s
Born in the 1950s, 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 1950s
- peak 1940s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1960s
- peak 1900s
- peak 2000s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1970s
- peak 2020s
- peak 1960s
For writers: names that date a character
Time markers reached the top 100 in the 1950s, 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 1950s.
Women
Names that place a character in time
- Linda
- Patricia
- Deborah
- Debra
- Pamela
- Kathleen
- Diane
- Brenda
- Cheryl
- Janet
- Kathy
- Denise
Anachronism traps
- Mia #6 nowbest #1,733 then
- Isabella #7 nowbest #1,322 then
- Harper #10 nownot recorded then
- Luna #11 nowbest #5,648 then
- Camila #12 nowbest #4,958 then
- Sofia #13 nowbest #1,434 then
- Gianna #16 nowbest #5,191 then
- Scarlett #17 nowbest #1,363 then
- Chloe #21 nowbest #1,946 then
- Avery #22 nowbest #2,957 then
- Aria #23 nowbest #5,933 then
- Mila #24 nowbest #2,265 then
Men
Names that place a character in time
- Gary
- Stephen
- Douglas
- Terry
- Bruce
- Randy
- Danny
- Ricky
- Dale
- Randall
- Glenn
- Barry
Anachronism traps
- Liam #1 nowbest #2,385 then
- Lucas #8 nowbest #1,316 then
- Mateo #11 nowbest #2,396 then
- Sebastian #13 nowbest #1,061 then
- Asher #23 nowbest #2,580 then
- Logan #30 nowbest #1,016 then
- Hudson #31 nowbest #1,738 then
- Aiden #32 nownot recorded then
- Luca #37 nownot recorded then
- Grayson #38 nowbest #1,559 then
- Dylan #39 nowbest #2,608 then
- Maverick #43 nowbest #1,834 then
How to use it
- 1
Scan the ranked table for the 1950s 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 say 1950s?
Deborah and Debra were both top ten girls’ names of the decade, and both peaked in the 1950s. Patricia, Pamela, Kathleen, Diane, Brenda and Cheryl did the same. For boys the markers are Gary, Stephen, Douglas, Terry, Bruce and Randy, all at their highest in the 1950s and below #300 now.
Two spellings of the same name in the top ten is a 1950s habit worth using: a Debra and a Deborah in the same office is period detail a reader may feel without noticing.
How close was the race for #1 boys’ name?
Very. Over the whole decade James finished first with 843,776 births and Michael second with 837,466. Year by year, James led from 1950 to 1952, Robert took 1953, and Michael won every year from 1954 to 1959.
Which modern names would be wrong in the 1950s?
Liam ranked #2,385 in the 1950s. Harper and Aiden do not appear in the records for the decade at all. Isabella, a top ten name now, ranked #1,322. Check the traps list before you name a character born in the 1950s.
Names by era
Questions writers ask
What were popular girl names in the 1950s?
Mary, Linda, Patricia, Susan, Deborah, Barbara, Debra, Karen, Nancy and Donna were the top ten in US Social Security records for 1950 to 1959.
What were popular boy names in the 1950s?
James, Michael, Robert, John, David, William, Richard, Thomas, Mark and Charles were the top ten.
What was the #1 name in the 1950s?
Mary for girls and James for boys over the decade, though Michael was #1 in more single years: 1954 to 1959.
What names did baby boomers have?
For people born in the 1950s, the core of the boom, the most common names were Mary, Linda, Patricia, James, Michael and Robert. The full top 100 is in the table.
Are these birth names or names people used?
Birth names as recorded by Social Security. Nicknames like Debbie or Mike only show up when that was the name recorded for the child.