These Old-Fashioned Baby Names Still Have Serious Appeal Today

Baby names from the 1940s

With a war abroad for half the 1940s, times were tough and families were torn apart. But when soldiers returned from war, the “baby boom” began, with births skyrocketing. These were the most popular baby names in the 1940s according to the SSA.

Top baby boys names of the 1940s

1. James
2. Robert
3. John
4. William
5. Richard
6. David
7. Charles
8. Thomas
9. Michael
10. Ronald
11. Larry
12. Donald
13. Joseph
14. Gary
15. George
16. Kenneth
17. Paul
18. Edward
19. Jerry
20. Dennis

Top baby girls names of the 1940s

1. Mary
2. Linda
3. Barbara
4. Patricia
5. Carol
6. Sandra
7. Nancy
8. Sharon
9. Judith
10. Susan
11. Betty
12. Carolyn
13. Margaret
14. Shirley
15. Judy
16. Karen
17. Donna
18. Kathleen
19. Joyce
20. Dorothy

Next: Baby names from the 1950s

Need more inspo? Here are our favorite names inspired by this year’s Oscars.