Most Popular Baby Names of 1942

In 1942, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 63,256 babies, and James topped the boys' list with 77,182. Mary held on to number one for a 63rd year in a row, and James held on to number one for a third year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,350,719 girls and 1,381,161 boys born in 1942 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,378 different girls' names and 4,044 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1942

Top girls' names, 1942
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1941
1	Mary	63,256	same
2	Barbara	44,739	same
3	Patricia	39,465	same
4	Linda	31,613	up 1
5	Carol	30,272	down 1
6	Sandra	24,994	up 3
7	Judith	24,792	down 1
8	Nancy	23,327	same
9	Betty	21,659	down 2
10	Carolyn	19,978	up 1
11	Sharon	19,648	up 4
12	Shirley	17,750	down 2
13	Joyce	16,728	same
14	Margaret	16,549	down 2
15	Judy	15,667	up 1
16	Karen	15,387	up 3
17	Dorothy	15,037	down 3
18	Joan	14,514	down 1
19	Janet	13,065	down 1
20	Donna	12,987	same
21	Susan	12,015	up 6
22	Elizabeth	11,186	down 1
23	Virginia	10,803	same
24	Kathleen	10,696	up 12
25	Janice	10,286	down 3
26	Helen	10,016	down 2
27	Marilyn	9,906	up 3
28	Diane	9,551	up 12
29	Martha	9,513	down 4
30	Frances	9,471	up 1
31	Gloria	9,450	down 5
32	Beverly	9,411	down 3
33	Ruth	9,315	down 5
34	Bonnie	8,823	down 1
35	Carole	8,407	up 13
36	Jean	8,257	down 4
37	Phyllis	7,793	down 2
38	Ann	7,666	down 1
39	Alice	7,382	down 5
40	Brenda	7,241	up 1
41	Doris	7,176	down 3
42	Peggy	6,580	down 3
43	Marie	6,559	down 1
44	Lois	6,406	down 1
45	Elaine	5,986	down 1
46	Jane	5,707	same
47	Geraldine	5,437	down 2
48	Joanne	5,342	up 6
49	Catherine	5,267	up 2
50	Rose	5,253	down 1
51	Charlotte	5,022	up 4
52	Norma	4,971	down 5
53	Evelyn	4,940	down 3
54	Wanda	4,792	down 1
55	Rita	4,706	up 8
56	Sally	4,655	up 5
57	Patsy	4,559	down 5
58	Joann	4,506	same
59	Anna	4,488	down 3
60	Gail	4,445	up 8
61	Louise	4,343	up 1
62	Annie	4,293	down 3
63	Dolores	4,267	down 6
64	Ellen	4,197	up 3
65	Jo	4,175	up 1
66	Roberta	4,105	up 6
67	Sarah	4,100	down 7
68	Diana	3,857	up 32
69	Jacqueline	3,831	up 4
70	Connie	3,825	up 9
71	Mildred	3,808	down 7
72	Sylvia	3,728	down 7
73	Sue	3,631	up 2
74	Marjorie	3,625	down 3
75	Kay	3,622	down 5
76	Anne	3,526	up 6
77	Ruby	3,519	down 8
78	Darlene	3,517	down 2
79	Loretta	3,406	up 2
80	Irene	3,383	down 6
81	Katherine	3,376	up 4
82	Kathryn	3,350	up 5
83	Arlene	3,331	down 6
84	Marlene	3,253	down 1
85	Rebecca	3,241	up 1
86	Delores	3,171	down 6
87	Eleanor	3,165	down 9
88	Eileen	3,108	up 33
89	Glenda	3,089	up 7
90	Juanita	3,074	down 6
91	Lorraine	3,010	up 2
92	Rosemary	3,005	up 2
93	Anita	2,998	down 2
94	Sheila	2,973	up 16
95	Julia	2,906	down 7
96	Christine	2,900	up 5
97	Maria	2,817	up 5
98	Theresa	2,799	down 3
99	Edna	2,764	down 10
100	Josephine	2,748	down 8

Top boys' names, 1942
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1941
1	James	77,182	same
2	Robert	71,845	same
3	John	66,043	same
4	William	54,890	same
5	Richard	43,593	same
6	David	35,905	up 1
7	Charles	35,854	down 1
8	Thomas	31,100	same
9	Ronald	27,138	same
10	Donald	23,955	same
11	Joseph	22,429	up 1
12	Larry	22,099	down 1
13	Michael	21,728	up 3
14	George	21,275	down 1
15	Kenneth	18,210	same
16	Jerry	17,488	down 2
17	Edward	17,470	same
18	Gary	17,068	up 1
19	Paul	16,492	down 1
20	Dennis	13,281	up 3
21	Frank	12,248	same
22	Gerald	11,484	down 2
23	Douglas	11,233	up 30
24	Raymond	11,116	down 2
25	Roger	9,174	same
26	Walter	8,682	same
27	Harold	8,582	down 3
28	Daniel	8,507	up 3
29	Arthur	8,027	up 4
30	Lawrence	7,639	up 4
31	Henry	7,561	down 3
32	Stephen	7,503	up 9
33	Joe	7,383	down 3
34	Jack	7,365	down 2
35	Billy	7,313	down 8
36	Carl	7,268	down 7
37	Willie	7,094	down 1
38	Ralph	6,637	same
39	Peter	6,587	up 5
40	Albert	6,496	same
41	Wayne	6,484	down 4
42	Roy	6,311	down 3
43	Bobby	6,248	down 8
44	Anthony	6,210	up 2
45	Eugene	6,092	down 3
46	Fred	6,088	down 3
47	Jimmy	5,949	down 2
48	Harry	5,629	same
49	Howard	5,571	down 2
50	Bruce	5,385	up 1
51	Louis	5,151	down 1
52	Terry	4,810	up 12
53	Norman	4,683	down 4
54	Philip	4,604	down 2
55	Johnny	4,588	same
56	Stanley	4,587	up 1
57	Leonard	4,370	down 3
58	Francis	4,297	up 2
59	Samuel	4,190	up 6
60	Melvin	4,188	down 4
61	Ernest	4,079	same
62	Earl	4,050	down 4
63	Dale	3,863	down 4
64	Patrick	3,804	up 6
65	Bill	3,794	up 3
66	Marvin	3,792	down 3
67	Clarence	3,741	down 5
68	Frederick	3,738	up 1
69	Leroy	3,717	down 2
70	Russell	3,676	up 5
71	Allen	3,571	up 2
72	Don	3,564	down 6
73	Tommy	3,532	down 2
74	Jim	3,514	up 6
75	Steven	3,505	up 15
76	Alfred	3,408	down 2
77	Phillip	3,373	same
78	Ronnie	3,363	up 1
79	Barry	3,209	up 12
80	Andrew	3,142	up 2
81	Alan	3,134	up 3
82	Gene	3,127	down 10
83	Herbert	3,113	down 7
84	Ray	3,067	down 1
85	Martin	3,045	same
86	Eddie	3,019	down 8
87	Lee	2,923	down 6
88	Glenn	2,888	down 2
89	Tom	2,875	down 1
90	Bernard	2,724	down 3
91	Theodore	2,665	up 4
92	Gordon	2,606	same
93	Leon	2,550	same
94	Jimmie	2,541	down 5
95	Clifford	2,533	down 1
96	Lloyd	2,462	same
97	Warren	2,423	up 8
98	Curtis	2,420	up 2
99	Victor	2,397	up 19
100	Jesse	2,396	down 1

Biggest climbers in 1942

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1941.

Girls

Jerilynn: up 396 places, from 978th to 582nd
Terri: up 310 places, from 940th to 630th
Michele: up 280 places, from 535th to 255th
Jana: up 272 places, from 906th to 634th
Dinah: up 244 places, from 877th to 633rd
Pam: up 242 places, from 863rd to 621st
Vicky: up 235 places, from 646th to 411th
Lesley: up 231 places, from 980th to 749th
Alexandra: up 215 places, from 894th to 679th
Jerilyn: up 212 places, from 609th to 397th

Boys

Colin: up 390 places, from 713th to 323rd
Mac: up 378 places, from 686th to 308th
Douglass: up 297 places, from 872nd to 575th
Doug: up 291 places, from 692nd to 401st
Jeffry: up 253 places, from 956th to 703rd
Quentin: up 228 places, from 832nd to 604th
Joey: up 227 places, from 882nd to 655th
Ambrose: up 226 places, from 925th to 699th
Kim: up 178 places, from 864th to 686th
Blair: up 176 places, from 859th to 683rd

New to the top 1,000 in 1942

Girls

Merrily, 513th (its first time ever)
Melody, 523rd (its first time ever)
Kaaren, 537th (its first time ever)
Cassandra, 545th (its first time ever)
Aloma, 616th (its first time ever)
Candace, 658th (back after dropping out)
Carlotta, 687th (back after dropping out)
Cathie, 734th (its first time ever)
Sandi, 766th (its first time ever)
Shelley, 767th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Mcarthur, 357th (its first time ever)
Macarthur, 513th (its first time ever)
Delmas, 741st (back after dropping out)
Humberto, 783rd (back after dropping out)
Rickey, 793rd (its first time ever)
Denton, 797th (back after dropping out)
Haskell, 828th (back after dropping out)
Brad, 840th (back after dropping out)
Junius, 843rd (back after dropping out)
Danial, 851st (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1942?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 24% of the girls counted in 1942, and the top ten boys' names to 33.8% of the boys. In 1922, those shares were 23.3% for girls and 32% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.