Most Popular Baby Names of 1943

In 1943, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 66,174 babies, and James topped the boys' list with 80,278. Mary held on to number one for a 64th year in a row, and James held on to number one for a fourth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,395,293 girls and 1,427,297 boys born in 1943 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,367 different girls' names and 4,040 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1943

Top girls' names, 1943
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1942
1	Mary	66,174	same
2	Barbara	43,432	same
3	Patricia	39,620	same
4	Linda	38,439	same
5	Carol	31,686	same
6	Sandra	25,990	same
7	Judith	25,214	same
8	Sharon	24,712	up 3
9	Nancy	23,988	down 1
10	Betty	21,596	down 1
11	Carolyn	20,365	down 1
12	Shirley	17,816	same
13	Judy	17,383	up 2
14	Margaret	17,153	same
15	Karen	16,816	up 1
16	Joyce	16,485	down 3
17	Donna	14,912	up 3
18	Susan	14,888	up 3
19	Dorothy	14,793	down 2
20	Janet	13,316	down 1
21	Joan	13,232	down 3
22	Kathleen	12,153	up 2
23	Elizabeth	11,644	down 1
24	Diane	11,326	up 4
25	Virginia	10,847	down 2
26	Janice	10,651	down 1
27	Marilyn	10,145	same
28	Helen	9,800	down 2
29	Martha	9,704	same
30	Gloria	9,684	up 1
31	Frances	9,449	down 1
32	Beverly	9,435	same
33	Ruth	9,370	same
34	Bonnie	8,870	same
35	Brenda	8,435	up 5
36	Jean	8,096	same
37	Ann	7,829	up 1
38	Alice	7,648	up 1
39	Phyllis	7,610	down 2
40	Doris	7,128	up 1
41	Peggy	6,511	up 1
42	Carole	6,506	down 7
43	Lois	6,132	up 1
44	Jane	6,032	up 2
45	Marie	5,980	down 2
46	Elaine	5,966	down 1
47	Charlotte	5,482	up 4
48	Catherine	5,427	up 1
49	Joanne	5,270	down 1
50	Rose	5,206	same
51	Geraldine	5,189	down 4
52	Rita	5,011	up 3
53	Evelyn	4,912	same
54	Pamela	4,839	up 52
55	Gail	4,810	up 5
56	Wanda	4,705	down 2
57	Sally	4,659	down 1
58	Norma	4,542	down 6
59	Connie	4,512	up 11
60	Joann	4,464	down 2
61	Patsy	4,355	down 4
62	Diana	4,337	up 6
63	Jo	4,300	up 2
64	Anna	4,232	down 5
65	Jacqueline	4,189	up 4
66	Roberta	4,169	same
67	Ellen	4,152	down 3
68	Eileen	4,092	up 20
69	Annie	4,070	down 7
70	Louise	4,044	down 9
71	Sarah	3,990	down 4
72	Sue	3,850	up 1
73	Darlene	3,774	up 5
74	Dolores	3,698	down 11
75	Kathryn	3,647	up 7
76	Mildred	3,626	down 5
77	Sylvia	3,623	down 5
78	Katherine	3,616	up 3
79	Marjorie	3,608	down 5
80	Anne	3,535	down 4
81	Kay	3,494	down 6
82	Ruby	3,470	down 5
83	Glenda	3,403	up 6
84	Christine	3,316	up 12
85	Irene	3,299	down 5
86	Suzanne	3,280	up 17
87	Rebecca	3,270	down 2
88	Dianne	3,193	up 21
89	Loretta	3,169	down 10
90	Arlene	3,146	down 7
91	Juanita	3,085	down 1
92	Sheila	3,063	up 2
93	Paula	3,042	up 43
94	Lorraine	3,015	down 3
95	Julia	2,972	same
96	Marcia	2,970	up 9
97	Rosemary	2,966	down 5
98	Anita	2,952	down 5
99	Delores	2,929	down 13
100	Theresa	2,929	down 2

Top boys' names, 1943
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1942
1	James	80,278	same
2	Robert	74,892	same
3	John	68,929	same
4	William	55,904	same
5	Richard	46,339	same
6	David	37,240	same
7	Charles	36,632	same
8	Thomas	32,874	same
9	Ronald	29,239	same
10	Michael	24,745	up 3
11	Donald	24,421	down 1
12	Larry	22,978	same
13	Joseph	22,828	down 2
14	George	21,692	same
15	Kenneth	19,112	same
16	Gary	17,868	up 2
17	Jerry	17,730	down 1
18	Edward	17,713	down 1
19	Paul	17,253	same
20	Dennis	14,116	same
21	Frank	12,246	same
22	Raymond	11,391	up 2
23	Gerald	11,367	down 1
24	Roger	10,773	up 1
25	Daniel	9,168	up 3
26	Walter	9,035	same
27	Harold	8,670	same
28	Douglas	8,236	down 5
29	Stephen	7,932	up 3
30	Arthur	7,785	down 1
31	Henry	7,631	same
32	Lawrence	7,583	down 2
33	Carl	7,472	up 3
34	Jack	7,398	same
35	Joe	7,308	down 2
36	Willie	7,178	up 1
37	Billy	7,012	down 2
38	Roy	6,932	up 4
39	Peter	6,877	same
40	Ralph	6,771	down 2
41	Wayne	6,761	same
42	Jimmy	6,444	up 5
43	Albert	6,307	down 3
44	Anthony	6,202	same
45	Fred	6,168	up 1
46	Bobby	6,121	down 3
47	Eugene	5,902	down 2
48	Howard	5,739	up 1
49	Terry	5,737	up 3
50	Harry	5,720	down 2
51	Bruce	5,431	down 1
52	Johnny	5,381	up 3
53	Louis	5,033	down 2
54	Stanley	4,699	up 2
55	Leonard	4,617	up 2
56	Norman	4,522	down 3
57	Philip	4,473	down 3
58	Steven	4,267	up 17
59	Dale	4,235	up 4
60	Earl	4,186	up 2
61	Ernest	4,172	same
62	Samuel	4,143	down 3
63	Melvin	4,069	down 3
64	Francis	4,068	down 6
65	Bill	3,990	same
66	Marvin	3,939	same
67	Alan	3,855	up 14
68	Clarence	3,854	down 1
69	Patrick	3,848	down 5
70	Frederick	3,840	down 2
71	Ronnie	3,826	up 7
72	Don	3,817	same
73	Russell	3,752	down 3
74	Leroy	3,741	down 5
75	Jim	3,682	down 1
76	Allen	3,627	down 5
77	Tommy	3,611	down 4
78	Alfred	3,445	down 2
79	Andrew	3,352	up 1
80	Eddie	3,281	up 6
81	Phillip	3,251	down 4
82	Barry	3,193	down 3
83	Martin	3,081	up 2
84	Ray	3,063	same
85	Glenn	3,054	up 3
86	Herbert	3,044	down 3
87	Tom	2,909	up 2
88	Danny	2,898	up 23
89	Gene	2,865	down 7
90	Mike	2,803	up 16
91	Lee	2,789	down 4
92	Bernard	2,744	down 2
93	Steve	2,684	up 9
94	Clifford	2,667	up 1
95	Jimmie	2,628	down 1
96	Theodore	2,616	down 5
97	Victor	2,613	up 2
98	Gordon	2,608	down 6
99	Timothy	2,578	up 9
100	Curtis	2,525	down 2

Biggest climbers in 1943

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1942.

Girls

Nikki: up 288 places, from 831st to 543rd
Sharyn: up 260 places, from 925th to 665th
Roseanne: up 247 places, from 811th to 564th
Ingrid: up 204 places, from 774th to 570th
Rosann: up 193 places, from 967th to 774th
Carolina: up 190 places, from 853rd to 663rd
Laraine: up 180 places, from 770th to 590th
Cheryl: up 178 places, from 280th to 102nd
Pam: up 178 places, from 621st to 443rd
Candace: up 174 places, from 658th to 484th

Boys

Rick: up 261 places, from 661st to 400th
Lucius: up 211 places, from 829th to 618th
Guillermo: up 188 places, from 914th to 726th
Durwood: up 179 places, from 948th to 769th
Kenton: up 172 places, from 963rd to 791st
Rickey: up 171 places, from 793rd to 622nd
Howell: up 167 places, from 977th to 810th
Milo: up 156 places, from 767th to 611th
Arvid: up 153 places, from 889th to 736th
Jamie: up 152 places, from 884th to 732nd

New to the top 1,000 in 1943

Girls

Tana, 685th (its first time ever)
Susann, 696th (back after dropping out)
Charolette, 817th (its first time ever)
Alexis, 824th (its first time ever)
Kerry, 834th (its first time ever)
Marcy, 842nd (its first time ever)
Raquel, 854th (back after dropping out)
Eloisa, 857th (back after dropping out)
Cheryle, 870th (its first time ever)
Vida, 888th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Derek, 714th (its first time ever)
Prince, 843rd (back after dropping out)
Edsel, 850th (back after dropping out)
Les, 852nd (its first time ever)
Theo, 854th (back after dropping out)
Curley, 858th (back after dropping out)
Terrill, 868th (its first time ever)
Blake, 876th (back after dropping out)
Elmore, 878th (back after dropping out)
Lindell, 880th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1943?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 24.4% of the girls counted in 1943, and the top ten boys' names to 34.1% of the boys. In 1923, those shares were 23.4% for girls and 32.3% 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.