Most Popular Baby Names of 1944

In 1944, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 62,476 babies, and James topped the boys' list with 76,951. Mary held on to number one for a 65th year in a row, and James held on to number one for a fifth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,327,223 girls and 1,362,875 boys born in 1944 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,243 different girls' names and 3,909 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1944

Top girls' names, 1944
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1943
1	Mary	62,476	same
2	Barbara	39,196	same
3	Linda	38,415	up 1
4	Patricia	36,874	down 1
5	Carol	30,456	same
6	Sandra	26,024	same
7	Nancy	23,218	up 2
8	Sharon	22,433	same
9	Judith	22,431	down 2
10	Betty	19,761	same
11	Carolyn	18,670	same
12	Judy	17,119	up 1
13	Susan	16,330	up 5
14	Margaret	16,320	same
15	Shirley	16,309	down 3
16	Karen	15,944	down 1
17	Donna	15,173	same
18	Joyce	14,770	down 2
19	Dorothy	13,379	same
20	Kathleen	13,004	up 2
21	Janet	12,592	down 1
22	Joan	11,920	down 1
23	Elizabeth	11,034	same
24	Diane	10,710	same
25	Gloria	9,968	up 5
26	Virginia	9,895	down 1
27	Marilyn	9,738	same
28	Janice	9,733	down 2
29	Martha	9,335	same
30	Brenda	8,999	up 5
31	Helen	8,696	down 3
32	Ruth	8,674	up 1
33	Frances	8,487	down 2
34	Bonnie	8,456	same
35	Beverly	8,292	down 3
36	Cheryl	7,972	up 66
37	Jean	7,650	down 1
38	Alice	7,102	same
39	Ann	7,081	down 2
40	Phyllis	7,022	down 1
41	Jane	6,564	up 3
42	Doris	6,324	down 2
43	Carole	6,268	down 1
44	Pamela	6,204	up 10
45	Peggy	6,019	down 4
46	Elaine	5,629	same
47	Lois	5,529	down 4
48	Marie	5,297	down 3
49	Catherine	5,256	down 1
50	Charlotte	4,928	down 3
51	Connie	4,796	up 8
52	Rose	4,710	down 2
53	Geraldine	4,666	down 2
54	Rita	4,530	down 2
55	Joanne	4,529	down 6
56	Gail	4,526	down 1
57	Evelyn	4,516	down 4
58	Wanda	4,431	down 2
59	Sally	4,388	down 2
60	Diana	4,311	up 2
61	Jo	4,226	up 2
62	Sue	4,034	up 10
63	Ellen	3,998	up 4
64	Jacqueline	3,975	up 1
65	Joann	3,973	down 5
66	Norma	3,863	down 8
67	Sarah	3,857	up 4
68	Kathryn	3,855	up 7
69	Louise	3,842	up 1
70	Roberta	3,744	down 4
71	Annie	3,738	down 2
72	Patsy	3,729	down 11
73	Eileen	3,649	down 5
74	Anna	3,635	down 10
75	Christine	3,584	up 9
76	Darlene	3,532	down 3
77	Katherine	3,525	up 1
78	Suzanne	3,462	up 8
79	Glenda	3,367	up 4
80	Maria	3,361	up 23
81	Mildred	3,318	down 5
82	Paula	3,315	up 11
83	Sylvia	3,292	down 6
84	Rebecca	3,246	up 3
85	Marjorie	3,218	down 6
86	Anne	3,209	down 6
87	Ruby	3,189	down 5
88	Kay	3,170	down 7
89	Marcia	3,140	up 7
90	Dianne	3,107	down 2
91	Irene	3,087	down 6
92	Dolores	3,081	down 18
93	Lorraine	3,046	up 1
94	Juanita	2,960	down 3
95	Anita	2,825	up 3
96	Theresa	2,817	up 4
97	Delores	2,756	up 2
98	Loretta	2,746	down 9
99	Rosemary	2,744	down 2
100	Sherry	2,733	up 23

Top boys' names, 1944
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1943
1	James	76,951	same
2	Robert	70,855	same
3	John	66,616	same
4	William	52,375	same
5	Richard	45,643	same
6	David	37,382	same
7	Charles	34,662	same
8	Thomas	31,604	same
9	Michael	26,717	up 1
10	Ronald	25,513	down 1
11	Donald	23,468	same
12	Larry	22,026	same
13	Joseph	21,176	same
14	George	20,419	same
15	Gary	20,058	up 1
16	Kenneth	18,093	down 1
17	Paul	16,661	up 2
18	Edward	16,482	same
19	Jerry	16,282	down 2
20	Dennis	13,676	same
21	Frank	11,340	same
22	Raymond	10,635	same
23	Roger	10,581	up 1
24	Gerald	10,023	down 1
25	Daniel	9,314	same
26	Walter	8,159	same
27	Harold	7,980	same
28	Stephen	7,793	up 1
29	Arthur	7,255	up 1
30	Jack	7,253	up 4
31	Willie	7,195	up 5
32	Lawrence	7,130	same
33	Joe	7,062	up 2
34	Douglas	6,998	down 6
35	Henry	6,975	down 4
36	Carl	6,825	down 3
37	Wayne	6,724	up 4
38	Billy	6,545	down 1
39	Roy	6,533	down 1
40	Peter	6,340	down 1
41	Jimmy	6,320	up 1
42	Ralph	6,273	down 2
43	Terry	5,974	up 6
44	Albert	5,855	down 1
45	Johnny	5,661	up 7
46	Anthony	5,604	down 2
47	Fred	5,580	down 2
48	Eugene	5,505	down 1
49	Harry	5,478	up 1
50	Bobby	5,410	down 4
51	Bruce	5,262	same
52	Steven	5,113	up 6
53	Howard	5,025	down 5
54	Louis	4,678	down 1
55	Alan	4,277	up 12
56	Leonard	4,183	down 1
57	Stanley	4,121	down 3
58	Norman	4,065	down 2
59	Ernest	4,042	up 2
60	Philip	3,992	down 3
61	Dale	3,990	down 2
62	Samuel	3,946	same
63	Russell	3,931	up 10
64	Patrick	3,881	up 5
65	Earl	3,874	down 5
66	Bill	3,815	down 1
67	Melvin	3,745	down 4
68	Jim	3,744	up 7
69	Ronnie	3,739	up 2
70	Tommy	3,696	up 7
71	Francis	3,652	down 7
72	Don	3,589	same
73	Frederick	3,583	down 3
74	Clarence	3,575	down 6
75	Marvin	3,569	down 9
76	Danny	3,511	up 12
77	Allen	3,422	down 1
78	Leroy	3,410	down 4
79	Eddie	3,315	up 1
80	Mike	3,084	up 10
81	Andrew	3,056	down 2
82	Alfred	3,047	down 4
83	Phillip	3,002	down 2
84	Barry	2,979	down 2
85	Lee	2,929	up 6
86	Ray	2,904	down 2
87	Tom	2,902	same
88	Glenn	2,849	down 3
89	Steve	2,836	up 4
90	Herbert	2,773	down 4
91	Martin	2,767	down 8
92	Timothy	2,754	up 7
93	Mark	2,742	up 8
94	Bernard	2,619	down 2
95	Gene	2,602	down 6
96	Theodore	2,574	same
97	Curtis	2,465	up 3
98	Jimmie	2,398	down 3
99	Clifford	2,394	down 5
100	Warren	2,349	up 2

Biggest climbers in 1944

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1943.

Girls

Cheryle: up 325 places, from 870th to 545th
Debra: up 284 places, from 769th to 485th
Kerry: up 234 places, from 834th to 600th
Sharyn: up 227 places, from 665th to 438th
Debbie: up 223 places, from 862nd to 639th
Camilla: up 199 places, from 683rd to 484th
Tonya: up 186 places, from 985th to 799th
Cathie: up 185 places, from 810th to 625th
Sherryl: up 182 places, from 933rd to 751st
Cheri: up 179 places, from 710th to 531st

Boys

Ismael: up 249 places, from 947th to 698th
Rickey: up 198 places, from 622nd to 424th
Cornell: up 168 places, from 944th to 776th
Edd: up 165 places, from 963rd to 798th
Ricky: up 163 places, from 465th to 302nd
Alejandro: up 154 places, from 787th to 633rd
Pierre: up 154 places, from 826th to 672nd
Santos: up 150 places, from 689th to 539th
Butch: up 143 places, from 958th to 815th
Rogelio: up 138 places, from 760th to 622nd

New to the top 1,000 in 1944

Girls

Dorinda, 606th (its first time ever)
Teri, 680th (its first time ever)
Charla, 682nd (back after dropping out)
Alana, 747th (its first time ever)
Danna, 818th (its first time ever)
Maribeth, 823rd (its first time ever)
Pamala, 825th (its first time ever)
Rosalinda, 829th (its first time ever)
Kim, 834th (its first time ever)
Andra, 855th (its first time ever)

Boys

Humberto, 695th (back after dropping out)
Eldridge, 764th (back after dropping out)
Garfield, 771st (back after dropping out)
Lucian, 793rd (back after dropping out)
Rickie, 823rd (its first time ever)
Oneal, 827th (back after dropping out)
Kit, 849th (back after dropping out)
Noe, 857th (back after dropping out)
Webster, 860th (back after dropping out)
Conley, 871st (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1944?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 24.2% of the girls counted in 1944, and the top ten boys' names to 34.4% of the boys. In 1924, those shares were 23.3% for girls and 32.7% 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.