Most Popular Baby Names of 1945

In 1945, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 59,278 babies, and James topped the boys' list with 74,464. Mary held on to number one for a 66th year in a row, and James held on to number one for a sixth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,307,090 girls and 1,345,855 boys born in 1945 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,242 different girls' names and 3,783 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1945

Top girls' names, 1945
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1944
1	Mary	59,278	same
2	Linda	41,465	up 1
3	Barbara	38,273	down 1
4	Patricia	35,844	same
5	Carol	30,389	same
6	Sandra	24,700	same
7	Nancy	21,456	same
8	Sharon	20,838	same
9	Judith	20,192	same
10	Susan	19,222	up 3
11	Betty	18,387	down 1
12	Carolyn	17,244	down 1
13	Judy	17,001	down 1
14	Shirley	16,150	up 1
15	Margaret	15,685	down 1
16	Karen	15,680	same
17	Donna	15,397	same
18	Joyce	13,950	same
19	Kathleen	13,802	up 1
20	Janet	12,326	up 1
21	Dorothy	12,323	down 2
22	Diane	12,223	up 2
23	Gloria	11,037	up 2
24	Janice	10,781	up 4
25	Joan	10,394	down 3
26	Elizabeth	10,343	down 3
27	Marilyn	9,534	same
28	Virginia	9,244	down 2
29	Brenda	9,203	up 1
30	Martha	8,752	down 1
31	Helen	8,301	same
32	Cheryl	8,149	up 4
33	Ruth	8,046	down 1
34	Frances	7,940	down 1
35	Bonnie	7,745	down 1
36	Jane	7,639	up 5
37	Beverly	7,618	down 2
38	Jean	7,429	down 1
39	Ann	7,038	same
40	Phyllis	6,530	same
41	Alice	6,359	down 3
42	Pamela	6,169	up 2
43	Diana	6,047	up 17
44	Elaine	5,887	up 2
45	Peggy	5,839	same
46	Doris	5,820	down 4
47	Connie	5,337	up 4
48	Lois	5,148	down 1
49	Marie	5,084	down 1
50	Catherine	5,031	down 1
51	Carole	4,842	down 8
52	Gail	4,832	up 4
53	Joanne	4,618	up 2
54	Rose	4,557	down 2
55	Charlotte	4,529	down 5
56	Geraldine	4,475	down 3
57	Evelyn	4,377	same
58	Wanda	4,295	same
59	Rita	4,282	down 5
60	Jo	4,224	up 1
61	Ellen	4,189	up 2
62	Christine	4,077	up 13
63	Jacqueline	3,989	up 1
64	Sally	3,982	down 5
65	Kathryn	3,971	up 3
66	Sue	3,914	down 4
67	Paula	3,798	up 15
68	Suzanne	3,770	up 10
69	Annie	3,741	up 2
70	Eileen	3,637	up 3
71	Darlene	3,626	up 5
72	Dianne	3,611	up 18
73	Anna	3,607	up 1
74	Norma	3,603	down 8
75	Roberta	3,602	down 5
76	Sarah	3,592	down 9
77	Laura	3,589	up 42
78	Louise	3,514	down 9
79	Rosemary	3,500	up 20
80	Joann	3,465	down 15
81	Anne	3,407	up 5
82	Katherine	3,393	down 5
83	Sylvia	3,375	same
84	Patsy	3,350	down 12
85	Rebecca	3,331	down 1
86	Maria	3,313	down 6
87	Lorraine	3,207	up 6
88	Marcia	3,206	up 1
89	Sheila	3,178	up 14
90	Cynthia	3,127	up 15
91	Kay	3,058	down 3
92	Glenda	2,963	down 13
93	Mildred	2,960	down 12
94	Marjorie	2,929	down 9
95	Ruby	2,904	down 8
96	Theresa	2,895	same
97	Irene	2,883	down 6
98	Jeanne	2,861	up 10
99	Arlene	2,771	up 2
100	Anita	2,768	down 5

Top boys' names, 1945
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1944
1	James	74,464	same
2	Robert	69,947	same
3	John	66,117	same
4	William	50,218	same
5	Richard	46,046	same
6	David	37,110	same
7	Charles	32,469	same
8	Thomas	31,874	same
9	Michael	29,902	same
10	Ronald	23,665	same
11	Larry	22,824	up 1
12	Donald	22,138	down 1
13	Gary	21,345	up 2
14	Joseph	20,823	down 1
15	George	19,327	down 1
16	Kenneth	18,096	same
17	Paul	16,995	same
18	Edward	15,870	same
19	Dennis	14,990	up 1
20	Jerry	14,704	down 1
21	Frank	10,874	same
22	Roger	10,571	up 1
23	Raymond	9,858	down 1
24	Daniel	9,708	up 1
25	Gerald	8,857	down 1
26	Stephen	8,641	up 2
27	Walter	7,574	down 1
28	Harold	7,524	down 1
29	Douglas	7,394	up 5
30	Lawrence	7,163	up 2
31	Willie	7,030	same
32	Jack	6,857	down 2
33	Terry	6,834	up 10
34	Arthur	6,802	down 5
35	Wayne	6,738	up 2
36	Joe	6,625	down 3
37	Henry	6,606	down 2
38	Peter	6,483	up 2
39	Carl	6,314	down 3
40	Roy	6,183	down 1
41	Jimmy	6,159	same
42	Billy	6,022	down 4
43	Steven	5,974	up 9
44	Ralph	5,785	down 2
45	Johnny	5,699	same
46	Anthony	5,686	same
47	Harry	5,650	up 2
48	Bruce	5,615	up 3
49	Albert	5,432	down 5
50	Eugene	5,167	down 2
51	Fred	5,118	down 4
52	Alan	5,073	up 3
53	Bobby	5,052	down 3
54	Howard	4,768	down 1
55	Louis	4,480	down 1
56	Danny	4,175	up 20
57	Leonard	4,125	down 1
58	Philip	4,112	up 2
59	Stanley	4,058	down 2
60	Ernest	4,005	down 1
61	Dale	3,957	same
62	Samuel	3,957	same
63	Patrick	3,854	up 1
64	Russell	3,806	down 1
65	Norman	3,726	down 7
66	Bill	3,711	same
67	Ronnie	3,651	up 2
68	Jim	3,625	same
69	Mike	3,592	up 11
70	Timothy	3,591	up 22
71	Earl	3,567	down 6
72	Mark	3,545	up 21
73	Don	3,482	down 1
74	Allen	3,481	up 3
75	Tommy	3,449	down 5
76	Francis	3,448	down 5
77	Frederick	3,437	down 4
78	Melvin	3,408	down 11
79	Steve	3,384	up 10
80	Marvin	3,294	down 5
81	Eddie	3,223	down 2
82	Clarence	3,196	down 8
83	Leroy	3,170	down 5
84	Barry	3,138	same
85	Phillip	3,081	down 2
86	Andrew	3,007	down 5
87	Lee	2,942	down 2
88	Alfred	2,894	down 6
89	Tom	2,893	down 2
90	Martin	2,823	up 1
91	Jeffrey	2,782	up 10
92	Ray	2,740	down 6
93	Glenn	2,734	down 5
94	Herbert	2,664	down 4
95	Victor	2,631	up 12
96	Gregory	2,474	up 56
97	Curtis	2,393	same
98	Bernard	2,388	down 4
99	Clifford	2,384	same
100	Gene	2,373	down 5

Biggest climbers in 1945

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1944.

Girls

Candy: up 287 places, from 802nd to 515th
Teri: up 215 places, from 680th to 465th
Sharyn: up 197 places, from 438th to 241st
Jamie: up 197 places, from 676th to 479th
Alison: up 189 places, from 867th to 678th
Linnea: up 177 places, from 922nd to 745th
Danielle: up 172 places, from 946th to 774th
Iola: up 169 places, from 995th to 826th
Ginny: up 168 places, from 851st to 683rd
Cheryll: up 167 places, from 925th to 758th

Boys

Franklyn: up 284 places, from 976th to 692nd
Marcel: up 224 places, from 928th to 704th
Rocky: up 211 places, from 866th to 655th
Javier: up 205 places, from 892nd to 687th
Russ: up 200 places, from 916th to 716th
Jaime: up 197 places, from 891st to 694th
Harland: up 192 places, from 956th to 764th
Truman: up 187 places, from 435th to 248th
Hugo: up 178 places, from 957th to 779th
Denzil: up 174 places, from 995th to 821st

New to the top 1,000 in 1945

Girls

Lauren, 354th (its first time ever)
Laureen, 671st (its first time ever)
Patrice, 735th (its first time ever)
Aleta, 737th (its first time ever)
Candice, 743rd (its first time ever)
Janine, 775th (back after dropping out)
Janey, 796th (back after dropping out)
Gina, 800th (back after dropping out)
Kristina, 836th (its first time ever)
Lura, 847th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Delano, 559th (back after dropping out)
Dane, 736th (its first time ever)
Artie, 799th (back after dropping out)
Trinidad, 829th (back after dropping out)
Ike, 832nd (back after dropping out)
Rolf, 844th (back after dropping out)
Lafayette, 856th (back after dropping out)
Geary, 861st (its first time ever)
Lawrance, 862nd (back after dropping out)
Erick, 865th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1945?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23.8% of the girls counted in 1945, and the top ten boys' names to 34.3% of the boys. In 1925, those shares were 23% for girls and 32.9% 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.