Most Popular Baby Names of 1955

In 1955, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 63,174 babies, and Michael topped the boys' list with 88,355. Mary held on to number one for a third year in a row, and Michael held on to number one for a second year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,955,277 girls and 2,059,889 boys born in 1955 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 6,732 different girls' names and 4,400 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1955

Top girls' names, 1955
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1954
1	Mary	63,174	same
2	Deborah	52,318	up 1
3	Linda	51,300	down 1
4	Debra	50,563	up 2
5	Susan	47,418	same
6	Patricia	46,226	down 2
7	Barbara	33,617	same
8	Karen	33,217	same
9	Nancy	30,023	same
10	Donna	27,940	up 1
11	Cynthia	27,178	down 1
12	Pamela	26,690	same
13	Sandra	25,112	same
14	Diane	23,290	up 3
15	Carol	22,046	same
16	Sharon	22,044	same
17	Kathleen	22,014	down 3
18	Brenda	19,114	same
19	Cheryl	19,111	up 3
20	Janet	17,920	down 1
21	Elizabeth	16,696	down 1
22	Kathy	15,324	up 1
23	Denise	14,560	up 1
24	Margaret	14,440	down 3
25	Janice	13,178	same
26	Teresa	13,126	up 8
27	Rebecca	12,398	down 1
28	Catherine	11,636	up 4
29	Joyce	11,287	down 1
30	Carolyn	11,179	down 3
31	Judith	10,436	down 1
32	Judy	10,376	down 3
33	Robin	10,217	up 8
34	Beverly	10,001	down 3
35	Connie	9,975	up 4
36	Betty	9,924	same
37	Shirley	9,755	down 4
38	Theresa	9,620	up 9
39	Paula	9,585	down 1
40	Christine	9,042	up 3
41	Laura	9,008	up 4
42	Gail	8,972	down 5
43	Ann	8,916	up 1
44	Cathy	8,665	up 15
45	Bonnie	8,637	up 7
46	Joan	8,557	down 6
47	Gloria	8,551	down 5
48	Lisa	8,539	up 25
49	Marilyn	8,409	down 14
50	Jane	8,343	down 1
51	Peggy	7,983	down 3
52	Vicki	7,975	down 2
53	Martha	7,930	down 7
54	Rose	7,852	same
55	Diana	7,847	up 2
56	Sherry	7,769	up 6
57	Sheila	7,661	up 3
58	Jo	7,656	down 5
59	Kathryn	7,640	down 8
60	Jean	7,480	down 4
61	Wanda	7,415	down 3
62	Lynn	7,355	up 1
63	Debbie	7,254	up 29
64	Dorothy	7,242	down 9
65	Katherine	7,239	down 1
66	Virginia	6,855	down 5
67	Julie	6,788	up 3
68	Vickie	6,637	up 1
69	Maria	6,210	down 4
70	Ruth	6,187	down 4
71	Rhonda	6,171	same
72	Rita	6,094	down 5
73	Jacqueline	6,041	down 5
74	Phyllis	5,689	up 1
75	Kim	5,687	up 59
76	Darlene	5,641	same
77	Elaine	5,635	down 3
78	Helen	5,592	down 6
79	Cindy	5,588	up 12
80	Valerie	5,512	up 7
81	Ellen	5,471	down 4
82	Victoria	5,359	up 3
83	Terry	5,353	up 5
84	Anne	5,218	down 4
85	Terri	5,153	up 15
86	Suzanne	5,137	down 4
87	Alice	5,079	down 6
88	Joanne	4,987	down 10
89	Lori	4,976	up 32
90	Wendy	4,955	up 5
91	Laurie	4,954	up 7
92	Marie	4,925	down 13
93	Michele	4,768	down 4
94	Anita	4,718	up 2
95	Sally	4,688	down 11
96	Frances	4,641	down 13
97	Michelle	4,526	down 3
98	Marcia	4,412	down 8
99	Leslie	4,405	same
100	Maureen	4,339	down 3

Top boys' names, 1955
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1954
1	Michael	88,355	same
2	David	86,306	up 3
3	James	84,186	same
4	Robert	83,758	down 2
5	John	80,128	down 1
6	William	59,990	same
7	Richard	53,566	same
8	Thomas	45,855	same
9	Mark	42,255	up 3
10	Steven	37,847	up 1
11	Charles	35,365	down 1
12	Gary	34,433	down 3
13	Joseph	31,589	same
14	Donald	27,726	same
15	Kenneth	26,743	up 2
16	Paul	26,701	same
17	Daniel	26,460	up 1
18	Ronald	26,172	down 3
19	Larry	22,819	same
20	Jeffrey	22,533	up 3
21	Stephen	22,155	down 1
22	Timothy	20,738	up 4
23	Dennis	20,436	down 2
24	Gregory	19,815	up 1
25	Edward	19,280	down 3
26	George	18,167	down 2
27	Kevin	17,158	up 1
28	Terry	15,586	down 1
29	Douglas	15,311	same
30	Randy	14,958	up 3
31	Anthony	14,170	up 1
32	Bruce	14,082	down 2
33	Jerry	12,975	down 2
34	Frank	11,109	up 2
35	Peter	11,003	up 2
36	Raymond	10,994	down 1
37	Roger	10,979	down 3
38	Scott	10,782	up 2
39	Keith	10,418	up 6
40	Brian	10,109	up 8
41	Patrick	9,869	down 3
42	Lawrence	9,128	down 3
43	Alan	9,037	same
44	Wayne	8,728	down 3
45	Danny	8,721	down 3
46	Ricky	8,329	same
47	Carl	8,294	same
48	Gerald	8,072	down 4
49	Christopher	7,922	up 15
50	Craig	7,448	up 1
51	Walter	7,299	down 2
52	Dale	7,182	down 2
53	Randall	6,688	up 2
54	Willie	6,629	down 1
55	Johnny	6,620	down 1
56	Arthur	6,570	down 4
57	Russell	6,539	up 12
58	Roy	6,331	down 2
59	Glenn	6,258	up 4
60	Jack	6,200	down 3
61	Henry	6,187	down 2
62	Philip	6,162	same
63	Harold	6,096	down 3
64	Stanley	6,050	down 6
65	Rodney	6,047	up 1
66	Andrew	6,012	up 4
67	Ralph	5,965	down 6
68	Joe	5,856	down 1
69	Billy	5,769	down 4
70	Barry	5,599	down 2
71	Samuel	5,535	same
72	Steve	5,509	up 4
73	Jeffery	5,466	up 17
74	Phillip	5,411	up 1
75	Bobby	5,223	down 3
76	Albert	5,179	down 3
77	Martin	5,068	up 2
78	Jimmy	5,036	down 4
79	Curtis	4,981	up 5
80	Ronnie	4,969	down 2
81	Eugene	4,791	down 4
82	Louis	4,779	down 1
83	Howard	4,746	down 3
84	Allen	4,744	down 2
85	Eric	4,660	up 4
86	Frederick	4,552	down 3
87	Micheal	4,530	up 1
88	Leonard	4,260	down 3
89	Harry	4,139	down 3
90	Ernest	3,975	down 3
91	Darrell	3,902	up 4
92	Eddie	3,781	down 1
93	Tony	3,752	up 12
94	Marvin	3,659	up 3
95	Melvin	3,646	down 3
96	Lee	3,607	same
97	Fred	3,502	down 4
98	Kim	3,490	up 11
99	Vincent	3,482	up 5
100	Francis	3,439	down 6

Biggest climbers in 1955

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1954.

Girls

Desiree: up 677 places, from 986th to 309th
Sabrina: up 560 places, from 805th to 245th
Teena: up 325 places, from 931st to 606th
Roxane: up 278 places, from 881st to 603rd
Trina: up 238 places, from 733rd to 495th
Kimberlee: up 235 places, from 763rd to 528th
Silvia: up 201 places, from 811th to 610th
Renita: up 186 places, from 939th to 753rd
Bambi: up 172 places, from 940th to 768th
Joycelyn: up 165 places, from 930th to 765th

Boys

Wyatt: up 336 places, from 995th to 659th
Humberto: up 194 places, from 882nd to 688th
Marlon: up 166 places, from 510th to 344th
Barbara: up 166 places, from 985th to 819th
Rock: up 165 places, from 792nd to 627th
Brendan: up 158 places, from 894th to 736th
Mason: up 146 places, from 884th to 738th
Noe: up 142 places, from 885th to 743rd
Corey: up 141 places, from 606th to 465th
Chip: up 134 places, from 880th to 746th

New to the top 1,000 in 1955

Girls

Roni, 536th (its first time ever)
Sheilah, 664th (its first time ever)
Tena, 674th (back after dropping out)
Athena, 712th (its first time ever)
Cheryll, 747th (back after dropping out)
Gena, 757th (back after dropping out)
Jeryl, 770th (its first time ever)
Danita, 777th (its first time ever)
Gisele, 815th (its first time ever)
Sherree, 828th (its first time ever)

Boys

Davy, 525th (its first time ever)
Davey, 757th (back after dropping out)
Tad, 778th (its first time ever)
Cordell, 792nd (back after dropping out)
Rhett, 842nd (its first time ever)
Rodrick, 853rd (back after dropping out)
Williams, 854th (back after dropping out)
Skip, 883rd (back after dropping out)
Ty, 884th (its first time ever)
Kraig, 890th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1955?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 22.3% of the girls counted in 1955, and the top ten boys' names to 32.1% of the boys. In 1935, those shares were 24.7% for girls and 33.3% 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.