babynamepicker

Boy Names of the 1940s

The 100 most common boy names given in the United States during the 1940s, by the number of children recorded with each name across those years.

All 100 names

  1. James 795,775
  2. Robert 758,126
  3. John 711,614
  4. William 556,478
  5. Richard 477,476
  6. David 426,372
  7. Charles 361,772
  8. Thomas 350,775
  9. Michael 336,568
  10. Ronald 282,489
  11. Larry 255,908
  12. Donald 247,834
  13. Joseph 230,285
  14. Gary 217,772
  15. George 209,013
  16. Kenneth 198,553
  17. Paul 183,364
  18. Edward 174,801
  19. Jerry 167,257
  20. Dennis 162,114
  21. Frank 119,417
  22. Daniel 112,778
  23. Raymond 109,076
  24. Roger 107,602
  25. Stephen 106,812
  26. Gerald 103,342
  27. Walter 83,728
  28. Harold 82,176
  29. Steven 81,204
  30. Douglas 80,760
  31. Lawrence 80,461
  32. Terry 76,965
  33. Wayne 75,131
  34. Arthur 73,968
  35. Jack 73,919
  36. Carl 72,739
  37. Henry 72,488
  38. Willie 72,422
  39. Bruce 72,097
  40. Joe 72,015
  41. Peter 69,330
  42. Billy 67,833
  43. Roy 65,648
  44. Ralph 64,983
  45. Anthony 64,825
  46. Jimmy 63,523
  47. Albert 60,278
  48. Bobby 58,890
  49. Eugene 57,275
  50. Johnny 57,200
  51. Fred 56,665
  52. Harry 56,245
  53. Howard 53,530
  54. Mark 50,731
  55. Alan 50,302
  56. Louis 49,430
  57. Philip 48,735
  58. Patrick 48,619
  59. Dale 46,815
  60. Danny 46,661
  61. Stanley 46,263
  62. Leonard 44,289
  63. Timothy 43,503
  64. Gregory 43,222
  65. Samuel 43,129
  66. Ronnie 42,456
  67. Norman 42,164
  68. Ernest 41,762
  69. Russell 41,336
  70. Francis 39,519
  71. Melvin 39,236
  72. Earl 39,128
  73. Frederick 39,114
  74. Allen 39,049
  75. Bill 37,756
  76. Tommy 37,046
  77. Phillip 36,989
  78. Marvin 36,445
  79. Steve 36,286
  80. Don 36,255
  81. Clarence 36,197
  82. Barry 36,192
  83. Glenn 35,717
  84. Jim 35,632
  85. Eddie 34,807
  86. Mike 34,645
  87. Andrew 34,618
  88. Jeffrey 34,340
  89. Leroy 33,864
  90. Alfred 31,998
  91. Martin 31,402
  92. Lee 30,978
  93. Tom 29,884
  94. Ray 29,656
  95. Herbert 28,710
  96. Gene 27,739
  97. Bernard 26,446
  98. Theodore 26,249
  99. Curtis 26,009
  100. Keith 25,871

How 1940s boy names compare

James was the most common boy name of the 1940s, given to 795,775 boys across those years, with Robert, John, William and Richard behind it. The hundredth name on the list, Keith, accounts for 25,871. Between them the hundred names cover 11,406,865 births. James was number one in every one of those ten years.

82 of these names were also in the 1930s top 100, and 18 were not. 17 are still in the 2025 top 100 — James, Robert, John, William, David, Charles, Thomas and Michael, among others — and 37 are inside the top 500.

Those hundred names cover 76.6% of all boys born in the 1940s — 11,406,865 of 14,886,857 — and James alone accounts for 5.3% of them. The hundred most common names of 2025 take 38.0% between them, so naming has spread wider since. Every one of the hundred was already in the record before the 1940s began.

Questions about 1940s boy names

What was the most popular boy name of the 1940s?

James, given to 795,775 boys across those years. The next two were Robert and John.

Are 1940s boy names still used today?

17 of the hundred are in the 2025 top 100: James, Robert, John, William, David, Charles, Thomas and Michael, among others.