Popular names of 1939, and how old they are now

People born in 1939 turn 87 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.2 million births in 1939 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 31% of them are still alive: about 690,000 people.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and Robert for boys. Babies born that year are in the Silent Generation (see Silent names).

3 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1939: Jeanette, Arleen and Ned.

Top girl names of 1939

Most popular girl names of 1939
#	Name	Born 1939	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	54,900	21,000	66
2	Barbara	37,257	14,000	72
3	Patricia	29,701	11,000	68
4	Betty	23,639	9,000	76
5	Shirley	20,447	7,700	75
6	Carol	20,166	7,600	72
7	Nancy	19,723	7,500	68
8	Judith	16,625	6,300	72
9	Dorothy	15,169	5,700	72
10	Margaret	14,949	5,700	61
11	Joan	14,143	5,400	73
12	Joyce	13,394	5,100	72
13	Sandra	11,970	4,500	66
14	Carolyn	11,290	4,300	67
15	Linda	10,713	4,100	70
16	Helen	10,420	3,900	66
17	Janet	10,120	3,800	68
18	Elizabeth	9,709	3,700	44
19	Marilyn	9,538	3,600	69
20	Donna	9,371	3,500	68
21	Virginia	9,227	3,500	66
22	Ruth	9,062	3,400	62
23	Sharon	9,014	3,400	68
24	Janice	8,778	3,300	70
25	Beverly	8,706	3,300	70
26	Frances	8,577	3,200	67
27	Martha	8,493	3,200	66
28	Judy	8,081	3,100	72
29	Doris	7,687	2,900	75
30	Phyllis	7,590	2,900	74
31	Alice	7,365	2,800	53
32	Jean	7,292	2,800	69
33	Ann	6,551	2,500	65
34	Peggy	6,050	2,300	71
35	Lois	6,034	2,300	75
36	Gloria	5,939	2,200	66
37	Marie	5,890	2,200	62
38	Norma	5,827	2,200	69
39	Karen	5,541	2,100	63
40	Evelyn	5,332	2,000	34
41	Geraldine	5,160	2,000	72
42	Rose	5,040	1,900	56
43	Anna	4,929	1,900	39
44	Susan	4,887	1,900	66
45	Elaine	4,785	1,800	64
46	Jane	4,771	1,800	62
47	Carole	4,679	1,800	75
48	Kathleen	4,656	1,800	64
49	Catherine	4,577	1,700	54
50	Wanda	4,557	1,700	69

Top boy names of 1939

Most popular boy names of 1939
#	Name	Born 1939	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	59,666	15,000	58
2	James	59,636	15,000	54
3	John	51,025	13,000	55
4	William	42,071	10,000	51
5	Richard	35,386	8,800	60
6	Charles	30,789	7,600	54
7	David	25,360	6,300	52
8	Donald	24,056	6,000	64
9	Thomas	22,129	5,500	53
10	Ronald	19,837	4,900	64
11	George	17,886	4,400	57
12	Joseph	17,722	4,400	45
13	Kenneth	14,715	3,600	57
14	Larry	14,532	3,600	65
15	Edward	14,427	3,600	56
16	Jerry	13,729	3,400	63
17	Paul	13,337	3,300	57
18	Michael	10,828	2,700	49
19	Gerald	10,057	2,500	64
20	Frank	9,991	2,500	59
21	Gary	9,684	2,400	65
22	Raymond	9,252	2,300	56
23	Harold	8,299	2,100	66
24	Billy	7,474	1,900	61
25	Walter	7,322	1,800	58
26	Jack	7,306	1,800	34
27	Joe	7,189	1,800	61
28	Roger	7,155	1,800	63
29	Bobby	7,057	1,700	60
30	Carl	6,593	1,600	60
31	Henry	6,561	1,600	34
32	Arthur	6,380	1,600	54
33	Willie	6,308	1,600	64
34	Dennis	6,212	1,500	63
35	Ralph	5,959	1,500	65
36	Lawrence	5,882	1,500	60
37	Eugene	5,869	1,500	63
38	Daniel	5,797	1,400	42
39	Wayne	5,653	1,400	63
40	Fred	5,538	1,400	67
41	Albert	5,477	1,400	57
42	Roy	5,156	1,300	60
43	Jimmy	4,753	1,200	57
44	Norman	4,742	1,200	64
45	Harry	4,661	1,200	62
46	Peter	4,639	1,200	51
47	Howard	4,613	1,100	65
48	Anthony	4,610	1,100	40
49	Louis	4,224	1,000	52
50	Earl	3,896	970	64

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1939, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of them are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables for people born in 1939. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1939 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this