Popular names of 1940, and how old they are now

People born in 1940 turn 86 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.3 million births in 1940 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 35% of them are still alive: about 800,000 people.

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

One name on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1940: Wendell.

Top girl names of 1940

Most popular girl names of 1940
#	Name	Born 1940	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	56,216	23,000	66
2	Barbara	36,736	15,000	72
3	Patricia	32,665	14,000	68
4	Judith	22,385	9,300	72
5	Betty	22,077	9,200	76
6	Carol	21,759	9,000	72
7	Nancy	19,737	8,200	68
8	Linda	18,370	7,600	70
9	Shirley	17,881	7,400	75
10	Sandra	16,153	6,700	66
11	Margaret	15,063	6,200	61
12	Dorothy	14,875	6,200	72
13	Joyce	14,801	6,100	72
14	Joan	13,292	5,500	73
15	Carolyn	12,657	5,200	67
16	Judy	11,382	4,700	72
17	Sharon	11,121	4,600	68
18	Helen	10,203	4,200	66
19	Janet	10,105	4,200	68
20	Elizabeth	9,955	4,100	44
21	Virginia	9,554	4,000	66
22	Janice	9,318	3,900	70
23	Donna	9,232	3,800	68
24	Ruth	8,888	3,700	62
25	Marilyn	8,704	3,600	69
26	Martha	8,695	3,600	66
27	Beverly	8,657	3,600	70
28	Frances	8,621	3,600	67
29	Jean	8,063	3,300	69
30	Gloria	8,026	3,300	66
31	Doris	7,767	3,200	75
32	Alice	7,603	3,200	53
33	Phyllis	7,416	3,100	74
34	Karen	7,283	3,000	63
35	Ann	7,196	3,000	65
36	Susan	6,756	2,800	66
37	Peggy	6,128	2,500	71
38	Lois	6,125	2,500	75
39	Bonnie	5,957	2,500	66
40	Kathleen	5,697	2,400	64
41	Marie	5,542	2,300	62
42	Brenda	5,442	2,300	63
43	Norma	5,334	2,200	69
44	Rose	5,198	2,200	56
45	Diane	5,172	2,100	68
46	Geraldine	5,150	2,100	72
47	Jane	5,091	2,100	62
48	Evelyn	4,982	2,100	34
49	Carole	4,790	2,000	75
50	Elaine	4,782	2,000	64

Top boy names of 1940

Most popular boy names of 1940
#	Name	Born 1940	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	James	62,481	17,000	54
2	Robert	61,198	17,000	58
3	John	54,786	15,000	55
4	William	44,779	13,000	51
5	Richard	37,425	10,000	60
6	Charles	31,689	8,800	54
7	David	27,690	7,700	52
8	Thomas	23,991	6,700	53
9	Donald	23,115	6,500	64
10	Ronald	20,741	5,800	64
11	George	18,315	5,100	57
12	Joseph	18,208	5,100	45
13	Larry	17,199	4,800	65
14	Jerry	15,213	4,200	63
15	Kenneth	15,132	4,200	57
16	Edward	14,405	4,000	56
17	Paul	14,097	3,900	57
18	Michael	13,228	3,700	49
19	Gary	12,573	3,500	65
20	Frank	10,595	3,000	59
21	Gerald	10,236	2,900	64
22	Raymond	9,567	2,700	56
23	Harold	8,080	2,300	66
24	Dennis	7,845	2,200	63
25	Walter	7,723	2,200	58
26	Roger	7,598	2,100	63
27	Billy	7,596	2,100	61
28	Joe	7,216	2,000	61
29	Jack	7,048	2,000	34
30	Bobby	6,882	1,900	60
31	Henry	6,822	1,900	34
32	Carl	6,752	1,900	60
33	Arthur	6,510	1,800	54
34	Daniel	6,225	1,700	42
35	Willie	6,176	1,700	64
36	Lawrence	6,173	1,700	60
37	Ralph	5,838	1,600	65
38	Eugene	5,804	1,600	63
39	Wayne	5,727	1,600	63
40	Fred	5,581	1,600	67
41	Albert	5,572	1,600	57
42	Roy	5,565	1,600	60
43	Peter	5,049	1,400	51
44	Jimmy	4,962	1,400	57
45	Howard	4,824	1,300	65
46	Anthony	4,769	1,300	40
47	Harry	4,681	1,300	62
48	Norman	4,576	1,300	64
49	Stephen	4,423	1,200	54
50	Louis	4,324	1,200	52

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1940, 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 1940. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1940 babies. How we calculate this