Popular names of 1941, and how old they are now

People born in 1941 turn 85 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.4 million births in 1941 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 38% of them are still alive: about 930,000 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).

2 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1941: Patsy and Errol.

Top girl names of 1941

Most popular girl names of 1941
#	Name	Born 1941	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	58,048	26,000	66
2	Barbara	39,543	18,000	72
3	Patricia	36,905	17,000	68
4	Carol	24,187	11,000	72
5	Linda	23,721	11,000	70
6	Judith	23,320	11,000	72
7	Betty	20,905	9,400	76
8	Nancy	20,885	9,400	68
9	Sandra	19,500	8,800	66
10	Shirley	16,954	7,600	75
11	Carolyn	16,273	7,300	67
12	Margaret	15,696	7,100	61
13	Joyce	15,684	7,100	72
14	Dorothy	14,566	6,600	72
15	Sharon	14,272	6,400	68
16	Judy	13,968	6,300	72
17	Joan	13,380	6,000	73
18	Janet	11,136	5,000	68
19	Karen	10,831	4,900	63
20	Donna	10,446	4,700	68
21	Elizabeth	10,267	4,600	44
22	Janice	10,061	4,500	70
23	Virginia	10,043	4,500	66
24	Helen	9,887	4,500	66
25	Martha	9,156	4,100	66
26	Gloria	9,008	4,100	66
27	Susan	8,889	4,000	66
28	Ruth	8,863	4,000	62
29	Beverly	8,727	3,900	70
30	Marilyn	8,556	3,900	69
31	Frances	8,468	3,800	67
32	Jean	7,840	3,500	69
33	Bonnie	7,762	3,500	66
34	Alice	7,445	3,400	53
35	Phyllis	7,346	3,300	74
36	Kathleen	7,160	3,200	64
37	Ann	7,121	3,200	65
38	Doris	7,081	3,200	75
39	Peggy	6,561	3,000	71
40	Diane	6,427	2,900	68
41	Brenda	6,332	2,900	63
42	Marie	6,152	2,800	62
43	Lois	6,105	2,800	75
44	Elaine	5,376	2,400	64
45	Geraldine	5,229	2,400	72
46	Jane	5,090	2,300	62
47	Norma	5,021	2,300	69
48	Carole	4,966	2,200	75
49	Rose	4,955	2,200	56
50	Evelyn	4,928	2,200	34

Top boy names of 1941

Most popular boy names of 1941
#	Name	Born 1941	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	James	66,751	21,000	54
2	Robert	64,247	20,000	58
3	John	57,520	18,000	55
4	William	47,798	15,000	51
5	Richard	39,112	12,000	60
6	Charles	32,742	10,000	54
7	David	30,553	9,500	52
8	Thomas	26,641	8,300	53
9	Ronald	24,407	7,600	64
10	Donald	22,641	7,100	64
11	Larry	20,134	6,300	65
12	Joseph	19,808	6,200	45
13	George	19,260	6,000	57
14	Jerry	16,799	5,200	63
15	Kenneth	16,143	5,000	57
16	Michael	15,935	5,000	49
17	Edward	15,580	4,900	56
18	Paul	15,166	4,700	57
19	Gary	14,568	4,500	65
20	Gerald	10,942	3,400	64
21	Frank	10,795	3,400	59
22	Raymond	9,951	3,100	56
23	Dennis	9,562	3,000	63
24	Harold	8,102	2,500	66
25	Roger	8,095	2,500	63
26	Walter	7,745	2,400	58
27	Billy	7,655	2,400	61
28	Henry	7,165	2,200	34
29	Carl	7,160	2,200	60
30	Joe	7,158	2,200	61
31	Daniel	7,050	2,200	42
32	Jack	6,950	2,200	34
33	Arthur	6,739	2,100	54
34	Lawrence	6,653	2,100	60
35	Bobby	6,589	2,100	60
36	Willie	6,526	2,000	64
37	Wayne	6,112	1,900	63
38	Ralph	6,040	1,900	65
39	Roy	5,950	1,900	60
40	Albert	5,927	1,800	57
41	Stephen	5,811	1,800	54
42	Eugene	5,754	1,800	63
43	Fred	5,619	1,800	67
44	Peter	5,607	1,700	51
45	Jimmy	5,336	1,700	57
46	Anthony	5,239	1,600	40
47	Howard	5,067	1,600	65
48	Harry	5,056	1,600	62
49	Norman	4,459	1,400	64
50	Louis	4,447	1,400	52

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1941, 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 1941. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1941 babies. How we calculate this