Popular names of 1944, and how old they are now

People born in 1944 turn 82 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.7 million births in 1944 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 48% of them are still alive: about 1.3 million 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 1944: Lupe and Earnestine.

Top girl names of 1944

Most popular girl names of 1944
#	Name	Born 1944	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	62,476	34,000	66
2	Barbara	39,196	22,000	72
3	Linda	38,415	21,000	70
4	Patricia	36,874	20,000	68
5	Carol	30,456	17,000	72
6	Sandra	26,024	14,000	66
7	Nancy	23,218	13,000	68
8	Sharon	22,433	12,000	68
9	Judith	22,431	12,000	72
10	Betty	19,761	11,000	76
11	Carolyn	18,670	10,000	67
12	Judy	17,119	9,400	72
13	Susan	16,330	9,000	66
14	Margaret	16,320	9,000	61
15	Shirley	16,309	9,000	75
16	Karen	15,944	8,800	63
17	Donna	15,173	8,400	68
18	Joyce	14,770	8,100	72
19	Dorothy	13,379	7,400	72
20	Kathleen	13,004	7,200	64
21	Janet	12,592	6,900	68
22	Joan	11,920	6,600	73
23	Elizabeth	11,034	6,100	44
24	Diane	10,710	5,900	68
25	Gloria	9,968	5,500	66
26	Virginia	9,895	5,500	66
27	Marilyn	9,738	5,400	69
28	Janice	9,733	5,400	70
29	Martha	9,335	5,200	66
30	Brenda	8,999	5,000	63
31	Helen	8,696	4,800	66
32	Ruth	8,674	4,800	62
33	Frances	8,487	4,700	67
34	Bonnie	8,456	4,700	66
35	Beverly	8,292	4,600	70
36	Cheryl	7,972	4,400	65
37	Jean	7,650	4,200	69
38	Alice	7,102	3,900	53
39	Ann	7,081	3,900	65
40	Phyllis	7,022	3,900	74
41	Jane	6,564	3,600	62
42	Doris	6,324	3,500	75
43	Carole	6,268	3,500	75
44	Pamela	6,204	3,400	64
45	Peggy	6,019	3,300	71
46	Elaine	5,629	3,100	64
47	Lois	5,529	3,100	75
48	Marie	5,297	2,900	62
49	Catherine	5,256	2,900	54
50	Charlotte	4,928	2,700	30

Top boy names of 1944

Most popular boy names of 1944
#	Name	Born 1944	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	James	76,951	32,000	54
2	Robert	70,855	29,000	58
3	John	66,616	27,000	55
4	William	52,375	22,000	51
5	Richard	45,643	19,000	60
6	David	37,382	15,000	52
7	Charles	34,662	14,000	54
8	Thomas	31,604	13,000	53
9	Michael	26,717	11,000	49
10	Ronald	25,513	10,000	64
11	Donald	23,468	9,700	64
12	Larry	22,026	9,100	65
13	Joseph	21,176	8,700	45
14	George	20,419	8,400	57
15	Gary	20,058	8,200	65
16	Kenneth	18,093	7,400	57
17	Paul	16,661	6,900	57
18	Edward	16,482	6,800	56
19	Jerry	16,282	6,700	63
20	Dennis	13,676	5,600	63
21	Frank	11,340	4,700	59
22	Raymond	10,635	4,400	56
23	Roger	10,581	4,400	63
24	Gerald	10,023	4,100	64
25	Daniel	9,314	3,800	42
26	Walter	8,159	3,400	58
27	Harold	7,980	3,300	66
28	Stephen	7,793	3,200	54
29	Arthur	7,255	3,000	54
30	Jack	7,253	3,000	34
31	Willie	7,195	3,000	64
32	Lawrence	7,130	2,900	60
33	Joe	7,062	2,900	61
34	Douglas	6,998	2,900	59
35	Henry	6,975	2,900	34
36	Carl	6,825	2,800	60
37	Wayne	6,724	2,800	63
38	Billy	6,545	2,700	61
39	Roy	6,533	2,700	60
40	Peter	6,340	2,600	51
41	Jimmy	6,320	2,600	57
42	Ralph	6,273	2,600	65
43	Terry	5,974	2,500	62
44	Albert	5,855	2,400	57
45	Johnny	5,661	2,300	54
46	Anthony	5,604	2,300	40
47	Fred	5,580	2,300	67
48	Eugene	5,505	2,300	63
49	Harry	5,478	2,300	62
50	Bobby	5,410	2,200	60

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1944, 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 1944. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1944 babies. How we calculate this