List of the most popular names in the 1940s in the United States

These are the most popular given names in the United States for all years of the 1940s.

1940

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. Charles
  7. David
  8. Thomas
  9. Donald
  10. Ronald

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Barbara
  3. Patricia
  4. Carol
  5. Judith
  6. Betty
  7. Nancy
  8. Maria
  9. Margaret
  10. Linda

1941

• Males
  1. Robert
  2. John
  3. James
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. Charles
  7. David
  8. Thomas
  9. Ronald
  10. Donald

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Barbara
  3. Patricia
  4. Carol
  5. Linda
  6. Judith
  7. Sandra
  8. Maria
  9. Betty
  10. Nancy

1942

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. Charles
  7. David
  8. Thomas
  9. Ronald
  10. Joseph

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Barbara
  3. Patricia
  4. Carol
  5. Linda
  6. Nancy
  7. Betty
  8. Sandra
  9. Maria
  10. Judith

1943

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. David
  7. Charles
  8. Thomas
  9. Ronald
  10. Michael

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Barbara
  3. Patricia
  4. Linda
  5. Carol
  6. Sandra
  7. Nancy; Sharon (tie)
  8. Judith
  9. Betty
  10. -----

1944

• Males
  1. Robert
  2. James
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. David
  7. Charles
  8. Thomas
  9. Michael
  10. Ronald

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Barbara
  3. Patricia
  4. Linda
  5. Carol
  6. Nancy
  7. Sandra
  8. Sharon
  9. Judith
  10. Maria

1945

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. David
  7. Thomas
  8. Charles
  9. Michael
  10. Ronald

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Linda
  3. Barbara
  4. Patricia
  5. Carol
  6. Maria
  7. Sandra
  8. Nancy
  9. Sharon
  10. Susan

1946

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. David
  7. Michael
  8. Charles
  9. Thomas
  10. Ronald

• Females
  1. Mary
  2. Linda
  3. Patricia
  4. Barbara
  5. Carol
  6. Susan
  7. Nancy
  8. Sandra
  9. Maria
  10. Sharon

1947

• Males
  1. James
  2. John
  3. Robert
  4. William
  5. Richard
  6. David
  7. Michael
  8. Thomas
  9. Charles
  10. Larry

• Females
  1. Linda
  2. Mary
  3. Patricia
  4. Barbara
  5. Sandra
  6. Susan
  7. Maria
  8. Carol
  9. Nancy
  10. Sharon

1948

• Males
  1. Robert
  2. James
  3. John
  4. William
  5. David
  6. Richard
  7. Michael
  8. Thomas
  9. Charles
  10. Ronald

• Females
  1. Linda
  2. Mary
  3. Patricia
  4. Barbara
  5. Susan
  6. Maria
  7. Carol
  8. Nancy; Sandra (tie)
  9. Sharon
  10. -----

1949

• Males
  1. James
  2. Robert
  3. John
  4. David; William (tie)
  5. Michael
  6. Richard
  7. Thomas
  8. Charles
  9. Larry
  10. -----

• Females
  1. Linda
  2. Mary
  3. Patricia
  4. Barbara
  5. Susan
  6. Sandra
  7. Maria
  8. Nancy
  9. Carol
  10. Sharon

References

• Most Popular 1000 Names of the 1940s from the Social Security Administration