Most Popular Baby Names of 1961

In 1961, Mary (47,688 births) was the most common U.S. girl name and Michael (86,968 births) the most common boy name.

Top 100 boy names, 1961
Rank	Name	Births
1	Michael	86,968
2	David	84,805
3	John	79,973
4	James	75,959
5	Robert	72,963
6	Mark	57,786
7	William	48,035
8	Richard	41,140
9	Thomas	37,568
10	Steven	32,273
11	Jeffrey	32,028
12	Joseph	29,454
13	Charles	29,196
14	Kevin	28,919
15	Timothy	28,246
16	Kenneth	26,101
17	Daniel	25,898
18	Paul	25,641
19	Scott	23,941
20	Brian	22,562
21	Gary	22,168
22	Donald	21,409
23	Gregory	21,360
24	Ronald	20,841
25	Anthony	20,204
26	Christopher	17,216
27	Stephen	16,061
28	Douglas	15,971
29	Edward	15,876
30	Larry	14,581
31	George	13,645
32	Terry	13,190
33	Randy	12,600
34	Dennis	12,498
35	Keith	12,278
36	Mike	11,673
37	Jerry	11,377
38	Eric	11,114
39	Patrick	11,056
40	Bruce	10,704
41	Frank	10,432
42	Peter	10,346
43	Craig	10,233
44	Ricky	10,027
45	Steve	9,998
46	Todd	9,753
47	Roger	9,651
48	Raymond	9,613
49	Jeff	9,462
50	Jeffery	8,924
51	Alan	8,612
52	Andrew	8,483
53	Tony	8,301
54	Danny	8,194
55	Russell	7,335
56	Carl	7,257
57	Chris	7,204
58	Dale	7,192
59	Matthew	7,078
60	Joe	7,058
61	Wayne	6,760
62	Gerald	6,629
63	Randall	6,584
64	Glenn	6,269
65	Tim	6,249
66	Barry	6,217
67	Lawrence	6,096
68	Billy	6,024
69	Phillip	5,977
70	Johnny	5,904
71	Jimmy	5,748
72	Rodney	5,660
73	Martin	5,471
74	Walter	5,467
75	Curtis	5,445
76	Bobby	5,403
77	Greg	5,398
78	Jim	5,351
79	Philip	5,287
80	Darryl	5,133
81	Jay	5,120
82	Bryan	5,028
83	Roy	4,965
84	Dean	4,931
85	Arthur	4,813
86	Willie	4,788
87	Bradley	4,742
88	Tom	4,727
89	Samuel	4,666
90	Jack	4,639
91	Henry	4,621
92	Ronnie	4,620
93	Jon	4,608
94	Harold	4,445
95	Ralph	4,440
96	Allen	4,388
97	Albert	4,320
98	Vincent	4,319
99	Victor	4,299
100	Troy	4,260

Full Boy list for 1961

Top 100 girl names, 1961
Rank	Name	Births
1	Mary	47,688
2	Lisa	42,719
3	Susan	37,530
4	Linda	35,592
5	Karen	34,697
6	Patricia	28,889
7	Donna	28,674
8	Cynthia	24,389
9	Sandra	24,154
10	Deborah	24,105
11	Brenda	23,781
12	Barbara	22,998
13	Debra	22,161
14	Lori	21,875
15	Pamela	21,690
16	Nancy	20,728
17	Sharon	20,458
18	Teresa	18,909
19	Elizabeth	18,855
20	Cheryl	18,299
21	Laura	17,900
22	Kimberly	17,356
23	Julie	17,041
24	Carol	16,668
25	Kathy	16,384
26	Diane	16,204
27	Robin	15,651
28	Tammy	15,529
29	Kathleen	15,393
30	Denise	15,381
31	Debbie	14,883
32	Janet	13,932
33	Cindy	13,387
34	Michelle	12,743
35	Theresa	11,959
36	Kim	11,368
37	Jacqueline	10,981
38	Angela	10,841
39	Christine	10,596
40	Margaret	10,560
41	Tina	10,521
42	Carolyn	10,509
43	Laurie	10,433
44	Rebecca	10,237
45	Kelly	9,641
46	Rhonda	9,468
47	Jennifer	9,266
48	Catherine	9,250
49	Dawn	9,150
50	Connie	8,987
51	Terri	8,730
52	Janice	8,724
53	Sherry	8,359
54	Ann	8,218
55	Cathy	8,208
56	Diana	8,198
57	Maria	7,947
58	Judy	7,918
59	Sheila	7,800
60	Paula	7,746
61	Wendy	7,152
62	Joyce	6,996
63	Michele	6,992
64	Tracy	6,988
65	Beth	6,716
66	Beverly	6,708
67	Valerie	6,675
68	Suzanne	6,611
69	Amy	6,610
70	Wanda	6,465
71	Lynn	6,440
72	Jane	6,362
73	Annette	6,202
74	Jill	6,137
75	Bonnie	6,032
76	Vicki	5,966
77	Carla	5,817
78	Stephanie	5,815
79	Renee	5,782
80	Darlene	5,729
81	Martha	5,724
82	Gloria	5,691
83	Judith	5,689
84	Leslie	5,669
85	Shirley	5,638
86	Katherine	5,632
87	Betty	5,583
88	Peggy	5,568
89	Joan	5,551
90	Anne	5,521
91	Anita	5,503
92	Jean	5,366
93	Kathryn	5,227
94	Gail	4,972
95	Melissa	4,901
96	Ruth	4,896
97	Ellen	4,844
98	Regina	4,761
99	Dorothy	4,731
100	Anna	4,677

Full Girl list for 1961

Biggest movers since 1960

Names with at least 500 births in both years, by percent change in births.

Rising boy names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Troy	2,055	4,260	+107%	162 → 100
Todd	5,750	9,753	+70%	71 → 46
Robin	1,432	1,852	+29%	200 → 169
Tracy	2,582	3,186	+23%	137 → 119
Shawn	2,045	2,485	+22%	163 → 143
Jeffery	7,656	8,924	+17%	55 → 50
Darryl	4,434	5,133	+16%	96 → 80
Dwayne	3,037	3,483	+15%	123 → 111
Brent	2,259	2,555	+13%	154 → 137
Glenn	5,565	6,269	+13%	74 → 64

Falling boy names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Darren	2,208	1,783	-19%	156 → 174
Dennis	14,302	12,498	-13%	31 → 34
Rickey	2,572	2,254	-12%	138 → 153
Kenny	1,937	1,701	-12%	169 → 179
Rick	4,217	3,732	-12%	101 → 108
Randy	14,208	12,600	-11%	32 → 33
Bill	4,500	4,001	-11%	95 → 104
Brett	2,320	2,067	-11%	151 → 159
Tim	6,931	6,249	-10%	60 → 65
Nicholas	2,299	2,076	-10%	153 → 158

Rising girl names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Jacqueline	5,655	10,981	+94%	85 → 37
Shari	1,888	3,117	+65%	195 → 142
Tracey	1,960	2,801	+43%	190 → 151
Jackie	2,985	4,256	+43%	144 → 112
Carla	4,374	5,817	+33%	110 → 77
Michelle	9,892	12,743	+29%	39 → 34
Jennifer	7,242	9,266	+28%	61 → 47
Christina	2,711	3,465	+28%	155 → 132
Lisa	33,695	42,719	+27%	6 → 2
Angela	8,682	10,841	+25%	50 → 38

Falling girl names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Melody	2,756	2,272	-18%	153 → 172
Jo	3,371	2,794	-17%	134 → 152
Debra	26,728	22,161	-17%	8 → 13
Dianne	2,618	2,172	-17%	160 → 178
Jan	2,447	2,032	-17%	166 → 188
Patti	2,458	2,061	-16%	164 → 184
Donna	34,138	28,674	-16%	5 → 7
Betty	6,501	5,583	-14%	68 → 87
Phyllis	4,437	3,841	-13%	108 → 120
Peggy	6,428	5,568	-13%	69 → 88

Top 100 boy names, 1961

Rank

Name

Births

Michael

86,968

David

84,805

John

79,973

James

75,959

Robert

72,963

Mark

57,786

William

48,035

Richard

41,140

Thomas

37,568

Steven

32,273

Jeffrey

32,028

29,454

29,196

28,919

28,246

26,101

25,898

25,641

Scott

23,941

Brian

22,562

Gary

22,168

Donald

21,409

Gregory

21,360

Ronald

20,841

Anthony

20,204

17,216

16,061

15,971

15,876

Larry

14,581

George

13,645

Terry

13,190

Randy

12,600

Dennis

12,498

Keith

12,278

Mike

11,673

Jerry

11,377

Eric

11,114

Patrick

11,056

Bruce

10,704

Frank

10,432

Peter

10,346

Craig

10,233

Ricky

10,027

Steve

9,998

Todd

9,753

Roger

9,651

Raymond

9,613

Jeff

9,462

Jeffery

8,924

Alan

8,612

Andrew

8,483

Tony

8,301

Danny

8,194

Russell

7,335

Carl

7,257

Chris

7,204

Dale

7,192

Matthew

7,078

Joe

7,058

Wayne

6,760

Gerald

6,629

Randall

6,584

Glenn

6,269

Tim

6,249

Barry

6,217

Lawrence

6,096

Billy

6,024

Phillip

5,977

Johnny

5,904

Jimmy

5,748

Rodney

5,660

Martin

5,471

Walter

5,467

Curtis

5,445

Bobby

5,403

Greg

5,398

Jim

5,351

Philip

5,287

Darryl

5,133

Jay

5,120

Bryan

5,028

4,965

4,931

4,813

4,788

4,742

Tom

4,727

Samuel

4,666

Jack

4,639

Henry

4,621

Ronnie

4,620

Jon

4,608

Harold

4,445

Ralph

4,440

Allen

4,388

Albert

4,320

Vincent

4,319

Victor

4,299

100

Troy

4,260

Top 100 girl names, 1961

Rank

Name

Births

Mary

47,688

Lisa

42,719

Susan

37,530

Linda

35,592

Karen

34,697

Patricia

28,889

Donna

28,674

Cynthia

24,389

Sandra

24,154

Deborah

24,105

Brenda

23,781

Barbara

22,998

Debra

22,161

Lori

21,875

Pamela

21,690

Nancy

20,728

Sharon

20,458

Teresa

18,909

Elizabeth

18,855

Cheryl

18,299

Laura

17,900

Kimberly

17,356

Julie

17,041

Carol

16,668

Kathy

16,384

Diane

16,204

Robin

15,651

Tammy

15,529

Kathleen

15,393

Denise

15,381

Debbie

14,883

Janet

13,932

Cindy

13,387

Michelle

12,743

Theresa

11,959

Kim

11,368

Jacqueline

10,981

Angela

10,841

Christine

10,596

Margaret

10,560

Tina

10,521

Carolyn

10,509

Laurie

10,433

Rebecca

10,237

Kelly

9,641

Rhonda

9,468

Jennifer

9,266

Catherine

9,250

Dawn

9,150

Connie

8,987

Terri

8,730

Janice

8,724

Sherry

8,359

Ann

8,218

Cathy

8,208

8,198

7,947

7,918

7,800

7,746

7,152

6,996

Michele

6,992

Tracy

6,988

Beth

6,716

Beverly

6,708

Valerie

6,675

Suzanne

6,611

Amy

6,610

Wanda

6,465

Lynn

6,440

Jane

6,362

Annette

6,202

Jill

6,137

Bonnie

6,032

Vicki

5,966

Carla

5,817

Stephanie

5,815

Renee

5,782

Darlene

5,729

5,724

5,691

5,689

5,669

Shirley

5,638

Katherine

5,632

Betty

5,583

Peggy

5,568

Joan

5,551

Anne

5,521

Anita

5,503

Jean

5,366

Kathryn

5,227

Gail

4,972

Melissa

4,901

Ruth

4,896

Ellen

4,844

Regina

4,761

Dorothy

4,731

100

Anna

4,677

Biggest movers since 1960

Names with at least 500 births in both years, by percent change in births.

Rising boy names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Troy	2,055	4,260	+107%	162 → 100
Todd	5,750	9,753	+70%	71 → 46
Robin	1,432	1,852	+29%	200 → 169
Tracy	2,582	3,186	+23%	137 → 119
Shawn	2,045	2,485	+22%	163 → 143
Jeffery	7,656	8,924	+17%	55 → 50
Darryl	4,434	5,133	+16%	96 → 80
Dwayne	3,037	3,483	+15%	123 → 111
Brent	2,259	2,555	+13%	154 → 137
Glenn	5,565	6,269	+13%	74 → 64

Falling boy names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Darren	2,208	1,783	-19%	156 → 174
Dennis	14,302	12,498	-13%	31 → 34
Rickey	2,572	2,254	-12%	138 → 153
Kenny	1,937	1,701	-12%	169 → 179
Rick	4,217	3,732	-12%	101 → 108
Randy	14,208	12,600	-11%	32 → 33
Bill	4,500	4,001	-11%	95 → 104
Brett	2,320	2,067	-11%	151 → 159
Tim	6,931	6,249	-10%	60 → 65
Nicholas	2,299	2,076	-10%	153 → 158

Rising girl names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Jacqueline	5,655	10,981	+94%	85 → 37
Shari	1,888	3,117	+65%	195 → 142
Tracey	1,960	2,801	+43%	190 → 151
Jackie	2,985	4,256	+43%	144 → 112
Carla	4,374	5,817	+33%	110 → 77
Michelle	9,892	12,743	+29%	39 → 34
Jennifer	7,242	9,266	+28%	61 → 47
Christina	2,711	3,465	+28%	155 → 132
Lisa	33,695	42,719	+27%	6 → 2
Angela	8,682	10,841	+25%	50 → 38

Falling girl names, 1960 to 1961
Name	Births 1960	Births 1961	Change	Rank 1960 → 1961
Melody	2,756	2,272	-18%	153 → 172
Jo	3,371	2,794	-17%	134 → 152
Debra	26,728	22,161	-17%	8 → 13
Dianne	2,618	2,172	-17%	160 → 178
Jan	2,447	2,032	-17%	166 → 188
Patti	2,458	2,061	-16%	164 → 184
Donna	34,138	28,674	-16%	5 → 7
Betty	6,501	5,583	-14%	68 → 87
Phyllis	4,437	3,841	-13%	108 → 120
Peggy	6,428	5,568	-13%	69 → 88

Top 100 boy names of 1961

Top 100 girl names of 1961

Biggest movers since 1960

Top 100 boy names of 1961

Top 100 girl names of 1961

Biggest movers since 1960