Nothing says more about a decade than its 100 most popular baby names. Some endure from generations past, while others are decidedly edgy.

What do popular names from the 1960s say about American culture at the time? We may never know for sure, but it’s intriguing to wonder.

1960s Baby Names

Born to push boundaries, babies in the 1960s took their first breaths to the sounds of Elvis, Motown and the Beatles. Their parents watched the first human land on the moon and thrilled to high-tech discoveries like lasers and the cassette tape.

War in Vietnam was on the horizon, and televisions were replacing radios in America’s living rooms. It was a decade of firsts, but what mattered most to the parents’ of the 60s when it came to choosing baby names?

Was it family, Hollywood, politics, or science? You decide.

1960s Boy Names

Kicking off the decade, John F Kennedy was elected in 1960 as America’s youngest-ever president while stars like Paul Newman, Richard Burton and Rock Hudson lit up the silver screen.

A “John” was the first American to orbit the planet, while here on Earth, John Wayne was making hit movies like El Dorado and True Grit. Who was the most popular namesake for babies named “John” — the third most popular name on the list?

The big winner may be John Wayne with “John” coming in at number three and “Wayne” at 63.

Or was it groundbreaking astronaut John Glenn with “Glenn” at number 74? “Glen,” didn’t make the list at all, so it’s a good possibility.

Not surprisingly, The Beatles’ John, Paul, George and Richard, aka “Ringo,” are all in the top 40.

Whether the preference for conventional boys names was more of a traditional choice or a reflection of the times isn’t clear, but other top boy names like Michael, David, Robert and James suggest Hollywood was a big influence.

1960s kids

Most Popular Boys Names from 1960

  1. Michael 
  2. David 
  3. John 
  4. James 
  5. Robert 
  6. Mark 
  7. William 
  8. Richard 
  9. Thomas 
  10. Jeffrey 
  11. Steven 
  12. Joseph 
  13. Timothy 
  14. Kevin 
  15. Scott 
  16. Brian 
  17. Charles 
  18. Paul 
  19. Daniel 
  20. Christopher 
  21. Kenneth 
  22. Anthony 
  23. Gregory
  24. Ronald 
  25. Donald 
  26. Gary
  27. Stephen 
  28. Eric 
  29. Edward 
  30. Douglas
  31. Todd 
  32. Patrick
  33. George 
  34. Keith
  35. Larry 
  36. Matthew 
  37. Terry
  38. Andrew 
  39. Dennis 
  40. Randy 
  41. Jerry
  42. Peter 
  43. Frank 
  44. Craig
  45. Raymond 
  46. Jeffery 
  47. Bruce 
  48. Rodney
  49. Mike
  50. Roger 
  51. Tony
  52. Ricky 
  53. Steve 
  54. Jeff 
  55. Troy 
  56. Alan 
  57. Carl
  58. Danny 
  59. Russell
  60. Chris 
  61. Bryan 
  62. Gerald 
  63. Wayne
  64. Joe
  65. Randall 
  66. Lawrence
  67. Dale
  68. Phillip 
  69. Johnny
  70. Vincent 
  71. Martin
  72. Bradley 
  73. Billy 
  74. Glenn
  75. Shawn 
  76. Jonathan 
  77. Jimmy 
  78. Sean 
  79. Curtis
  80. Barry 
  81. Bobby 
  82. Walter 
  83. Jon 
  84. Philip
  85. Samuel 
  86. Jay
  87. Jason 
  88. Dean 
  89. Jose
  90. Tim 
  91. Roy
  92. Willie
  93. Arthur 
  94. Darryl
  95. Henry 
  96. Darrell 
  97. Allen 
  98. Victor 
  99. Harold 
  100. Greg 
Top 100 Baby Names for the 1960s

1960s Girl Names

Not to be outdone by the men of Hollywood or Washington, classic celebrity girl names pepper the list of the 100 most popular. Elizabeth Taylor, Mary Wells and Julie Andrews all have namesakes in the top 20.

First Lady and fashion icon “Jacqueline” Kennedy shines at number 51. And “Margaret,” of Margaret Chase Smith — the Maine senator nominated for president in 1964 — checks in at 53.

“Jackie,” “Becky,” and other abbreviated versions of girl's baby names from the 60s weren't as popular. But for boys, “Jeff,” “Joe,” and “Mike,” struck a chord.

One thing that’s clear is that despite the many ways parents’ expressed their creativity in 1960s, giving their kids novel monikers wasn’t one of them. Famous names like Sharmila, Lola, Tura and Rock weren’t in the top 100.

“Elvis,” didn’t even crack the top 200 of 1960s names — an unexpected surprise. But alas, some babies were destined to be one of a kind.

Most Popular Girls Names from 1960

  1. Lisa
  2. Mary 
  3. Susan
  4. Karen
  5. Kimberly 
  6. Patricia
  7. Linda
  8. Donna 
  9. Michelle 
  10. Cynthia 
  11. Sandra 
  12. Deborah 
  13. Tammy
  14. Pamela
  15. Lori
  16. Laura 
  17. Elizabeth 
  18. Julie 
  19. Brenda 
  20. Jennifer 
  21. Barbara 
  22. Angela 
  23. Sharon 
  24. Debra 
  25. Teresa 
  26. Nancy 
  27. Christine 
  28. Cheryl 
  29. Denise 
  30. Kelly 
  31. Tina
  32. Kathleen 
  33. Melissa 
  34. Robin
  35. Amy
  36. Diane
  37. Dawn 
  38. Carol 
  39. Tracy
  40. Kathy
  41. Rebecca 
  42. Theresa 
  43. Kim
  44. Rhonda
  45. Stephanie 
  46. Cindy 
  47. Janet
  48. Wendy 
  49. Maria 
  50. Michele 
  51. Jacqueline 
  52. Debbie 
  53. Margaret 
  54. Paula
  55. Sherry 
  56. Catherine 
  57. Carolyn 
  58. Laurie
  59. Sheila 
  60. Ann
  61. Jill
  62. Connie 
  63. Diana 
  64. Terri
  65. Suzanne 
  66. Beth 
  67. Andrea 
  68. Janice 
  69. Valerie 
  70. Renee 
  71. Leslie
  72. Christina 
  73. Gina 
  74. Lynn 
  75. Annette 
  76. Cathy
  77. Katherine 
  78. Judy 
  79. Carla 
  80. Anne 
  81. Wanda 
  82. Dana 
  83. Joyce 
  84. Regina
  85. Beverly 
  86. Monica 
  87. Bonnie 
  88. Kathryn
  89. Anita
  90. Sarah 
  91. Darlene 
  92. Jane 
  93. Sherri 
  94. Martha
  95. Anna 
  96. Colleen
  97. Vicki
  98. Tracey 
  99. Judith 
  100. Tamara 
1960s kids

Top 100 Baby Names by Decade

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