Top 100 Baby Names for the 1960s

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.

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

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

Top 100 Baby Names by Decade