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

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