Most popular baby names of 1946

The year 1946 showed remarkable stability in America's favorite baby names, with the top three rankings for both boys and girls remaining almost identical to 1945. James, Robert, and John continued their dominance as the most popular boys' names, maintaining their exact same positions from the previous year. For girls, Mary and Linda held strong at numbers one and two, while Patricia rose to third place, pushing Barbara down a spot from its 1945 position.

Among the top 10 girls' names in 1946, Susan made a notable climb, moving up from tenth to eighth place. Sandra and Nancy remained steady at positions six and seven respectively, while Judith dropped slightly from ninth to tenth. Carol maintained its fifth position, showing its enduring appeal. Interestingly, these top girls' names reflect a mix of traditional biblical names like Mary and more contemporary choices like Linda and Sandra, showing American parents in the post-war era were balancing tradition with modernity.

The boys' top 10 displayed even greater stability than the girls', with Michael being the only name showing movement, climbing from ninth to seventh place between 1945 and 1946. Traditional masculine names continued to dominate, with James, Robert, John, William, and Richard forming an unchanged top five. Charles dropped slightly from seventh to ninth place, while Thomas moved up from eighth to seventh. Ronald rounded out the top 10, maintaining its position from the previous year. These classic, strong names reflected the post-World War II era's return to tradition.

Looking at broader patterns, shorter names seemed increasingly popular for both genders in 1946. Names with softer sounds were trending for girls, with five of the top 10 ending in the "ee" sound (Mary, Sandy, Nancy, Betty, Judy). For boys, traditional biblical names maintained their strong presence (James, John, Michael, Thomas), showing America's continuing religious influences. Many popular girls' names ended in "a" (Sandra, Barbara, Patricia) or "y" (Mary, Betty, Nancy), while boys' names commonly featured strong consonants like "R" (Robert, Richard, Ronald) and "J" (James, John, Joseph). This reflects the distinct gender identity patterns of the mid-1940s naming landscape.

Top baby names of 1946