United States · 1956
Baby names of 1956
Mary and Michael topped 1956.
Top girls' names of 1956
| # | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 61,741 |
| 2 | Debra | 48,324 |
| 3 | Linda | 48,084 |
| 4 | Deborah | 47,834 |
| 5 | Susan | 46,558 |
| 6 | Patricia | 43,329 |
| 7 | Karen | 40,052 |
| 8 | Cynthia | 32,339 |
| 9 | Barbara | 32,302 |
| 10 | Donna | 29,852 |
| 11 | Nancy | 28,784 |
| 12 | Pamela | 26,928 |
| 13 | Sharon | 26,881 |
| 14 | Sandra | 24,302 |
| 15 | Diane | 22,518 |
| 16 | Carol | 21,408 |
| 17 | Kathleen | 21,377 |
| 18 | Cheryl | 21,278 |
| 19 | Brenda | 19,341 |
| 20 | Kathy | 17,177 |
| 21 | Janet | 16,758 |
| 22 | Elizabeth | 16,355 |
| 23 | Denise | 14,509 |
| 24 | Teresa | 14,464 |
| 25 | Margaret | 13,913 |
| 26 | Janice | 13,017 |
| 27 | Rebecca | 12,168 |
| 28 | Catherine | 12,056 |
| 29 | Robin | 11,621 |
| 30 | Joyce | 11,091 |
| 31 | Lisa | 11,012 |
| 32 | Theresa | 10,841 |
| 33 | Carolyn | 10,634 |
| 34 | Laura | 10,570 |
| 35 | Judy | 10,197 |
| 36 | Cathy | 10,132 |
| 37 | Cindy | 9,978 |
| 38 | Kim | 9,897 |
| 39 | Debbie | 9,863 |
| 40 | Beverly | 9,449 |
| 41 | Shirley | 9,429 |
| 42 | Christine | 9,371 |
| 43 | Connie | 9,361 |
| 44 | Betty | 9,218 |
| 45 | Judith | 9,115 |
| 46 | Ann | 8,990 |
| 47 | Paula | 8,925 |
| 48 | Julie | 8,574 |
| 49 | Gail | 8,435 |
| 50 | Jane | 8,241 |
Top boys' names of 1956
| # | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 90,691 |
| 2 | James | 84,897 |
| 3 | Robert | 83,924 |
| 4 | David | 81,652 |
| 5 | John | 80,804 |
| 6 | William | 58,991 |
| 7 | Richard | 52,915 |
| 8 | Mark | 48,828 |
| 9 | Thomas | 44,836 |
| 10 | Steven | 38,413 |
| 11 | Charles | 35,239 |
| 12 | Joseph | 32,749 |
| 13 | Gary | 31,842 |
| 14 | Donald | 28,223 |
| 15 | Ronald | 27,725 |
| 16 | Kenneth | 27,432 |
| 17 | Paul | 26,897 |
| 18 | Daniel | 26,655 |
| 19 | Timothy | 23,288 |
| 20 | Jeffrey | 23,285 |
| 21 | Larry | 22,322 |
| 22 | Kevin | 21,761 |
| 23 | Stephen | 21,204 |
| 24 | Gregory | 21,082 |
| 25 | Edward | 19,436 |
| 26 | Dennis | 18,359 |
| 27 | George | 17,232 |
| 28 | Randy | 16,547 |
| 29 | Douglas | 16,389 |
| 30 | Anthony | 15,565 |
| 31 | Terry | 15,064 |
| 32 | Brian | 14,666 |
| 33 | Bruce | 14,660 |
| 34 | Scott | 13,214 |
| 35 | Jerry | 12,623 |
| 36 | Keith | 11,480 |
| 37 | Peter | 11,334 |
| 38 | Frank | 11,151 |
| 39 | Raymond | 11,108 |
| 40 | Patrick | 10,326 |
| 41 | Roger | 10,153 |
| 42 | Lawrence | 8,898 |
| 43 | Ricky | 8,780 |
| 44 | Alan | 8,734 |
| 45 | Wayne | 8,717 |
| 46 | Danny | 8,565 |
| 47 | Christopher | 8,384 |
| 48 | Carl | 8,313 |
| 49 | Gerald | 7,991 |
| 50 | Dale | 7,720 |
SOURCE·US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data·Public domain. SSA lists a name only if it was given to at least 5 babies of that sex that year.·REVIEWED JUL 2026
SOURCE·US SSA (1880–2025) + NZ DIA (1900–2025) birth registrations·ranks and shares computed from the source files, see method·REVIEWED JUL 2026