Top 1950s Baby Names

The remarkable success of the girls' name Everly makes a revival of the name Beverly seem possible. More commonly a masculine name in the 19th century, it began to be used for girls in the early 1900s, reaching #14 ion the popular names list in 1937. Inspirations: Beverly Johnson was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Vogue, Beverly Sills was a major American soprano, Beverly Cleary authored the beloved 'Ramona' books, and Beverly Goldberg is the beloved TV matriarch of 'The Goldbergs'.

This Old Testament place name was in the Top 10 fifty years ago, but now Sharon, along with sound-alike Karen, have fallen out of favor.

Paula still seems somewhat stuck in the era of duo Paul and Paula bopping out the song "Hey, Paula." Two pronunciations are possible—the English "PAW-la" and the Portuguese "POW-la."

Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular boys' names starting with L, that title now belongs to Liam.

Ever since Austin Powers enlightened Americans that "randy" meant "horny," it's been hard to take this name seriously, and Randy has declined in popularity since.

The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong.

One of the first breakaway unisex baby names, Terry, used independently since the days of Terry and the Pirates, is still used for boys though it's faded away for girls.

As frozen in the pre-Beatles era as short white gloves.

Gail was a mid-twentieth century favorite, which has been far surpassed by its original form, Abigail and nickname Abby. Spelling variations include Gale and Gayle, the latter represented by TV journalist and Oprah bestie Gayle King. Gail was most popular in the 1950s, when it was in the Top 40, and could rise again, possibly as a middle.

Jerry is one of those short forms that, like Mike and Debbie, rose to popularity on the coattails of their formal versions. The equivalents today are nickname names like Ellie and Theo.

The ultimate midcentury nickname, retaining a good measure of retro charm, was chosen for her son by Mira Sorvino.

Some parents just use Steve on the birth certificate, but it doesn't have the breezy charm of trendy short forms like Max, Sam, and Jake. Regardless of how much you love Steve as a given name, it might be smart to give your son a longer option to fall back on.

Medieval name without much of a future.

Judy was the nickname of choice for almost all the Judiths born in the 1940s and 50s; today's little Judiths are much more likely to be called Judith -- or, possibly, Jude.

For a minute or two this sounded more modern than Janet, now equally outmoded.

Gone with Richard and Rick, Ricky has been falling since the turn of the 21st century. Probably still suffering from overuse in the 1990s.

There have been many great Willies (Mays, Nelson, Wonka), but a boy with this name could never ever go to England. Most people will also assume it is short for the more traditional William, which might be the best avenue for achieving this nickname.

When Deborah seemed too formal in the laid-back sixties, Debra stepped in as a pared-down alternative, but the pendulum is about to swing back.

There are lots of Kathy moms and grandmas but very few babies, most of whom are now called Kate or Katie.

One of the most popular nicknames of the fifties and sixties -- and who could forget the romantic heroine of "Wuthering Heights"? -- now largely ignored in favor of Cate or Kate.