Top 1960s Baby Names

Steven, the phonetic and now predominant spelling of the classier Stephen, has finally dropped out of the Top 100 after seventy years. Steve has become one of the ultimate regular-guy names, right up there with Dave and Joe. and there have been innumerable pop-culture role models among its bearers--from Steven Spielberg to Steven Soderbergh to Steve Jobs.

Janet started as a pet form of Jane but has long been used independently. Jane is a feminine form of John, which derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan. Janet can also be considered a variation of Jeannette, a derivative of Joan and another feminization of the name John.

Christine was the dominant feminine variation of Christopher forty or fifty years ago, when French E-endings were preferred over As; it was a Top 20 name for several years, from 1966 to 1974. But though it still hangs in on the popularity list, today most any other version would be considered more stylish, from Kristen to Kirsten to Christina herself.

A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.

Lori, with this sleek modern spelling, was an extremely popular name in the middle of the 20th century, ranking among the Top 100 girls' names from the early 1950s until the early 1980s.

Literally meaning "lady" in Italian, Donna was the perfect ladylike housewife mom name on The Donna Reed Show in the fifties and sixties. And there were plenty of namesakes: Donna was in the Top 10 in 1964. These days we'd be more likely to associate it with the emanciatpated clothes of Donna Karen than as a baby name.

A Caroline abbreviation that was wildly popular with Mom's generation...or Grandma's. At one time it was a name for baby girls born at Christmas. because of its association with Christmas carols.

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.

Tina, despite its petite and tinkly image, is apt these days to be replaced by the more elegant originals, Christina and Martina.It does have some strong namesakes, though, in Tina Turner (born Anna Mae), Tina Brown (born Christina), Tina Fey (born Elizabeth), and photographer Tina Barney (born Tina).

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."

First the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's 1822 novel The Pirate, then a glamorous 1940s debutante, then the troubled twin on Beverly Hills 90210, and now fading in favor of more modern Brenna, Briana, and Bryn. Much more likely to be worn by a mother or grandmother these days. The song "Brenda's Got a Baby" was late rap megastar Tupac's debut single.

Pam was a somewhat pampered prom queen of the sixties who was never called by her full name, which is a pity because Pamela is so mellifluous and rich in literary history. A Top 25 name from the late 1940's through the late 60's, Pamela has just, sadly, dropped out of the Top 1000.

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.

Donald has been used for centuries in Scotland, where the Macdonald clan is one of the most ancient and where there have been six early Scottish kings by that name. Donald was a Top 20 name throughout most of the early twentieth century.

Craig is a single-syllable baby-boomer name, still common in its native Scotland, but most modern Americans would prefer something like Kyle.

One of the first breakaway unisex baby names, Terry, used independently since the days of Terry and the Pirates. Popular in the mid-20th-century, it has fallen out of favor in recent years, replaced by Tommy, Sonny, and Ozzy.

Cindy as a name in its own right made it into the Top 20 in 1957 and remained a Top 200 girls' name until the end of the 20th century. Although it's fallen precipitously since then and left the Top 1000 completely in 2015, Cindy remains a name commonly heard in the US. Today, though, it would more likely be attached to moms or grandmas than to babies.

2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as a baby name Sandra is sinking beneath the waves.

Sheila peaked in popularity from the 1930s to the 1960s (she reached Number 49 in 1965), along with Maureen and Colleen; parents today would probably go back to the original Cecilia or forward to Shea.

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.