Popular baby names in Massachusetts, 1959

The most popular baby names in Massachusetts in 1959 were Susan for girls (1,988 babies) and John for boys (3,389). Susan ranked #2 nationally for girls. John ranked #4 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 109,878 babies born in Massachusetts in 1959 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Massachusetts in 1959

Names given at least 15 times in Massachusetts that year and at least twice as common as in the US as a whole.

Girls

Maura: 59 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Maryellen: 61 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Annmarie: 39 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Maureen: 506 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Maryanne: 36 babies, 4× the national rate
Clare: 33 babies, 4× the national rate
Joanne: 519 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Lynne: 217 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Laureen: 31 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Marybeth: 35 babies, 3.5× the national rate

Boys

Denis: 41 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Shaun: 29 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Peter: 1,118 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Francis: 256 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Dana: 162 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Laurence: 43 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Bradford: 49 babies, 3× the national rate
Stephen: 1,265 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Gerard: 109 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Edmund: 40 babies, 2.8× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Massachusetts, 1959

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1958	US rank
1	Susan	1,988	–	2
2	Mary	1,753	–	1
3	Donna	1,719	↑3	5
4	Patricia	1,355	↑1	6
5	Karen	1,317	↓2	4
6	Linda	1,312	↓2	3
7	Kathleen	1,202	–	23
8	Nancy	1,101	↑1	14
9	Deborah	1,064	↓1	9
10	Lisa	973	↑7	10
11	Diane	943	↑1	19
12	Debra	924	↓1	7
13	Cheryl	912	↓3	18
14	Elizabeth	801	↓1	21
15	Cynthia	778	↓1	8
16	Barbara	683	↓1	11
17	Carol	680	↓1	22
18	Sandra	607	↑3	13
19	Pamela	592	↓1	12
20	Ann	566	↓1	44
21	Sharon	525	↑4	17
22	Denise	520	↑1	29
23	Joanne	519	↓3	92
24	Maureen	506	↓2	>100
25	Robin	497	↑10	32
26	Christine	495	↓2	43
27	Janet	495	↑3	28
28	Judith	473	↓2	70
29	Catherine	450	↓2	40
30	Paula	444	↓2	51
31	Laura	441	↑1	30
32	Margaret	441	↓1	36
33	Anne	426	↓4	82
34	Brenda	408	↑2	16
35	Theresa	398	↓2	34
36	Jane	379	↑6	67
37	Ellen	374	↑6	91
38	Jean	369	↓1	77
39	Laurie	364	↑2	56
40	Kathy	357	↓6	15
41	Joan	342	↓3	76
42	Michelle	334	new	47
43	Janice	331	↓3	37
44	Lori	329	new	27
45	Gail	326	↓6	75
46	Marie	308	–	>100
47	Debbie	304	new	20
48	Julie	299	↓4	26
49	Cindy	292	↑1	25
50	Suzanne	280	new	96

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1958	US rank
1	John	3,389	–	4
2	Michael	3,247	–	1
3	Robert	3,032	–	5
4	David	2,935	–	2
5	James	2,538	–	3
6	Richard	2,038	–	8
7	Mark	2,013	↑1	6
8	William	1,919	↓1	7
9	Paul	1,740	–	17
10	Thomas	1,634	–	9
11	Joseph	1,397	–	13
12	Stephen	1,265	–	28
13	Steven	1,242	–	10
14	Peter	1,118	↑2	40
15	Kevin	1,027	↓1	14
16	Brian	992	↓1	22
17	Daniel	960	–	18
18	Edward	843	–	27
19	Jeffrey	711	↑4	16
20	Kenneth	704	–	15
21	Charles	693	↓2	11
22	Timothy	689	↑4	12
23	Donald	680	↓2	19
24	Scott	634	↓2	24
25	Gary	579	↓1	20
26	Ronald	566	↓1	21
27	Christopher	536	–	35
28	George	523	–	32
29	Anthony	442	–	26
30	Bruce	432	–	38
31	Wayne	385	↑1	51
32	Douglas	383	↓1	30
33	Dennis	376	–	29
34	Gregory	319	↑5	23
35	Alan	306	–	50
36	Raymond	305	–	45
37	Frank	304	↓3	42
38	Philip	298	–	68
39	Andrew	281	↑5	58
40	Lawrence	275	↓3	62
41	Patrick	266	↑5	43
42	Francis	256	↓2	>100
43	Eric	251	↑2	46
44	Matthew	250	↓3	63
45	Keith	242	↓2	39
46	Arthur	222	↓4	76
47	Russell	209	↑2	56
48	Barry	205	–	73
49	Craig	205	new	44
50	Glenn	198	↓3	80

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