Name Legacy

Baby names in Illinois, 1950s

1950–1959 · 2,060,478 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in Illinois across the 1950s, with 55,897 births in the decade. The state recorded 2,060,478 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Illinois in the 1950s

Names given far more often here than nationally in these years. The multiplier is conservative — it is the low end of the plausible range, so a name carried by a handful of births does not outrank one carried by hundreds.

NameBirthsvs national
Casimir74
Darrick71
Nasser10
Finesse6
Lorel26
Caryn390
Linas15
Christ51

Top 25 in the 1950s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael55,897
#2James48,456
#3John47,776
#4Robert47,500
#5David42,208
#6Mary39,158
#7William32,732
#8Linda31,518
#9Richard30,756
#10Thomas30,088
#11Susan28,204
#12Patricia26,222
#13Mark24,535
#14Steven22,633
#15Deborah22,166
#16Debra21,550
#17Karen20,589
#18Barbara19,900
#19Nancy19,384
#20Gary17,854
#21Charles17,608
#22Joseph16,364
#23Kathleen16,276
#24Daniel15,908
#25Ronald15,651

Other decades in Illinois

All Illinois names, 2025

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org