Name Legacy

Baby names in Minnesota, 1950s

1950–1959 · 756,206 recorded births

David was the most common name given in Minnesota across the 1950s, with 18,397 births in the decade. The state recorded 756,206 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Minnesota 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
Marlys41514×
Jodell9413×
Arlys37
Kari292
Renae257
Lavonne315
Duwayne90
Leann407

Top 25 in the 1950s

RankNameBirths
#1David18,397
#2Michael18,281
#3Mary17,452
#4James15,295
#5John14,523
#6Mark13,465
#7Robert13,301
#8Thomas13,169
#9Steven13,147
#10Susan12,130
#11Richard11,544
#12Linda11,007
#13Debra9,194
#14Barbara8,630
#15Patricia8,501
#16Nancy8,428
#17Gary8,172
#18William8,075
#19Daniel7,955
#20Paul6,894
#21Kathleen6,811
#22Timothy6,768
#23Karen6,648
#24Jeffrey6,548
#25Diane6,501

Other decades in Minnesota

All Minnesota 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