Name Legacy

Baby names in Tennessee, 1950s

1950–1959 · 778,706 recorded births

James was the most common name given in Tennessee across the 1950s, with 24,057 births in the decade. The state recorded 778,706 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Tennessee 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
Lebron5723×
Nadolyn816×
Sherrye49
Buford139
Dorris86
Sherron85
Jacky192
Unknown971

Top 25 in the 1950s

RankNameBirths
#1James24,057
#2William15,026
#3David14,743
#4Michael14,741
#5Robert14,271
#6Mary12,996
#7Linda12,925
#8John12,595
#9Charles11,590
#10Deborah11,075
#11Patricia10,460
#12Brenda9,746
#13Larry9,468
#14Gary7,686
#15Richard7,333
#16Jerry7,317
#17Thomas7,055
#18Sandra6,731
#19Barbara6,650
#20Terry6,644
#21Donna6,599
#22Kathy5,985
#23Pamela5,983
#24Debra5,876
#25Kenneth5,801

Other decades in Tennessee

All Tennessee 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