Top NZ Baby Names of the 1940s

Registrations added up across 1940-1949. Margaret and John were the decade's most registered names. Click any name to see its full trend.

Top 50 girls' names

  1. 1Margaret7,433
  2. 2Patricia5,361
  3. 3Judith4,930
  4. 4Mary3,695
  5. 5Barbara3,627
  6. 6Janice3,254
  7. 7Elizabeth3,243
  8. 8Jennifer3,154
  9. 9Pamela3,097
  10. 10Helen2,870
  11. 11Shirley2,640
  12. 12Beverley2,593
  13. 13Heather2,436
  14. 14Lynette2,310
  15. 15Kathleen2,252
  16. 16Carol2,241
  17. 17Susan2,236
  18. 18Diane2,078
  19. 19Maureen2,064
  20. 20Lorraine2,008
  21. 21Colleen2,007
  22. 22Christine1,983
  23. 23Janet1,853
  24. 24Valerie1,791
  25. 25Dorothy1,606
  26. 26Pauline1,572
  27. 27Sandra1,557
  28. 28Joan1,552
  29. 29Marie1,524
  30. 30Anne1,420
  31. 31Alison1,391
  32. 32Yvonne1,379
  33. 33Robyn1,370
  34. 34Elaine1,357
  35. 35Frances1,190
  36. 36Annette1,182
  37. 37Ann1,156
  38. 38Lesley1,154
  39. 39Jeanette1,131
  40. 40Raewyn1,130
  41. 41Marilyn1,120
  42. 42Dianne1,079
  43. 43Wendy1,076
  44. 44Marion1,045
  45. 45Rosemary1,043
  46. 46Lois1,028
  47. 47Catherine1,021
  48. 48Suzanne1,013
  49. 49Linda1,012
  50. 50June996

Top 50 boys' names

  1. 1John13,518
  2. 2David7,946
  3. 3Peter7,573
  4. 4Robert6,613
  5. 5William5,392
  6. 6Brian5,191
  7. 7Michael4,668
  8. 8Ian4,046
  9. 9James3,963
  10. 10Kevin3,378
  11. 11Graeme3,164
  12. 12Graham3,123
  13. 13Richard3,110
  14. 14Bruce2,969
  15. 15Kenneth2,929
  16. 16Alan2,918
  17. 17Colin2,796
  18. 18Barry2,793
  19. 19Raymond2,737
  20. 20Ronald2,669
  21. 21Donald2,600
  22. 22Anthony2,512
  23. 23Murray2,499
  24. 24Paul2,408
  25. 25Trevor2,249
  26. 26Allan2,038
  27. 27Gary1,969
  28. 28Thomas1,813
  29. 29Keith1,676
  30. 30Wayne1,660
  31. 31Roger1,631
  32. 32Dennis1,614
  33. 33Douglas1,602
  34. 34George1,553
  35. 35Ross1,533
  36. 36Russell1,523
  37. 37Neil1,427
  38. 38Christopher1,412
  39. 39Leslie1,407
  40. 40Edward1,354
  41. 41Geoffrey1,348
  42. 42Terence1,336
  43. 43Gordon1,268
  44. 44Robin1,252
  45. 45Noel1,183
  46. 46Patrick1,164
  47. 47Philip1,132
  48. 48Charles1,128
  49. 49Malcolm1,101
  50. 50Neville1,075
← The 1930sAll years & decadesThe 1950s →

About this data: figures come from Department of Internal Affairs birth registrations for 1954-2025. The DIA only publishes a name for a given year when at least 10 babies were registered with it, so rarer names - and rarer spellings - are missing entirely, and a name can drop out of the record in quieter years. Spelling variants are counted separately, and counts reflect first names as registered.