37 Baby Names From the 1960s That Are Going Extinct

There are some baby names that are timeless, and you can drop into any era and find someone with that name without it sounding out of place. Then there are names where, once you hear them, you can pretty much guess the age of the bearer give-or-take a couple of years. It's hard to understand what makes one name sound dated while another from the same decade seems retro cool. But from looking at the most popular boy names and the most popular girl names in the country right now, we can see which is which, at least for the moment.

According to data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), which keeps a list of the 1,000 most-used names in the United States each year, these are the most popular names from the 1960s that are going extinct today. All of them were among the 50 most popular names in the country in the 1960s. Now, they don't rank at all. Some of them have been out of the top 1,000 for decades; others recently dropped off, which means their absence could be a blip and they might return again next year. For families looking for obscure baby names with a vintage feel, these might be a fit.

Boys' Names From the 1960s That Are Going Extinct

For decades, boys' names were more stable as a rule of thumb. Girls' names were subjected to the passing fads of each decade, but the boys' names remained relatively constant. (The name Michael, for example, was the No. 1 boy name in the country for 44 years.) Now, things seem to be shifting, and the top girl's names of this decade haven't changed all that much. But even within the relatively solid base of boys' names, these seem to have cycled out of favor.

Gary

Rank in the 1960s: 26
Last year ranked: 2022

Todd

Rank in the 1960s: 31
Last year ranked: 2015

Larry

Rank in the 1960s: 35
Last year ranked: 2022

Terry

Rank in the 1960s: 40
Last year ranked: 2023

Craig

Rank in the 1960s: 44
Last year ranked: 2017

Jeffery

Rank in the 1960s: 46
Last year ranked: 2020
Note: This name should not be confused with Jeffrey, which is currently No. 520 on the SSA list.

Rodney

Rank in the 1960s: 48
Last year ranked: 2022

Mike

Rank in the 1960s: 49
Last year ranked: 2022

It seems that names ending in -ry have very much fallen out of favor, as you can see in Gary, Larry, Terry, and Jeffery. This is surprising, given that nicknames-as-first-names has been a trend for a while now, but Lawrence is still on the SSA list, while Larry is not (and the short name/nickname trend has not boosted Mike at all, either).

Girls' Names From the 1960s That Are Going Extinct

For whatever reason, girl names from this era are more likely to sound dated and old-fashioned. Therefore, there are a lot more girl names that have fallen off the list. Only time will tell if they're gone for good, or if they'll return to the list once trends head their way again.

Susan

Rank in the 1960s: 3
Last year ranked: 2020

Karen

Rank in the 1960s: 4
Last year ranked: 2020

Patricia

Rank in the 1960s: 6
Last year ranked: 2019

Donna

Rank in the 1960s: 8
Last year ranked: 2010

Sandra

Rank in the 1960s: 11
Last year ranked: 2021

Tammy

Rank in the 1960s: 13
Last year ranked: 1998

Pamela

Rank in the 1960s: 14
Last year ranked: 2011

Lori

Rank in the 1960s: 15
Last year ranked: 2001

Brenda

Rank in the 1960s: 19
Last year ranked: 2017

Sharon

Rank in the 1960s: 23
Last year ranked: 2016

Debra

Rank in the 1960s: 24
Last year ranked: 1998
Note: A spelling variant of this name, Deborah, is No. 852 on the SSA list.

Christine

Rank in the 1960s: 27
Last year ranked: 2019

Cheryl

Rank in the 1960s: 28
Last year ranked: 1997

Denise

Rank in the 1960s: 29
Last year ranked: 2020

Tina

Rank in the 1960s: 31
Last year ranked: 2006

Kathleen

Rank in the 1960s: 32
Last year ranked: 2021

Diane

Rank in the 1960s: 36
Last year ranked: 2004

Dawn

Rank in the 1960s: 37
Last year ranked: 2000

Carol

Rank in the 1960s: 38
Last year ranked: 2006

Tracy

Rank in the 1960s: 39
Last year ranked: 2004

Kathy

Rank in the 1960s: 40
Last year ranked: 2008

Theresa

Rank in the 1960s: 42
Last year ranked: 2010

Kim

Rank in the 1960s: 43
Last year ranked: 1991

Rhonda

Rank in the 1960s: 44
Last year ranked: 1994

Cindy

Rank in the 1960s: 46
Last year ranked: 2014

Janet

Rank in the 1960s: 47
Last year ranked: 2011

Wendy

Rank in the 1960s: 48
Last year ranked: 2018

Michele

Rank in the 1960s: 50
Last year ranked: 2001
Note: Michelle still ranks on the list, coming in at No. 409.

Patricia, Donna, Sandra, Brenda, Debra—names that end in -a seem to have been replaced by names that end in -ia, like Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, and Mia, which are all in the current top 10. Others have gone out because of cultural reasons—like Karen, which became slang for a pushy person—or because other, similar names have gained favor, like Katherine (No. 175) over Kathy or Kathleen and Aurora (No. 16) over Dawn.

Looking for more baby name inspiration?

Check out these Good Housekeeping lists:

Marisa LaScala

Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.