Birth year

Born in 1946? Here's your year in charts

In 1946, the top baby names were Mary and James and a newborn could expect to live 66.7 years.

Top baby names of 1946

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 67,471 babies, 4.3% of girls
  2. 2. Linda 52,710 babies, 3.4% of girls
  3. 3. Patricia 46,297 babies, 2.9% of girls
  4. 4. Barbara 45,126 babies, 2.9% of girls
  5. 5. Carol 34,284 babies, 2.2% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. James 87,438 babies, 5.4% of boys
  2. 2. Robert 84,136 babies, 5.2% of boys
  3. 3. John 79,267 babies, 4.9% of boys
  4. 4. William 60,034 babies, 3.7% of boys
  5. 5. Richard 58,870 babies, 3.6% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

1946 then vs. now

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    66.7 years in 1946, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1946.

$100 in 1946 buys about as much as $1,726.42 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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