Birth year

Born in 1952? Here's your year in charts

In 1952, the top baby names were Linda and James, unemployment averaged 3.0%, and a newborn could expect to live 68.6 years.

Top baby names of 1952

Girls

  1. 1. Linda 67,082 babies, 3.6% of girls
  2. 2. Mary 65,629 babies, 3.5% of girls
  3. 3. Patricia 53,101 babies, 2.9% of girls
  4. 4. Deborah 49,811 babies, 2.7% of girls
  5. 5. Susan 41,348 babies, 2.2% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. James 87,065 babies, 4.5% of boys
  2. 2. Robert 86,588 babies, 4.5% of boys
  3. 3. John 83,140 babies, 4.3% of boys
  4. 4. Michael 79,037 babies, 4.1% of boys
  5. 5. David 71,752 babies, 3.7% 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.

1952 then vs. now

  • Unemployment rate

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    3.0% in 1952, compared with 4.2% in September 2026

    Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.

  • Life expectancy at birth

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    68.6 years in 1952, 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 1952.

$100 in 1952 buys about as much as $1,269.08 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates