Birth year
Born in 1956? Here's your year in charts
In 1956, the top baby names were Mary and Michael, unemployment averaged 4.1%, and a newborn could expect to live 69.7 years.
Top baby names of 1956
Girls
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.
1956 then vs. now
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Unemployment rate
See the chart4.1% in 1956, compared with 4.2% in September 2026
Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.
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Life expectancy at birth
See the chart69.7 years in 1956, 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 1956.
$100 in 1956 buys about as much as $1,239.51 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator
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Sources and dates
- Baby names: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (national data) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of December 31, 2025
- Unemployment rate: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026
- Life expectancy at birth: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Death rates and life expectancy at birth (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of December 31, 2018