Birth year

Born in 1957? Here's your year in charts

In 1957, the top baby names were Mary and Michael, unemployment averaged 4.3%, and a newborn could expect to live 69.5 years.

Top baby names of 1957

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 61,102 babies, 3.0% of girls
  2. 2. Susan 45,954 babies, 2.2% of girls
  3. 3. Linda 44,517 babies, 2.2% of girls
  4. 4. Debra 42,728 babies, 2.1% of girls
  5. 5. Karen 40,591 babies, 2.0% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 92,781 babies, 4.3% of boys
  2. 2. James 84,337 babies, 3.9% of boys
  3. 3. David 82,403 babies, 3.8% of boys
  4. 4. Robert 81,765 babies, 3.8% of boys
  5. 5. John 79,033 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.

1957 then vs. now

  • Unemployment rate

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    4.3% in 1957, 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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    69.5 years in 1957, 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 1957.

$100 in 1957 buys about as much as $1,199.43 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates