Birth year

Born in 1963? Here's your year in charts

In 1963, the top baby names were Lisa and Michael, unemployment averaged 5.6%, a newborn could expect to live 69.9 years, and the world had 3.18 billion people.

Top baby names of 1963

Girls

  1. 1. Lisa 56,047 babies, 2.9% of girls
  2. 2. Mary 41,546 babies, 2.2% of girls
  3. 3. Susan 33,991 babies, 1.8% of girls
  4. 4. Karen 32,492 babies, 1.7% of girls
  5. 5. Linda 27,727 babies, 1.4% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 83,771 babies, 4.1% of boys
  2. 2. John 78,636 babies, 3.9% of boys
  3. 3. David 78,444 babies, 3.9% of boys
  4. 4. James 71,294 babies, 3.5% of boys
  5. 5. Robert 70,007 babies, 3.4% 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.

1963 then vs. now

  • Unemployment rate

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    5.6% in 1963, 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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    69.9 years in 1963, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

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

  • People in the world

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    3.18 billion in 1963, compared with 8.22 billion in 2025

    World population at mid-year.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1963.

$100 in 1963 buys about as much as $1,100.21 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates