Birth year

Born in 1964? Here's your year in charts

In 1964, the top baby names were Lisa and Michael, unemployment averaged 5.2%, a newborn could expect to live 70.2 years, and the world had 3.25 billion people.

Top baby names of 1964

Girls

  1. 1. Lisa 54,270 babies, 2.9% of girls
  2. 2. Mary 40,985 babies, 2.2% of girls
  3. 3. Susan 31,515 babies, 1.7% of girls
  4. 4. Karen 30,243 babies, 1.6% of girls
  5. 5. Patricia 26,091 babies, 1.4% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 82,617 babies, 4.1% of boys
  2. 2. John 82,508 babies, 4.1% of boys
  3. 3. David 75,043 babies, 3.8% of boys
  4. 4. James 73,026 babies, 3.7% of boys
  5. 5. Robert 69,980 babies, 3.5% 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.

1964 then vs. now

  • Unemployment rate

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    5.2% in 1964, 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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    70.2 years in 1964, 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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    3.25 billion in 1964, 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 1964.

$100 in 1964 buys about as much as $1,086.32 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates