Top NZ Baby Names of the 1950s

Registrations added up across 1950-1959. Susan and John were the decade's most registered names. Click any name to see its full trend.

Top 50 girls' names

  1. 1Susan7,240
  2. 2Christine7,041
  3. 3Margaret5,386
  4. 4Karen4,787
  5. 5Jennifer4,683
  6. 6Judith4,629
  7. 7Patricia4,066
  8. 8Linda3,960
  9. 9Elizabeth3,945
  10. 10Mary3,747
  11. 11Barbara3,445
  12. 12Robyn3,356
  13. 13Helen3,268
  14. 14Sandra3,152
  15. 15Lynette3,142
  16. 16Wendy2,900
  17. 17Anne2,874
  18. 18Heather2,837
  19. 19Diane2,823
  20. 20Carol2,690
  21. 21Pamela2,513
  22. 22Julie2,394
  23. 23Janice2,379
  24. 24Janet2,272
  25. 25Sharon2,180
  26. 26Suzanne2,132
  27. 27Deborah2,104
  28. 28Raewyn2,010
  29. 29Dianne1,945
  30. 30Pauline1,945
  31. 31Kathleen1,943
  32. 32Catherine1,933
  33. 33Lorraine1,894
  34. 34Shirley1,889
  35. 35Alison1,812
  36. 36Denise1,809
  37. 37Rosemary1,743
  38. 38Yvonne1,588
  39. 39Gail1,516
  40. 40Beverley1,508
  41. 41Ann1,493
  42. 42Lesley1,493
  43. 43Annette1,491
  44. 44Colleen1,465
  45. 45Marilyn1,443
  46. 46Carolyn1,437
  47. 47Jane1,436
  48. 48Marie1,429
  49. 49Maureen1,378
  50. 50Kathryn1,292

Top 50 boys' names

  1. 1John13,142
  2. 2Peter12,037
  3. 3David11,354
  4. 4Michael8,508
  5. 5Robert6,953
  6. 6Paul6,503
  7. 7Stephen6,379
  8. 8Kevin5,615
  9. 9Christopher5,071
  10. 10Ian4,547
  11. 11Brian4,441
  12. 12Mark4,425
  13. 13William4,384
  14. 14Richard4,169
  15. 15Bruce3,963
  16. 16Anthony3,710
  17. 17Alan3,612
  18. 18Graeme3,578
  19. 19James3,562
  20. 20Wayne3,463
  21. 21Murray3,453
  22. 22Gary3,163
  23. 23Graham2,956
  24. 24Colin2,799
  25. 25Barry2,792
  26. 26Philip2,651
  27. 27Grant2,562
  28. 28Kenneth2,550
  29. 29Ross2,421
  30. 30Geoffrey2,407
  31. 31Trevor2,375
  32. 32Allan2,260
  33. 33Gregory2,221
  34. 34Raymond2,220
  35. 35Donald2,156
  36. 36Andrew2,087
  37. 37Neil2,022
  38. 38Keith1,991
  39. 39Steven1,880
  40. 40Roger1,792
  41. 41Ronald1,722
  42. 42Garry1,690
  43. 43Russell1,683
  44. 44Thomas1,675
  45. 45Warren1,638
  46. 46Dennis1,543
  47. 47Phillip1,505
  48. 48Stuart1,482
  49. 49Douglas1,438
  50. 50Malcolm1,431
← The 1940sAll years & decadesThe 1960s →

About this data: figures come from Department of Internal Affairs birth registrations for 1954-2025. The DIA only publishes a name for a given year when at least 10 babies were registered with it, so rarer names - and rarer spellings - are missing entirely, and a name can drop out of the record in quieter years. Spelling variants are counted separately, and counts reflect first names as registered.