Most Popular Baby Names of the 1930s

Top 100 girl and boy names, Social Security records, 1930 to 1939

Mary and Robert were the most popular baby names of the 1930s: 573,000 girls were named Mary and 590,810 boys Robert from 1930 to 1939. The tables rank the 100 names given to the most babies of each sex, out of 8,816 girl names and 6,841 boy names in the records for those years. Social Security lists a name in a year only when at least 5 babies of one sex got it.

Year by Year

The top 100 girl and boy names of each year of the 1930s, with what changed from the year before.

Top 100 Girl Names, 1930 to 1939

#	Name	Babies
1	Mary	573,000
2	Betty	300,409
3	Barbara	296,420
4	Shirley	229,380
5	Patricia	220,582
6	Dorothy	210,415
7	Joan	173,439
8	Margaret	157,369
9	Nancy	142,488
10	Helen	140,426
11	Carol	117,731
12	Joyce	115,506
13	Doris	110,658
14	Ruth	109,204
15	Virginia	103,089
16	Marilyn	98,531
17	Elizabeth	96,480
18	Jean	94,189
19	Frances	92,117
20	Beverly	80,846
21	Lois	80,713
22	Alice	78,968
23	Donna	78,846
24	Martha	77,697
25	Dolores	77,139
26	Janet	76,038
27	Phyllis	73,805
28	Norma	72,878
29	Carolyn	69,525
30	Evelyn	69,364
31	Gloria	68,588
32	Anna	66,598
33	Marie	65,803
34	Ann	64,060
35	Mildred	61,738
36	Rose	59,111
37	Peggy	56,275
38	Geraldine	50,042
39	Catherine	50,027
40	Judith	49,904
41	Louise	49,859
42	Janice	49,343
43	Marjorie	49,213
44	Annie	48,946
45	Ruby	47,648
46	Eleanor	46,379
47	Jane	45,814
48	Sandra	45,399
49	Irene	44,448
50	Wanda	43,072
51	Elaine	41,108
52	June	40,745
53	Joanne	40,581
54	Rita	38,741
55	Florence	37,942
56	Delores	37,603
57	Lillian	37,391
58	Marlene	37,355
59	Edna	36,973
60	Sarah	36,513
61	Patsy	36,475
62	Lorraine	36,333
63	Thelma	36,254
64	Josephine	36,051
65	Juanita	35,915
66	Bonnie	35,803
67	Arlene	34,796
68	Gladys	34,762
69	Joann	34,698
70	Sally	34,680
71	Charlotte	34,646
72	Kathleen	34,550
73	Audrey	34,007
74	Pauline	33,690
75	Wilma	33,188
76	Sylvia	33,011
77	Theresa	32,785
78	Jacqueline	32,115
79	Clara	31,658
80	Ethel	31,582
81	Loretta	31,537
82	Grace	31,357
83	Sharon	31,083
84	Edith	31,047
85	Lucille	30,843
86	Emma	30,022
87	Bernice	29,905
88	Marion	29,565
89	Linda	29,358
90	Jo	28,653
91	Anne	28,621
92	Hazel	28,567
93	Roberta	27,731
94	Carole	26,768
95	Darlene	25,956
96	Esther	25,791
97	Katherine	25,193
98	Ellen	25,139
99	Laura	25,093
100	Julia	24,938

Top 100 Boy Names, 1930 to 1939

#	Name	Babies
1	Robert	590,810
2	James	547,479
3	John	487,950
4	William	416,730
5	Richard	330,502
6	Charles	303,218
7	Donald	283,718
8	George	192,289
9	Thomas	183,878
10	Joseph	180,566
11	David	164,701
12	Edward	147,849
13	Ronald	140,332
14	Paul	125,774
15	Kenneth	125,111
16	Frank	108,090
17	Raymond	99,585
18	Jack	96,396
19	Harold	95,467
20	Billy	88,341
21	Gerald	82,821
22	Walter	80,908
23	Jerry	80,690
24	Joe	71,470
25	Eugene	70,938
26	Henry	70,419
27	Bobby	69,419
28	Arthur	67,730
29	Carl	66,759
30	Larry	65,249
31	Ralph	63,802
32	Albert	62,829
33	Willie	62,466
34	Fred	56,164
35	Michael	56,001
36	Lawrence	54,485
37	Harry	53,115
38	Howard	51,495
38	Roy	51,495
40	Norman	49,987
41	Roger	49,615
42	Daniel	47,998
43	Louis	47,754
44	Earl	44,613
45	Gary	43,596
46	Clarence	42,676
47	Anthony	42,546
48	Francis	41,384
49	Wayne	41,141
50	Marvin	41,085
51	Ernest	39,346
52	Leonard	39,214
53	Herbert	37,821
54	Melvin	37,705
55	Stanley	37,130
56	Leroy	36,255
57	Don	35,980
58	Peter	35,822
59	Jimmy	35,399
60	Alfred	34,392
61	Dale	32,536
62	Bill	32,338
63	Samuel	32,135
64	Bernard	30,545
65	Ray	30,211
66	Gene	29,313
67	Philip	28,847
68	Russell	28,840
69	Frederick	26,602
70	Franklin	26,381
71	Dennis	26,366
72	Douglas	26,031
73	Jimmie	25,813
74	Gordon	25,460
75	Andrew	25,025
76	Theodore	24,957
77	Floyd	24,887
78	Johnny	24,596
79	Allen	24,356
80	Glenn	24,222
81	Bruce	24,119
82	Edwin	24,023
83	Lee	23,954
84	Lloyd	23,799
85	Bob	23,293
86	Clifford	23,100
87	Leon	23,005
88	Leo	22,864
89	Clyde	22,452
90	Eddie	22,328
91	Vernon	22,197
92	Martin	21,927
93	Alvin	21,484
94	Jim	20,823
95	Herman	20,319
96	Lewis	20,017
97	Harvey	19,906
98	Tommy	19,857
99	Vincent	19,407
100	Charlie	19,154

Open a name to see how many people with it are alive today. To compare decades, pick another one above.