Most Popular Baby Names of 1928

In 1928, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 66,871 babies, and Robert topped the boys' list with 60,701. Mary held on to number one for a 49th year in a row, and Robert held on to number one for a fifth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,153,318 girls and 1,107,613 boys born in 1928 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,440 different girls' names and 4,723 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1928

Top girls' names, 1928
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927
1	Mary	66,871	same
2	Betty	36,083	up 1
3	Dorothy	33,733	down 1
4	Helen	22,937	same
5	Margaret	20,295	same
6	Ruth	17,859	same
7	Doris	16,575	same
8	Barbara	14,872	up 2
9	Virginia	14,500	down 1
10	Shirley	14,215	down 1
11	Patricia	12,331	up 7
12	Jean	12,209	up 2
13	Frances	12,137	down 1
14	Elizabeth	11,767	down 1
15	Mildred	11,653	down 4
16	Anna	10,575	same
17	Evelyn	10,533	down 2
18	Lois	10,425	up 1
19	Alice	10,139	down 2
20	Dolores	9,615	up 14
21	Marie	9,286	down 1
22	Martha	8,252	up 2
23	Norma	8,166	up 3
24	Rose	8,161	down 1
25	Gloria	8,119	down 3
26	Phyllis	7,924	up 3
27	Joan	7,854	up 14
28	Irene	7,731	down 7
29	Marjorie	7,632	down 4
30	Joyce	7,244	up 5
31	Louise	7,053	down 4
32	Florence	6,970	down 4
33	Catherine	6,910	down 2
34	Ruby	6,692	down 4
35	Lillian	6,577	down 3
36	Eleanor	6,535	down 3
37	Annie	6,329	down 1
38	Marilyn	6,066	up 8
39	Lorraine	5,982	up 5
40	Thelma	5,978	down 2
41	Gladys	5,791	down 4
42	Josephine	5,671	down 3
43	Nancy	5,537	up 13
44	June	5,517	down 1
45	Edna	5,473	down 5
46	Beverly	5,437	up 11
47	Marion	5,420	up 4
48	Pauline	5,391	down 6
49	Theresa	5,330	up 3
50	Geraldine	5,156	up 8
51	Lucille	5,094	down 6
52	Grace	4,989	down 2
53	Bernice	4,943	down 4
54	Ann	4,932	up 5
55	Ethel	4,928	down 8
56	Edith	4,846	down 8
57	Rita	4,810	down 3
58	Juanita	4,734	down 3
59	Hazel	4,649	down 6
60	Audrey	4,630	up 2
61	Donna	4,470	up 9
62	Jane	4,411	down 2
63	Wanda	4,318	up 3
64	Sarah	4,244	down 3
65	Clara	4,106	down 2
66	Esther	4,096	down 1
67	Emma	4,017	down 3
68	Elaine	4,004	up 1
69	Wilma	3,937	down 1
70	Beatrice	3,922	down 3
71	Marian	3,886	up 3
72	Charlotte	3,475	up 3
73	Elsie	3,470	down 1
74	Willie	3,444	down 3
75	Katherine	3,398	down 2
76	Peggy	3,382	up 20
77	Carol	3,349	up 29
78	Vivian	3,310	down 1
79	Eva	3,212	same
80	Julia	3,206	down 4
81	Bertha	3,161	down 1
82	Kathleen	3,151	up 1
83	Laura	3,146	down 1
84	Maxine	3,124	up 3
85	Agnes	3,023	down 4
86	Gertrude	3,011	down 8
87	Ida	2,994	down 3
88	Rosemary	2,972	down 2
89	Bonnie	2,923	up 11
90	Jeanne	2,879	down 5
91	Carolyn	2,847	up 8
92	Vera	2,841	down 3
93	Anne	2,824	down 1
94	Delores	2,810	up 34
95	Janet	2,782	up 16
96	Billie	2,777	up 13
97	Jacqueline	2,739	up 18
98	Ellen	2,682	down 5
99	Kathryn	2,681	down 9
100	Ella	2,670	down 2

Top boys' names, 1928
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927
1	Robert	60,701	same
2	John	53,760	same
3	James	52,752	same
4	William	49,118	same
5	Charles	31,243	same
6	Richard	28,793	same
7	Donald	25,704	up 1
8	George	24,391	down 1
9	Joseph	22,322	same
10	Edward	18,492	same
11	Thomas	16,582	same
12	Frank	13,570	same
13	Paul	13,160	same
14	Harold	12,670	same
15	Jack	12,494	up 1
16	Raymond	11,946	down 1
17	Kenneth	11,167	up 1
18	Walter	10,651	down 1
19	David	9,990	up 2
20	Eugene	9,708	same
21	Henry	9,313	down 2
22	Arthur	8,880	same
23	Albert	8,812	same
24	Ralph	8,100	same
25	Herbert	8,065	up 17
26	Harry	7,604	down 1
27	Billy	7,310	up 4
28	Carl	6,946	down 2
29	Willie	6,817	down 2
30	Joe	6,682	same
31	Howard	6,496	down 3
32	Louis	6,299	down 3
33	Alfred	6,252	up 12
34	Roy	6,229	same
35	Clarence	6,068	down 3
36	Fred	6,036	down 1
37	Earl	5,966	down 4
38	Lawrence	5,597	down 1
39	Norman	5,590	same
40	Francis	5,516	down 4
41	Gerald	5,487	down 3
42	Leonard	5,131	down 2
43	Ernest	4,941	down 2
44	Anthony	4,719	down 1
45	Stanley	4,481	down 1
46	Marvin	4,452	up 1
47	Daniel	4,426	down 1
48	Melvin	4,249	same
49	Bernard	4,067	up 1
50	Ronald	3,969	up 13
51	Leroy	3,872	same
52	Samuel	3,844	down 3
53	Michael	3,598	down 1
54	Floyd	3,338	down 1
55	Russell	3,325	down 1
56	Peter	3,299	up 3
57	Ray	3,248	up 3
58	Edwin	3,166	down 1
59	Lloyd	3,158	down 1
60	Andrew	3,142	down 4
61	Leo	3,095	down 6
62	Gene	3,088	up 10
63	Elmer	2,977	down 2
64	Bill	2,976	up 5
65	Bobby	2,972	up 26
66	Theodore	2,916	down 4
67	Frederick	2,882	down 3
68	Clifford	2,862	down 3
69	Wayne	2,855	down 2
70	Vernon	2,852	up 1
71	Roger	2,774	up 13
72	Alvin	2,750	down 6
73	Philip	2,726	up 2
74	Clyde	2,713	down 6
75	Dale	2,640	up 6
76	Glenn	2,603	same
77	Gordon	2,596	down 3
78	Herman	2,588	down 8
79	Jerry	2,588	up 14
80	Charlie	2,463	same
81	Leon	2,460	down 3
82	Vincent	2,440	down 5
83	Martin	2,428	up 4
84	Don	2,382	up 6
85	Warren	2,361	down 6
86	Lewis	2,339	down 4
87	Lee	2,282	down 1
88	Chester	2,243	down 3
89	Lester	2,229	down 6
90	Harvey	2,186	up 4
91	Jesse	2,171	down 2
92	Milton	2,170	down 4
93	Allen	2,137	up 2
94	Calvin	2,128	down 21
95	Bob	2,093	up 5
96	Gilbert	2,048	up 3
97	Cecil	2,005	down 5
98	Arnold	1,974	down 1
99	Victor	1,946	down 1
100	Jimmie	1,924	up 8

Biggest climbers in 1928

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1927.

Girls

Charmaine: up 436 places, from 856th to 420th
Diane: up 303 places, from 563rd to 260th
Pamela: up 207 places, from 916th to 709th
Lilia: up 194 places, from 946th to 752nd
Peggie: up 189 places, from 872nd to 683rd
Jeannie: up 189 places, from 977th to 788th
Rosaline: up 187 places, from 950th to 763rd
Roseann: up 167 places, from 981st to 814th
Herminia: up 165 places, from 941st to 776th
Ramona: up 160 places, from 277th to 117th

Boys

Duncan: up 234 places, from 899th to 665th
Elvis: up 202 places, from 841st to 639th
Reynold: up 198 places, from 947th to 749th
Merwin: up 174 places, from 997th to 823rd
Huey: up 169 places, from 578th to 409th
Eduardo: up 169 places, from 703rd to 534th
Norwood: up 161 places, from 891st to 730th
Gilberto: up 153 places, from 605th to 452nd
Brian: up 152 places, from 755th to 603rd
Romeo: up 151 places, from 797th to 646th

New to the top 1,000 in 1928

Girls

Jeannine, 322nd (its first time ever)
Romona, 599th (its first time ever)
Dorene, 807th (back after dropping out)
Karen, 818th (back after dropping out)
Trinidad, 828th (back after dropping out)
Willodean, 830th (back after dropping out)
Earl, 867th (back after dropping out)
Johnny, 874th (its first time ever)
Leonore, 876th (back after dropping out)
Ardelle, 888th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Hoover, 363rd (its first time ever)
Jerold, 782nd (its first time ever)
Arlen, 786th (its first time ever)
Ronnie, 824th (its first time ever)
Wyatt, 834th (back after dropping out)
Dwaine, 835th (back after dropping out)
Kurt, 839th (back after dropping out)
Pierce, 868th (back after dropping out)
Verle, 882nd (back after dropping out)
Fredric, 883rd (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1928?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 22.4% of the girls counted in 1928, and the top ten boys' names to 33.2% of the boys. In 1908, those shares were 20.8% for girls and 31.7% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.