Most Popular Baby Names of the 1930s

Across the 1930s, Mary was the most popular girls' name, given to 573,000 babies, and Robert led the boys with 590,810.

That's out of 10,663,028 girls and 10,566,534 boys counted between 1930 and 1939, under 8,818 different girls' names and 6,844 boys' names.

Number one, year by year

Most popular names each year, 1930 to 1939
Year	Girls	Boys
1930	Mary	Robert
1931	Mary	Robert
1932	Mary	Robert
1933	Mary	Robert
1934	Mary	Robert
1935	Mary	Robert
1936	Mary	Robert
1937	Mary	Robert
1938	Mary	Robert
1939	Mary	Robert

Top 100 names of the 1930s

Top girls' names, 1930–1939
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1920s
1	Mary	573,000	same
2	Betty	300,409	up 2
3	Barbara	296,420	up 15
4	Shirley	229,380	up 13
5	Patricia	220,582	up 25
6	Dorothy	210,415	down 4
7	Joan	173,439	up 53
8	Margaret	157,369	down 3
9	Nancy	142,488	up 53
10	Helen	140,426	down 7
11	Carol	117,731	not top 100 in 1920s
12	Joyce	115,506	up 49
13	Doris	110,658	down 5
14	Ruth	109,204	down 8
15	Virginia	103,089	down 8
16	Marilyn	98,531	up 66
17	Elizabeth	96,480	down 6
18	Jean	94,189	down 2
19	Frances	92,117	down 9
20	Beverly	80,846	up 72
21	Lois	80,713	up 1
22	Alice	78,968	down 7
23	Donna	78,846	not top 100 in 1920s
24	Martha	77,697	down 1
25	Dolores	77,139	up 23
26	Janet	76,038	not top 100 in 1920s
27	Phyllis	73,805	up 15
28	Norma	72,878	up 8
29	Carolyn	69,525	not top 100 in 1920s
30	Evelyn	69,364	down 18
31	Gloria	68,588	up 9
32	Anna	66,598	down 19
33	Marie	65,803	down 19
34	Ann	64,060	up 17
35	Mildred	61,738	down 26
36	Rose	59,111	down 12
37	Peggy	56,275	not top 100 in 1920s
38	Geraldine	50,042	up 19
39	Catherine	50,027	down 12
40	Judith	49,904	not top 100 in 1920s
41	Louise	49,859	down 15
42	Janice	49,343	not top 100 in 1920s
43	Marjorie	49,213	down 23
44	Annie	48,946	down 12
45	Ruby	47,648	down 17
46	Eleanor	46,379	down 17
47	Jane	45,814	up 9
48	Sandra	45,399	not top 100 in 1920s
49	Irene	44,448	down 30
50	Wanda	43,072	up 26
51	Elaine	41,108	up 29
52	June	40,745	down 7
53	Joanne	40,581	not top 100 in 1920s
54	Rita	38,741	down 5
55	Florence	37,942	down 34
56	Delores	37,603	not top 100 in 1920s
57	Lillian	37,391	down 32
58	Marlene	37,355	not top 100 in 1920s
59	Edna	36,973	down 24
60	Sarah	36,513	down 2
61	Patsy	36,475	not top 100 in 1920s
62	Lorraine	36,333	down 12
63	Thelma	36,254	down 29
64	Josephine	36,051	down 31
65	Juanita	35,915	down 11
66	Bonnie	35,803	not top 100 in 1920s
67	Arlene	34,796	not top 100 in 1920s
68	Gladys	34,762	down 37
69	Joann	34,698	not top 100 in 1920s
70	Sally	34,680	not top 100 in 1920s
71	Charlotte	34,646	up 7
72	Kathleen	34,550	up 13
73	Audrey	34,007	same
74	Pauline	33,690	down 37
75	Wilma	33,188	down 7
76	Sylvia	33,011	not top 100 in 1920s
77	Theresa	32,785	down 3
78	Jacqueline	32,115	not top 100 in 1920s
79	Clara	31,658	down 24
80	Ethel	31,582	down 39
81	Loretta	31,537	not top 100 in 1920s
82	Grace	31,357	down 39
83	Sharon	31,083	not top 100 in 1920s
84	Edith	31,047	down 45
85	Lucille	30,843	down 47
86	Emma	30,022	down 27
87	Bernice	29,905	down 41
88	Marion	29,565	down 41
89	Linda	29,358	not top 100 in 1920s
90	Jo	28,653	not top 100 in 1920s
91	Anne	28,621	down 10
92	Hazel	28,567	down 48
93	Roberta	27,731	not top 100 in 1920s
94	Carole	26,768	not top 100 in 1920s
95	Darlene	25,956	not top 100 in 1920s
96	Esther	25,791	down 43
97	Katherine	25,193	down 34
98	Ellen	25,139	up 2
99	Laura	25,093	down 22
100	Julia	24,938	down 34

Top boys' names, 1930–1939
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1920s
1	Robert	590,810	same
2	James	547,479	up 1
3	John	487,950	down 1
4	William	416,730	same
5	Richard	330,502	up 3
6	Charles	303,218	down 1
7	Donald	283,718	up 3
8	George	192,289	down 2
9	Thomas	183,878	up 2
10	Joseph	180,566	down 3
11	David	164,701	up 11
12	Edward	147,849	down 3
13	Ronald	140,332	up 80
14	Paul	125,774	same
15	Kenneth	125,111	up 4
16	Frank	108,090	down 4
17	Raymond	99,585	down 2
18	Jack	96,396	down 1
19	Harold	95,467	down 6
20	Billy	88,341	up 28
21	Gerald	82,821	up 23
22	Walter	80,908	down 6
23	Jerry	80,690	not top 100 in 1920s
24	Joe	71,470	up 10
25	Eugene	70,938	down 1
26	Henry	70,419	down 8
27	Bobby	69,419	not top 100 in 1920s
28	Arthur	67,730	down 8
29	Carl	66,759	down 2
30	Larry	65,249	not top 100 in 1920s
31	Ralph	63,802	down 6
32	Albert	62,829	down 11
33	Willie	62,466	down 5
34	Fred	56,164	down 1
35	Michael	56,001	up 17
36	Lawrence	54,485	same
37	Harry	53,115	down 14
38	Howard	51,495	down 12
39	Roy	51,495	down 7
40	Norman	49,987	up 3
41	Roger	49,615	up 48
42	Daniel	47,998	up 3
43	Louis	47,754	down 14
44	Earl	44,613	down 13
45	Gary	43,596	not top 100 in 1920s
46	Clarence	42,676	down 16
47	Anthony	42,546	down 6
48	Francis	41,384	down 13
49	Wayne	41,141	up 24
50	Marvin	41,085	same
51	Ernest	39,346	down 12
52	Leonard	39,214	down 14
53	Herbert	37,821	down 16
54	Melvin	37,705	down 5
55	Stanley	37,130	down 13
56	Leroy	36,255	down 3
57	Don	35,980	not top 100 in 1920s
58	Peter	35,822	up 1
59	Jimmy	35,399	not top 100 in 1920s
60	Alfred	34,392	down 20
61	Dale	32,536	up 24
62	Bill	32,338	up 25
63	Samuel	32,135	down 17
64	Bernard	30,545	down 17
65	Ray	30,211	down 3
66	Gene	29,313	not top 100 in 1920s
67	Philip	28,847	up 3
68	Russell	28,840	down 14
69	Frederick	26,602	down 6
70	Franklin	26,381	not top 100 in 1920s
71	Dennis	26,366	not top 100 in 1920s
72	Douglas	26,031	not top 100 in 1920s
73	Jimmie	25,813	not top 100 in 1920s
74	Gordon	25,460	up 1
75	Andrew	25,025	down 19
76	Theodore	24,957	down 12
77	Floyd	24,887	down 17
78	Johnny	24,596	not top 100 in 1920s
79	Allen	24,356	up 16
80	Glenn	24,222	down 1
81	Bruce	24,119	not top 100 in 1920s
82	Edwin	24,023	down 25
83	Lee	23,954	same
84	Lloyd	23,799	down 23
85	Bob	23,293	not top 100 in 1920s
86	Clifford	23,100	down 21
87	Leon	23,005	down 11
88	Leo	22,864	down 33
89	Clyde	22,452	down 21
90	Eddie	22,328	not top 100 in 1920s
91	Vernon	22,197	down 25
92	Martin	21,927	down 11
93	Alvin	21,484	down 22
94	Jim	20,823	not top 100 in 1920s
95	Herman	20,319	down 28
96	Lewis	20,017	down 19
97	Harvey	19,906	down 9
98	Tommy	19,857	not top 100 in 1920s
99	Vincent	19,407	down 25
100	Charlie	19,154	down 22

Names that peaked in the 1930s

These were among the decade's top 1,000 and reached their highest share of babies in a year between 1930 and 1939. The year each one peaked is in brackets.

Girls

Betty (1930)
Barbara (1938)
Shirley (1935)
Joan (1932)
Marilyn (1936)
Jean (1930)
Beverly (1937)
Dolores (1930)
Norma (1931)
Ann (1936)

Boys

Robert (1931)
Donald (1934)
Billy (1934)
Gerald (1939)
Bobby (1936)
Norman (1931)
Marvin (1931)
Don (1934)
Bill (1934)
Gene (1937)

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.