Most Popular Baby Names of 1931

In 1931, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 60,299 babies, and Robert topped the boys' list with 60,519. Mary held on to number one for a 52nd year in a row, and Robert held on to number one for a eighth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,064,728 girls and 1,039,665 boys born in 1931 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 4,979 different girls' names and 4,321 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1931

Top girls' names, 1931
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930
1	Mary	60,299	same
2	Betty	36,105	same
3	Dorothy	26,524	same
4	Barbara	21,804	up 2
5	Joan	19,119	up 3
6	Helen	17,664	down 2
7	Margaret	17,332	down 2
8	Patricia	16,469	down 1
9	Shirley	14,405	up 2
10	Doris	13,629	down 1
11	Ruth	13,132	down 1
12	Virginia	11,886	same
13	Jean	11,013	up 1
14	Dolores	10,807	down 1
15	Joyce	10,580	up 3
16	Elizabeth	10,292	down 1
17	Nancy	10,036	up 7
18	Frances	9,718	down 2
19	Marilyn	9,664	up 3
20	Lois	9,348	down 3
21	Alice	8,815	down 1
22	Norma	8,759	up 3
23	Gloria	8,546	up 7
24	Evelyn	8,492	down 5
25	Anna	8,429	down 2
26	Mildred	8,169	down 5
27	Marie	7,549	down 1
28	Martha	7,481	down 1
29	Phyllis	7,213	down 1
30	Rose	6,881	down 1
31	Beverly	6,789	up 3
32	Donna	6,600	up 5
33	Louise	5,897	down 2
34	Marjorie	5,880	down 2
35	Ann	5,858	up 6
36	Catherine	5,642	down 1
37	Irene	5,616	down 4
38	Geraldine	5,413	up 5
39	Ruby	5,331	down 3
40	Eleanor	5,255	down 1
41	Annie	5,090	down 1
42	Peggy	5,076	up 25
43	Florence	5,011	down 5
44	June	5,002	up 3
45	Janet	4,948	up 8
46	Carol	4,892	up 8
47	Lillian	4,807	down 3
48	Rita	4,613	down 6
49	Lorraine	4,588	down 3
50	Jane	4,532	up 5
51	Josephine	4,497	down 2
52	Edna	4,461	down 1
53	Thelma	4,440	down 8
54	Wanda	4,395	up 2
55	Gladys	4,350	down 7
56	Pauline	4,192	down 4
57	Juanita	4,131	same
58	Delores	4,050	up 8
59	Theresa	4,034	down 9
60	Carolyn	4,008	up 12
61	Clara	3,899	up 3
62	Lucille	3,854	down 3
63	Bernice	3,821	down 5
64	Audrey	3,790	down 1
65	Edith	3,772	down 4
66	Marion	3,763	down 6
67	Ethel	3,760	down 2
68	Joanne	3,757	up 13
69	Wilma	3,741	down 1
70	Grace	3,712	down 8
71	Sarah	3,636	down 1
72	Elaine	3,622	down 3
73	Bonnie	3,552	up 5
74	Hazel	3,508	down 3
75	Charlotte	3,403	same
76	Emma	3,307	down 3
77	Arlene	3,217	up 26
78	Jacqueline	3,134	down 4
79	Esther	3,034	down 2
80	Anne	2,979	up 3
81	Billie	2,921	down 2
82	Vivian	2,893	up 9
83	Patsy	2,869	up 14
84	Marian	2,862	down 4
85	Beatrice	2,844	down 9
86	Elsie	2,807	up 2
87	Kathleen	2,799	down 3
88	Rosemary	2,722	down 6
89	Laura	2,669	same
90	Joann	2,655	up 28
91	Julia	2,624	down 1
92	Katherine	2,624	down 7
93	Willie	2,597	down 6
94	Eva	2,591	down 8
95	Marlene	2,585	up 293
96	Loretta	2,581	up 9
97	Sally	2,557	up 1
98	Jeanne	2,525	down 6
99	Ellen	2,450	up 1
100	Ida	2,419	down 6

Top boys' names, 1931
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930
1	Robert	60,519	same
2	James	51,212	same
3	John	48,423	same
4	William	43,280	same
5	Richard	31,822	same
6	Charles	29,934	same
7	Donald	29,100	same
8	George	20,685	same
9	Joseph	19,326	same
10	Thomas	16,847	up 1
11	Edward	15,646	down 1
12	Paul	12,255	same
13	David	11,784	up 2
14	Kenneth	11,568	up 3
15	Jack	11,488	down 1
16	Frank	11,472	down 3
17	Raymond	10,854	down 1
18	Harold	10,695	same
19	Billy	9,264	up 1
20	Walter	8,940	down 1
21	Eugene	8,151	same
22	Henry	7,805	same
23	Arthur	7,525	same
24	Albert	7,131	same
25	Ralph	6,960	same
26	Gerald	6,823	up 4
27	Ronald	6,726	up 10
28	Carl	6,583	down 2
29	Joe	6,456	down 2
30	Harry	6,045	down 2
31	Willie	5,963	down 2
32	Bobby	5,858	up 9
33	Fred	5,698	down 1
34	Howard	5,624	down 3
35	Roy	5,489	down 2
36	Norman	5,426	up 4
37	Louis	5,423	down 3
38	Lawrence	5,364	down 2
39	Clarence	5,062	same
40	Earl	5,047	down 2
41	Herbert	4,788	down 6
42	Francis	4,735	same
43	Jerry	4,371	up 8
44	Daniel	4,360	up 3
45	Marvin	4,360	up 3
46	Anthony	4,310	down 2
47	Ernest	4,298	down 4
48	Leonard	4,279	down 3
49	Stanley	4,202	same
50	Alfred	3,949	down 4
51	Melvin	3,700	down 1
52	Leroy	3,649	up 1
53	Roger	3,625	up 5
54	Bernard	3,514	down 2
55	Michael	3,489	down 1
56	Samuel	3,379	down 1
57	Bill	3,218	up 2
58	Wayne	3,217	up 7
59	Don	3,176	up 9
60	Ray	3,161	down 3
61	Peter	3,122	down 5
62	Dale	3,008	up 2
63	Russell	2,942	down 3
64	Gene	2,766	up 6
65	Andrew	2,714	down 3
66	Floyd	2,707	down 5
67	Edwin	2,704	down 1
68	Lloyd	2,704	up 1
69	Leo	2,700	down 6
70	Theodore	2,666	down 3
71	Philip	2,648	up 4
72	Glenn	2,624	down 1
73	Frederick	2,471	up 1
74	Vernon	2,465	down 2
75	Clifford	2,452	down 2
76	Gordon	2,396	up 1
77	Clyde	2,336	down 1
78	Bob	2,318	up 10
79	Allen	2,308	up 6
80	Alvin	2,299	down 1
81	Jimmie	2,288	up 5
82	Elmer	2,265	down 2
83	Herman	2,263	down 5
84	Leon	2,245	down 3
85	Douglas	2,203	up 4
86	Vincent	2,162	down 2
87	Lewis	2,160	same
88	Larry	2,147	up 20
89	Jimmy	2,126	up 13
90	Lee	2,123	down 8
91	Martin	2,103	down 8
92	Gilbert	1,993	down 2
93	Harvey	1,978	down 1
94	Charlie	1,975	down 3
95	Eddie	1,959	up 2
96	Lester	1,919	down 1
97	Jesse	1,895	down 3
98	Arnold	1,835	same
99	Milton	1,834	down 6
100	Warren	1,834	down 4

Biggest climbers in 1931

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1930.

Girls

Claudette: up 329 places, from 943rd to 614th
Jan: up 295 places, from 945th to 650th
Marlene: up 293 places, from 388th to 95th
Mitzi: up 271 places, from 966th to 695th
Leatha: up 229 places, from 947th to 718th
Bridget: up 200 places, from 958th to 758th
Dianne: up 184 places, from 833rd to 649th
Zona: up 183 places, from 940th to 757th
Roseann: up 181 places, from 908th to 727th
Marlyn: up 173 places, from 751st to 578th

Boys

Dino: up 226 places, from 948th to 722nd
Hyman: up 223 places, from 922nd to 699th
Dewayne: up 218 places, from 719th to 501st
Garrett: up 207 places, from 931st to 724th
Claire: up 204 places, from 980th to 776th
Lauren: up 193 places, from 887th to 694th
Verlin: up 192 places, from 781st to 589th
Durwood: up 192 places, from 981st to 789th
Emmit: up 186 places, from 983rd to 797th
Loyal: up 182 places, from 827th to 645th

New to the top 1,000 in 1931

Girls

Joretta, 464th (its first time ever)
Sondra, 548th (back after dropping out)
Zoe, 767th (back after dropping out)
Gaynell, 848th (back after dropping out)
Luetta, 851st (back after dropping out)
Merlene, 853rd (back after dropping out)
Mandy, 881st (back after dropping out)
Amparo, 887th (back after dropping out)
Carrol, 888th (back after dropping out)
Verlie, 898th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Denzil, 705th (back after dropping out)
Verl, 823rd (back after dropping out)
Courtney, 826th (back after dropping out)
Cornell, 831st (back after dropping out)
Allyn, 841st (its first time ever)
Dell, 845th (back after dropping out)
Lafayette, 850th (back after dropping out)
Gaston, 869th (back after dropping out)
Marcos, 872nd (back after dropping out)
Melvyn, 874th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1931?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 22.9% of the girls counted in 1931, and the top ten boys' names to 33.8% of the boys. In 1911, those shares were 21.9% for girls and 31.5% 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.