How Many of Me

Most Popular First Names of the 1930s

The top first names registered in the United States between 1930 and 1939, ranked by total births recorded with the Social Security Administration. The sparkline for each name shows how it trended across the 10 years of the decade.

During this decade, the SSA recorded 6,439,368 male and 5,279,492 female births across the top 50 names shown below. Click any name for a full statistical profile.

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

How to read this table

Each name is ranked by total birth registrations across all 10 years of the 1930s. The Trend column shows a sparkline of annual births within the decade. Hover over any sparkline to see the exact count for each year.

The Change column compares the first year (1930) to the last year (1939). A positive percentage means the name was gaining popularity by the end of the decade. A negative one means it was on the decline.

Top Male Names

6,439,368 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Robert 590,799 -4%
2 James 547,478 +10.5%
3 John 487,946 -2.7%
4 William 416,728 -11%
5 Richard 330,501 +9.9%
6 Charles 303,215 -3.4%
7 Donald 283,716 -17.2%
8 George 192,290 -21.5%
9 Thomas 183,873 +30.1%
10 Joseph 180,565 -15.5%
11 David 164,699 +106.6%
12 Edward 147,848 -16.8%
13 Ronald 140,332 +252%
14 Paul 125,771 +2.9%
15 Kenneth 125,109 +25.7%
16 Frank 108,088 -20.3%
17 Raymond 99,583 -21%
18 Jack 96,397 -41.2%
19 Harold 95,467 -28.8%
20 Billy 88,340 -19.5%
21 Gerald 82,818 +55.2%
22 Walter 80,906 -24.7%
23 Jerry 80,689 +252.8%
24 Joe 71,468 +4.6%
25 Eugene 70,939 -35%
26 Henry 70,418 -23.7%
27 Bobby 69,416 +36.2%
28 Arthur 67,730 -23%
29 Carl 66,757 -5.2%
30 Larry 65,247 +745.3%
31 Ralph 63,801 -22%
32 Albert 62,827 -31.1%
33 Willie 62,467 -5.4%
34 Fred 56,162 -8.4%
35 Michael 56,000 +205.7%
36 Lawrence 54,486 +4.3%
37 Harry 53,115 -31.9%
38 Roy 51,495 -12.9%
39 Howard 51,495 -27.3%
40 Norman 49,987 -10.3%
41 Roger 49,612 +120.4%
42 Daniel 47,998 +29.8%
43 Louis 47,754 -27.3%
44 Earl 44,613 -30%
45 Gary 43,594 +1257.8%
46 Clarence 42,677 -36.6%
47 Anthony 42,545 -1.4%
48 Francis 41,384 -25.4%
49 Wayne 41,140 +89.6%
50 Marvin 41,083 -14.6%

Top Female Names

5,279,492 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Mary 572,997 -14.4%
2 Betty 300,408 -38.2%
3 Barbara 296,419 +103.8%
4 Shirley 229,378 +38.4%
5 Patricia 220,579 +88.6%
6 Dorothy 210,414 -50.1%
7 Joan 173,439 -8.6%
8 Margaret 157,371 -18.5%
9 Nancy 142,486 +117.5%
10 Helen 140,426 -47.7%
11 Carol 117,729 +338.6%
12 Joyce 115,505 +38.7%
13 Doris 110,657 -50.3%
14 Ruth 109,205 -39.3%
15 Virginia 103,088 -30.1%
16 Marilyn 98,531 +2.7%
17 Elizabeth 96,479 -11.7%
18 Jean 94,189 -39.2%
19 Frances 92,118 -19.4%
20 Beverly 80,842 +34.8%
21 Lois 80,713 -40.3%
22 Alice 78,968 -22.6%
23 Donna 78,846 +56.8%
24 Martha 77,697 +8.4%
25 Dolores 77,137 -69%
26 Janet 76,038 +119.9%
27 Phyllis 73,804 -2.3%
28 Norma 72,877 -31.5%
29 Carolyn 69,525 +203.1%
30 Evelyn 69,363 -44.1%
31 Gloria 68,588 -21.9%
32 Anna 66,598 -45.7%
33 Marie 65,803 -30.1%
34 Ann 64,060 +18.4%
35 Mildred 61,737 -55.8%
36 Rose 59,111 -34.4%
37 Peggy 56,275 +48.1%
38 Geraldine 50,040 -5.3%
39 Catherine 50,026 -27.3%
40 Judith 49,906 +1661.2%
41 Louise 49,859 -43%
42 Janice 49,343 +354.9%
43 Marjorie 49,213 -41.1%
44 Annie 48,946 -27.8%
45 Ruby 47,647 -38.1%
46 Eleanor 46,379 -34.6%
47 Jane 45,814 +4.3%
48 Sandra 45,399 +3916.8%
49 Irene 44,448 -48.5%
50 Wanda 43,072 +0.7%
1920s 1940s