1930s Baby Names
12,733 names were given to children in the United States between 1930 and 1939, ranked below by how many.
A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.
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#2Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.576,028 in the 1930s
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#4John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.490,531 in the 1930s
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#6Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.331,782 in the 1930s
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#7Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.304,992 in the 1930s
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#10Donald Donald is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall, meaning world ruler.284,864 in the 1930s
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#12Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.221,370 in the 1930s
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#15Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.184,710 in the 1930s
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#16Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.181,452 in the 1930s
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#18David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.165,376 in the 1930s
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#19Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.158,077 in the 1930s
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#20Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."148,563 in the 1930s
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#30Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."108,707 in the 1930s
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#32Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.100,065 in the 1930s
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#38Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.93,042 in the 1930s
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#39Billy Billy is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector."89,443 in the 1930s
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#44Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.81,489 in the 1930s
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#47Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.79,161 in the 1930s
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#48Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."78,074 in the 1930s
What Made a 1930s Name
Children in the United States were registered with it between 1930 and 1939. A name's position here is how many of them were.
Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade
A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.
Where to Go Next
Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.