1930s Baby Names

4,734 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.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#101
Marvin Marvin is a boy's name from the Welsh Merfyn, and the sea friend reading usually given for it is not supported — the Welsh elements point to marrow and eminent instead.
41,324 in the 1930s
#105
Ernest Ernest is a boy's name from a Germanic word meaning serious or resolute, and it is far stronger in Europe than in America — 252nd in England and Wales and 276th in France against 1,042nd in the United States.
39,627 in the 1930s
#106
Leonard Leonard is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "lion-strong," and its saint is the patron of prisoners and of women in labor.
39,421 in the 1930s
#109
Herbert Herbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright army.
38,050 in the 1930s
#110
Melvin Melvin is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, and the gentle chieftain reading usually given for it is an invention — the source is a Norman family who took their name from Malleville in France.
38,029 in the 1930s
#115
Stanley Stanley is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "stony clearing."
37,321 in the 1930s
#121
Leroy Leroy is a boy's name that is simply the French for the king, taken as one word.
36,479 in the 1930s
#123
Don Don is a boy's name shortened from Donald, meaning world ruler.
36,248 in the 1930s
#125
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
35,980 in the 1930s
#126
Jimmy Jimmy is a boy's name, the pet form of James, meaning supplanter.
35,752 in the 1930s
#133
Alfred Alfred is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel."
34,606 in the 1930s
#135
Dale Dale is a name from the Old English word for a valley, and like Craig and Heather it is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound.
33,992 in the 1930s
#141
Bill Bill comes from William, and the B is the point — medieval English made pet names by rhyming, which is why Will became Bill, Rob became Bob and Rick became Dick.
32,525 in the 1930s
#142
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
32,325 in the 1930s
#149
Jimmie Jimmie means supplanter, shortened from James, and about 17 percent of recorded births are female — a much higher share than most nickname-names of this shape, which usually resolve firmly to one side or the other.
31,275 in the 1930s
#152
Ray Ray is a boy's name that serves as a short form of Raymond and as the English word for a beam of light.
30,880 in the 1930s
#153
Bernard Bernard is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning brave as a bear.
30,685 in the 1930s
#155
Gene Gene means well-born, shortened from Eugene — and it has nothing at all to do with genes in biology, which is a separate word coined in 1909 from a different Greek root entirely, by a Danish botanist.
30,251 in the 1930s
#159
Russell Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy.
29,005 in the 1930s
#160
Philip Philip is a boy's name from Greek elements meaning lover of horses.
28,967 in the 1930s
#164
Lee Lee is a name from the Old English word for a woodland clearing, and it is one of the most productive elements in English place names — the ending of Ashley, Bradley, Shirley and Beverly.
28,425 in the 1930s
#167
Frederick Frederick is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler."
26,712 in the 1930s
#168
Franklin Franklin means a freeholder — a man who owned his land but held no noble rank, a specific medieval class.
26,519 in the 1930s
#169
Dennis Dennis is a boy's name that traces back to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstatic release — one of the few widely used Christian names derived from a pagan deity.
26,507 in the 1930s
#170
Douglas Douglas is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic for dark water, originally a river and then a powerful border family.
26,183 in the 1930s
#174
Gordon Gordon is a Scottish surname turned given name, from a place in Berwickshire whose meaning is not settled — spacious fort is the usual gloss but it is a guess.
25,597 in the 1930s
#177
Eddie Eddie is a boy's name, the pet form of Edward or Edwin, meaning wealth.
25,267 in the 1930s
#179
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
25,204 in the 1930s
#181
Floyd Floyd is the same name as Lloyd, and the F is a mistake that stuck — English had no way to say the Welsh double L, so it substituted the closest sound it had, and the substitution became a separate name.
25,104 in the 1930s
#182
Theodore Theodore is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God," formed from theos, meaning god, and doron, meaning gift.
25,088 in the 1930s
#183
Johnny Johnny is a boy's name, the pet form of John, meaning God is gracious.
25,011 in the 1930s
#186
Allen Allen is a boy's name whose meaning is unknown — rock, handsome and deer have all been proposed from an unidentified Breton source.
24,567 in the 1930s
#187
Glenn Glenn is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a narrow valley, and like Craig and Dale it is a plain landscape noun.
24,439 in the 1930s
#189
Bruce Bruce is a boy's name from a Norman place name, and Scotland's most famous king carried it as an import — the Bruces came from Normandy, not from Scotland.
24,233 in the 1930s
#191
Edwin Edwin is a boy's name from Old English meaning rich friend, borne by a Northumbrian king whose fortress may have given Edinburgh its name.
24,140 in the 1930s
#192
Lloyd Lloyd is a boy's name from the Welsh word for gray, and the double L is a genuine Welsh consonant that English has no letter for.
24,002 in the 1930s
#196
Bob Bob comes from Robert, and the B is not a corruption but a system — medieval English made pet names by rhyming, which is why Rob gave Bob, Will gave Bill and Rick gave Dick.
23,399 in the 1930s
#197
Clifford Clifford is a boy's name from an English place name meaning a ford by a cliff — a river crossing below a steep bank.
23,332 in the 1930s
#199
Leon Leon is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "lion."
23,189 in the 1930s
#200
Leo Leo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "lion."
23,083 in the 1930s
#202
Clyde Clyde took nothing from Bonnie and Clyde.
22,856 in the 1930s
#205
Vernon Vernon is a Norman place name meaning a place of alders, from a Gaulish word — so a French town gave England a surname that America turned into a first name, three languages deep.
22,471 in the 1930s
#210
Martin Martin is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "of Mars," borne by Saint Martin of Tours, whose cloak gave Europe the word chapel.
22,061 in the 1930s
#211
Alvin Alvin means elf-friend, from an Old English name that treats elves as beings whose favor was worth having.
21,636 in the 1930s
#215
Jim Jim is a boy's name meaning supplanter, shortened from James — which is the same name as Jacob, split into two by Latin.
20,957 in the 1930s
#218
Herman Herman means army man, and the German national hero Hermann is a Latin scribe's version of a Cheruscan name we cannot now recover — Arminius, the chief who destroyed three Roman legions in AD 9.
20,459 in the 1930s
#221
Tommy Tommy is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin."
20,227 in the 1930s
#222
Lewis Lewis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," the English form of Louis.
20,143 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.