1930s Baby Names

4,739 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 1042nd 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
#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
#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
#176
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 genuinely 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
#225
Harvey Harvey is a boy's name of Breton origin meaning "battle worthy."
20,049 in the 1930s
#228
Vincent Vincent is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "conquering," from vincere, to conquer.
19,500 in the 1930s

What made a 1930s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1930 and 1939, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1930s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

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.