1930s Baby Names

6,820 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

#2
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
576,028 in the 1930s
#8
Betty Betty is a girl's name that began as a short form of Elizabeth and is now used in its own right.
301,840 in the 1930s
#9
Barbara Barbara is a girl's name from the Greek for foreign or strange, the feminine of the word that gives us barbarian.
297,608 in the 1930s
#11
Shirley Shirley is a girl's name from an English place name meaning bright clearing, and it was a boys' name until Charlotte Brontë used it for a heroine in 1849.
232,291 in the 1930s
#12
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
221,370 in the 1930s
#13
Dorothy Dorothy is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God."
211,521 in the 1930s
#19
Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.
158,077 in the 1930s
#21
Nancy Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace."
143,046 in the 1930s
#22
Helen Helen is a girl's name from Greek whose meaning is not settled, though torch and shining are the usual readings.
141,091 in the 1930s
#26
Carol Carol is a girl's name with two independent sources: a short form of Caroline, and the word for a joyful song.
120,212 in the 1930s
#27
Joyce Joyce is a girl's name that was a man's name for most of its history, from a Breton saint called Iodoc. It is stable, and its highest current rank is France at 334th — not any English-speaking market.
116,263 in the 1930s
#28
Doris Doris is a girl's name from Greek mythology, where she is a sea nymph and the mother of the fifty Nereids.
111,627 in the 1930s
#29
Ruth Ruth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin usually given as "companion" or "friend," though the derivation is not secure.
109,764 in the 1930s
#31
Virginia Virginia is a girl's name from a Roman family name, and the American state was named before the name became common in America — both honoring Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
103,583 in the 1930s
#33
Marilyn Marilyn is a girl's name usually read as a blend of Mary and Lyn.
98,875 in the 1930s
#34
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
96,943 in the 1930s
#38
Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.
93,042 in the 1930s
#43
Beverly Beverly is a name from an English town meaning beaver stream, and it began as a boys' name before crossing decisively to girls.
81,815 in the 1930s
#45
Lois Lois is a girl's name that appears once in the New Testament, in a letter naming Timothy's grandmother, and its meaning has never been established.
81,351 in the 1930s
#46
Alice Alice is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," arrived at by a long contraction of Adelaide.
79,366 in the 1930s
#47
Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.
79,161 in the 1930s
#48
Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."
78,074 in the 1930s
#49
Dolores Dolores is a girl's name meaning sorrows — taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, which counts seven specific griefs.
77,596 in the 1930s
#50
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
76,318 in the 1930s
#51
Phyllis Phyllis is a girl's name from the Greek for foliage, borne by a mythological princess who was turned into an almond tree.
74,065 in the 1930s
#53
Norma Norma is a girl's name that appears to have been invented for an opera — Bellini's Norma of 1831 — and it was the birth name of Marilyn Monroe, who appears elsewhere in these pages under the name that replaced it.
73,221 in the 1930s
#57
Carolyn Carolyn is a girl's name, an English elaboration of Caroline meaning free man through Charles.
69,795 in the 1930s
#58
Evelyn Evelyn is a girl's name of English and French origin meaning "desired" or "wished for".
69,711 in the 1930s
#59
Gloria Gloria is a girl's name that is simply the Latin word for glory, taken unchanged.
68,931 in the 1930s
#62
Anna Anna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah.
66,896 in the 1930s
#63
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
66,150 in the 1930s
#65
Ann Ann is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor, and the spelling without the final e.
64,311 in the 1930s
#68
Mildred Mildred is a girl's name from Old English elements meaning gentle strength, and it is among the least fashionable names of the twentieth century — yet it is reviving, ninety years after its 1920 peak.
62,089 in the 1930s
#69
Rose Rose is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the flower, from rosa.
59,520 in the 1930s
#70
Peggy Peggy is a girl's name meaning pearl, a pet form of Margaret by way of Meg.
56,521 in the 1930s
#78
Louise Louise is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," the French feminine form of Louis.
50,283 in the 1930s
#79
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
50,269 in the 1930s
#80
Geraldine Geraldine was invented in a 1537 love poem — the Earl of Surrey coined it for Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, calling her the Fair Geraldine.
50,267 in the 1930s
#81
Judith Judith is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman of Judea," borne by the heroine who beheads Holofernes in the deuterocanonical book named for her.
50,097 in the 1930s
#83
Janice Janice is a girl's name usually credited to a 1899 novel, though it is on record from 1894 — five years before the book.
49,548 in the 1930s
#84
Annie Annie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor."
49,379 in the 1930s
#85
Marjorie Marjorie is a girl's name meaning pearl, an English form of Margaret whose modern spelling was pulled toward the herb marjoram by nothing more than a coincidence of sound.
49,363 in the 1930s
#87
Ruby Ruby is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the red gemstone, from ruber, meaning red.
48,171 in the 1930s
#89
Eleanor Eleanor is a girl's name that traces back to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the twelfth-century queen of France and later England, whose own name, Aliénor, is widely explained as "the other Aenor," distinguishing her from her mother, also named Aenor.
46,572 in the 1930s
#90
Jane Jane is a girl's name from the Hebrew for God is gracious, the English feminine of John.
46,025 in the 1930s
#91
Sandra Sandra is a girl's name that began as an Italian short form of Alessandra and became independent in the twentieth century.
45,575 in the 1930s
#94
Irene Irene is a girl's name from the Greek word for peace, and the name of the goddess who personified it.
44,698 in the 1930s
#96
Wanda Wanda is a girl's name from Polish, borne by a legendary queen who drowned herself in the Vistula rather than marry a German prince.
43,257 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.