1930s Baby Names

1,179 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

#17
Joan Joan is a girl's name, the medieval English feminine of John meaning God is gracious, and it was once as common as Mary.
174,219 in the 1930s
#36
Jean Jean is a unisex name on record: the French form of John, meaning "God is gracious," and separately a Scottish feminine form of Jane.
96,238 in the 1930s
#93
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
44,960 in the 1930s
#99
Marion Marion is a French diminutive of Mary that has crossed sexes twice over — it is 81 percent female on record, yet its most famous bearer was John Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison.
41,424 in the 1930s
#161
Jo Jo is a name serving as the short form of Joanne, Josephine and Joan for women and Joseph for men.
28,931 in the 1930s
#163
Jessie Jessie is a name that arrives from two unrelated directions — the Scottish pet form of Janet, and a feminine of the Hebrew Jesse.
28,481 in the 1930s
#188
Johnnie Johnnie means God is gracious, a pet form of John.
24,396 in the 1930s
#193
Jackie Jackie is the third most evenly divided name on this site — 48.9 percent of recorded births are female, behind only Emerson and Riley among names with more than 50,000 births.
23,893 in the 1930s
#216
Charlie Charlie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man."
20,645 in the 1930s
#234
Kay Kay serves two unrelated sources — the initial of Katherine, and Sir Kay of Arthurian legend, who is Arthur's foster brother and one of the oldest figures in the whole cycle.
18,607 in the 1930s
#253
Pat Pat is one of the most evenly divided names on this site — about 60 percent of recorded births are female, because it shortens both Patricia and Patrick and neither side ever won.
16,772 in the 1930s
#315
Laverne Laverne means the alder grove, and the goddess sometimes cited for it is a poor fit — Laverna was the Roman patroness of thieves, which is not a namesake most sources mention when they list her.
11,339 in the 1930s
#323
Bennie Bennie means son of the right hand, and Jacob renamed the child to get there — his dying mother called him son of my sorrow, and his father would not let the name stand.
10,881 in the 1930s
#338
Sidney Sidney is a name of Old English origin meaning "wide meadow."
10,117 in the 1930s
#339
Lynn Lynn is a name from a Welsh and Gaelic word for a lake or a pool below a waterfall.
10,024 in the 1930s
#363
Carroll Carroll is one of the more evenly divided names on this site — 14 percent of recorded births are female, and it belonged to the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.
9,117 in the 1930s
#365
Ronnie Ronnie is a name of Old Norse origin meaning "ruler's counsel."
9,061 in the 1930s
#373
Lonnie Lonnie shortens Alonzo and Alphonso, meaning noble and ready — and the Germanic original reached Spain with the Visigoths, so a name that reads as American South is Gothic by descent.
8,868 in the 1930s
#381
Frankie Frankie is a name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frenchman."
8,675 in the 1930s
#396
Tommie Tommie means twin, and it is one of the most evenly split names on this site — 33 percent of recorded births are female, because it serves as a short form of both Thomas and Thomasina.
8,187 in the 1930s
#412
Roosevelt
7,545 in the 1930s
#417
Ollie Ollie is a name of Norse origin meaning "ancestor's descendant."
7,441 in the 1930s
#445
Ira Ira means watchful, and it is 12 percent female on record despite being a man's name in the Hebrew Bible — one of David's priests carries it in Samuel.
6,495 in the 1930s
#479
Loren Loren means from Laurentum, a town rather than a plant — the laurel reading came second, and the town itself was probably named for its laurels, so the connection is real but runs the long way round.
5,623 in the 1930s
#480
Perry Perry means at the pear tree, from an English place name — and it is reviving, at 1,373rd in the United States and 1,681st in England and Wales.
5,599 in the 1930s
#487
Lou Lou is a girl's name in France, a short form of Louise and Louis meaning "famous warrior."
5,498 in the 1930s
#506
Guadalupe Guadalupe is half Arabic and half Latin — wadi, a valley or river, joined to a word for a wolf.
5,093 in the 1930s
#528
Jewell
4,733 in the 1930s
#537
Sammie
4,648 in the 1930s
#539
Lupe
4,625 in the 1930s
#540
Teddy Teddy is a boy's name that shortens either Edward, meaning "wealthy guardian," or Theodore, meaning "gift of God."
4,614 in the 1930s
#541
Ellis Ellis is a name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord is my God."
4,611 in the 1930s
#546
Dallas Dallas is the only rising name in this group — it peaked in 2015 and is still climbing, at 238th in the United States.
4,549 in the 1930s
#552
Sammy Sammy means God has heard, or possibly name of God — the Hebrew admits both readings, and the Bible's own explanation of Samuel uses a pun on asking that fits neither.
4,405 in the 1930s
#564
Johnie
4,275 in the 1930s
#599
Harley Harley is a name of Old English origin meaning "hare's meadow."
3,815 in the 1930s
#603
Garland
3,780 in the 1930s
#608
Noel Noel means Christmas, and its American peak was 2014 — the most recent peak of any name in this group by a wide margin.
3,762 in the 1930s
#620
Robbie Robbie is a unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," a diminutive of Robert.
3,588 in the 1930s
#628
Marlin
3,508 in the 1930s
#631
Gale
3,468 in the 1930s
#669
Merlin
3,043 in the 1930s
#685
Murray Murray is a boy's name of Scottish origin from Moray, the northern province, whose name means "sea settlement."
2,932 in the 1930s
#699
Alva
2,866 in the 1930s
#733
Carrol
2,624 in the 1930s
#747
Charley Charley means free man, and it is one of the few mixed names on this site — 39 percent of recorded births are female, and it is rising.
2,554 in the 1930s
#748
Avis
2,539 in the 1930s
#749
Mickey
2,536 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.