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.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#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
#52
Joe Joe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," a short form of Joseph that has become the English word for an ordinary person.
73,887 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
#54
Bobby Bobby is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
71,663 in the 1930s
#55
Eugene Eugene is a boy's name from the Greek for well-born, and it is the source of the word eugenics — a connection worth knowing, since the name long predates and has nothing to do with that movement.
71,411 in the 1930s
#56
Henry Henry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler," from heim, meaning home or estate, and ric, meaning ruler or power.
71,062 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
#60
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
68,275 in the 1930s
#61
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
67,170 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
#64
Larry Larry is a boy's name, the short form of Lawrence, from a Roman name meaning of Laurentum.
65,501 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
#66
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
64,113 in the 1930s
#67
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
63,188 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
#71
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
56,496 in the 1930s
#72
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
56,385 in the 1930s
#73
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
54,758 in the 1930s
#74
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
53,397 in the 1930s
#75
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
51,876 in the 1930s
#76
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
51,788 in the 1930s
#77
Norman Norman means a Northman — a Viking.
50,291 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
#82
Roger Roger is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning famous spear.
49,827 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
#86
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
48,205 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
#88
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
48,140 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
#92
Earl Earl is a boy's name taken from the English noble title, and it is the only rank in the British peerage with a native English name rather than a French one.
45,014 in the 1930s
#93
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
44,960 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
#95
Gary Gary is a boy's name that reached the charts by an unusually traceable route: a surname became a steel town in Indiana, the town's name was given to an actor, and the actor made it a first name.
43,816 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.