babynamepicker

Boy Names of the 1930s

The 100 most common boy names given in the United States during the 1930s, by the number of children recorded with each name across those years.

All 100 names

  1. Robert 590,810
  2. James 547,479
  3. John 487,950
  4. William 416,730
  5. Richard 330,502
  6. Charles 303,218
  7. Donald 283,718
  8. George 192,289
  9. Thomas 183,878
  10. Joseph 180,566
  11. David 164,701
  12. Edward 147,849
  13. Ronald 140,332
  14. Paul 125,774
  15. Kenneth 125,111
  16. Frank 108,090
  17. Raymond 99,585
  18. Jack 96,396
  19. Harold 95,467
  20. Billy 88,341
  21. Gerald 82,821
  22. Walter 80,908
  23. Jerry 80,690
  24. Joe 71,470
  25. Eugene 70,938
  26. Henry 70,419
  27. Bobby 69,419
  28. Arthur 67,730
  29. Carl 66,759
  30. Larry 65,249
  31. Ralph 63,802
  32. Albert 62,829
  33. Willie 62,466
  34. Fred 56,164
  35. Michael 56,001
  36. Lawrence 54,485
  37. Harry 53,115
  38. Howard 51,495
  39. Roy 51,495
  40. Norman 49,987
  41. Roger 49,615
  42. Daniel 47,998
  43. Louis 47,754
  44. Earl 44,613
  45. Gary 43,596
  46. Clarence 42,676
  47. Anthony 42,546
  48. Francis 41,384
  49. Wayne 41,141
  50. Marvin 41,085
  51. Ernest 39,346
  52. Leonard 39,214
  53. Herbert 37,821
  54. Melvin 37,705
  55. Stanley 37,130
  56. Leroy 36,255
  57. Don 35,980
  58. Peter 35,822
  59. Jimmy 35,399
  60. Alfred 34,392
  61. Dale 32,536
  62. Bill 32,338
  63. Samuel 32,135
  64. Bernard 30,545
  65. Ray 30,211
  66. Gene 29,313
  67. Philip 28,847
  68. Russell 28,840
  69. Frederick 26,602
  70. Franklin 26,381
  71. Dennis 26,366
  72. Douglas 26,031
  73. Jimmie 25,813
  74. Gordon 25,460
  75. Andrew 25,025
  76. Theodore 24,957
  77. Floyd 24,887
  78. Johnny 24,596
  79. Allen 24,356
  80. Glenn 24,222
  81. Bruce 24,119
  82. Edwin 24,023
  83. Lee 23,954
  84. Lloyd 23,799
  85. Bob 23,293
  86. Clifford 23,100
  87. Leon 23,005
  88. Leo 22,864
  89. Clyde 22,452
  90. Eddie 22,328
  91. Vernon 22,197
  92. Martin 21,927
  93. Alvin 21,484
  94. Jim 20,823
  95. Herman 20,319
  96. Lewis 20,017
  97. Harvey 19,906
  98. Tommy 19,857
  99. Vincent 19,407
  100. Charlie 19,154

How 1930s boy names compare

Robert was the most common boy name of the 1930s, given to 590,810 boys across those years, with James, John, William and Richard behind it. The hundredth name on the list, Charlie, accounts for 19,154. Between them the hundred names cover 7,795,989 births. Robert was number one in every one of those ten years.

83 of these names were also in the 1920s top 100, and 17 were not. 18 are still in the 2025 top 100 — Robert, James, John, William, Charles, Thomas, Joseph and David, among others — and 39 are inside the top 500.

Those hundred names cover 73.8% of all boys born in the 1930s — 7,795,989 of 10,566,534 — and Robert alone accounts for 5.6% of them. The hundred most common names of 2025 take 38.0% between them, so naming has spread wider since. Every one of the hundred was already in the record before the 1930s began.

Questions about 1930s boy names

What was the most popular boy name of the 1930s?

Robert, given to 590,810 boys across those years. The next two were James and John.

Are 1930s boy names still used today?

18 of the hundred are in the 2025 top 100: Robert, James, John, William, Charles, Thomas, Joseph and David, among others.