babynamepicker

Girl Names of the 1930s

The 100 most common girl 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. Mary 573,000
  2. Betty 300,409
  3. Barbara 296,420
  4. Shirley 229,380
  5. Patricia 220,582
  6. Dorothy 210,415
  7. Joan 173,439
  8. Margaret 157,369
  9. Nancy 142,488
  10. Helen 140,426
  11. Carol 117,731
  12. Joyce 115,506
  13. Doris 110,658
  14. Ruth 109,204
  15. Virginia 103,089
  16. Marilyn 98,531
  17. Elizabeth 96,480
  18. Jean 94,189
  19. Frances 92,117
  20. Beverly 80,846
  21. Lois 80,713
  22. Alice 78,968
  23. Donna 78,846
  24. Martha 77,697
  25. Dolores 77,139
  26. Janet 76,038
  27. Phyllis 73,805
  28. Norma 72,878
  29. Carolyn 69,525
  30. Evelyn 69,364
  31. Gloria 68,588
  32. Anna 66,598
  33. Marie 65,803
  34. Ann 64,060
  35. Mildred 61,738
  36. Rose 59,111
  37. Peggy 56,275
  38. Geraldine 50,042
  39. Catherine 50,027
  40. Judith 49,904
  41. Louise 49,859
  42. Janice 49,343
  43. Marjorie 49,213
  44. Annie 48,946
  45. Ruby 47,648
  46. Eleanor 46,379
  47. Jane 45,814
  48. Sandra 45,399
  49. Irene 44,448
  50. Wanda 43,072
  51. Elaine 41,108
  52. June 40,745
  53. Joanne 40,581
  54. Rita 38,741
  55. Florence 37,942
  56. Delores 37,603
  57. Lillian 37,391
  58. Marlene 37,355
  59. Edna 36,973
  60. Sarah 36,513
  61. Patsy 36,475
  62. Lorraine 36,333
  63. Thelma 36,254
  64. Josephine 36,051
  65. Juanita 35,915
  66. Bonnie 35,803
  67. Arlene 34,796
  68. Gladys 34,762
  69. Joann 34,698
  70. Sally 34,680
  71. Charlotte 34,646
  72. Kathleen 34,550
  73. Audrey 34,007
  74. Pauline 33,690
  75. Wilma 33,188
  76. Sylvia 33,011
  77. Theresa 32,785
  78. Jacqueline 32,115
  79. Clara 31,658
  80. Ethel 31,582
  81. Loretta 31,537
  82. Grace 31,357
  83. Sharon 31,083
  84. Edith 31,047
  85. Lucille 30,843
  86. Emma 30,022
  87. Bernice 29,905
  88. Marion 29,565
  89. Linda 29,358
  90. Jo 28,653
  91. Anne 28,621
  92. Hazel 28,567
  93. Roberta 27,731
  94. Carole 26,768
  95. Darlene 25,956
  96. Esther 25,791
  97. Katherine 25,193
  98. Ellen 25,139
  99. Laura 25,093
  100. Julia 24,938

How 1930s girl names compare

Mary was the most common girl name of the 1930s, given to 573,000 girls across those years, with Betty, Barbara, Shirley and Patricia behind it. The hundredth name on the list, Julia, accounts for 24,938. Between them the hundred names cover 6,918,637 births. Mary was number one in every one of those ten years.

75 of these names were also in the 1920s top 100, and 25 were not. 14 are still in the 2025 top 100 — Elizabeth, Alice, Evelyn, Ruby, Eleanor, Lillian, Sarah and Josephine, among others — and 36 are inside the top 500.

Those hundred names cover 64.9% of all girls born in the 1930s — 6,918,637 of 10,663,028 — and Mary alone accounts for 5.4% of them. The hundred most common names of 2025 take 31.5% 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 girl names

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

Mary, given to 573,000 girls across those years. The next two were Betty and Barbara.

Are 1930s girl names still used today?

14 of the hundred are in the 2025 top 100: Elizabeth, Alice, Evelyn, Ruby, Eleanor, Lillian, Sarah and Josephine, among others.