US baby names · 1930

Most popular baby names of 1930

In 1930, Social Security card applications recorded 1,125,927 girls and 1,097,378 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,247 distinct girls’ names and 4,542 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (64,153 girls) and Robert (62,153 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 22% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 34% of boys. Compared with 1929, 31,129 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1929, 3 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1930 are newcomers (girls: Joanne, Patsy, Sally; boys: Eddie, Cecil). Of these names, 16 of the 100 girls’ names and 18 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1930 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

← 1929 1931 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1930

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	64,153
#2	Betty	38,240
#3	Dorothy	30,411
#4	Helen	19,913
#5	Margaret	18,350
#6	Barbara	18,279
#7	Patricia	15,751
#8	Joan	15,478
#9	Doris	15,464
#10	Ruth	14,942
#11	Shirley	14,775
#12	Virginia	13,197
#13	Dolores	12,842
#14	Jean	11,986
#15	Elizabeth	10,995
#16	Frances	10,644
#17	Lois	10,114
#18	Joyce	9,658
#19	Evelyn	9,536
#20	Alice	9,516
#21	Mildred	9,356
#22	Marilyn	9,288
#23	Anna	9,081
#24	Nancy	9,068
#25	Norma	8,511
#26	Marie	8,426
#27	Martha	7,832
#28	Phyllis	7,770
#29	Rose	7,688
#30	Gloria	7,605
#31	Louise	6,942
#32	Marjorie	6,633
#33	Irene	6,464
#34	Beverly	6,455
#35	Catherine	6,299
#36	Ruby	5,993
#37	Donna	5,978
#38	Florence	5,867
#39	Eleanor	5,823
#40	Annie	5,756
#41	Ann	5,531
#42	Rita	5,470
#43	Geraldine	5,448
#44	Lillian	5,447
#45	Thelma	5,250
#46	Lorraine	5,166
#47	June	5,094
#48	Gladys	5,066
#49	Josephine	4,988
#50	Theresa	4,783
#51	Edna	4,762
#52	Pauline	4,655
#53	Janet	4,602
#54	Carol	4,598
#55	Jane	4,575
#56	Wanda	4,524
#57	Juanita	4,512
#58	Bernice	4,439
#59	Lucille	4,327
#60	Marion	4,305
#61	Edith	4,273
#62	Grace	4,218
#63	Audrey	4,129
#64	Clara	4,124
#65	Ethel	4,101
#66	Delores	4,098
#67	Peggy	4,084
#68	Wilma	4,075
#69	Elaine	3,954
#70	Sarah	3,920
#71	Hazel	3,888
#72	Carolyn	3,725
#73	Emma	3,555
#74	Jacqueline	3,414
#75	Charlotte	3,406
#76	Beatrice	3,390
#77	Esther	3,350
#78	Bonnie	3,265
#79	Billie	3,241
#80	Marian	3,213
#81	Joanne	3,154
#82	Rosemary	3,151
#83	Anne	3,091
#84	Kathleen	3,074
#85	Katherine	3,033
#86	Eva	3,019
#87	Willie	3,018
#88	Elsie	2,973
#89	Laura	2,908
#90	Julia	2,880
#91	Vivian	2,872
#92	Jeanne	2,720
#93	Maxine	2,700
#94	Ida	2,643
#95	Bertha	2,605
#96	Gertrude	2,555
#97	Patsy	2,544
#98	Sally	2,542
#99	Maria	2,540
#100	Ellen	2,522

Top 100 boys’ names, 1930

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	Robert	62,153
#2	James	53,957
#3	John	52,447
#4	William	47,271
#5	Richard	32,187
#6	Charles	31,867
#7	Donald	29,052
#8	George	22,788
#9	Joseph	20,981
#10	Edward	17,352
#11	Thomas	17,008
#12	Paul	12,955
#13	Frank	12,535
#14	Jack	12,430
#15	David	12,275
#16	Raymond	11,714
#17	Kenneth	11,705
#18	Harold	11,660
#19	Walter	9,731
#20	Billy	9,285
#21	Eugene	9,029
#22	Henry	8,594
#23	Arthur	8,284
#24	Albert	7,950
#25	Ralph	7,634
#26	Carl	6,951
#27	Joe	6,873
#28	Harry	6,847
#29	Willie	6,667
#30	Gerald	6,483
#31	Howard	6,341
#32	Fred	6,049
#33	Roy	5,917
#34	Louis	5,810
#35	Herbert	5,675
#36	Lawrence	5,639
#37	Ronald	5,635
#38	Earl	5,567
#39	Clarence	5,498
#40	Norman	5,289
#41	Bobby	5,181
#42	Francis	4,990
#43	Ernest	4,787
#44	Anthony	4,674
#45	Leonard	4,662
#46	Alfred	4,558
#47	Daniel	4,465
#48	Marvin	4,404
#49	Stanley	4,383
#50	Melvin	4,048
#51	Jerry	3,891
#52	Bernard	3,831
#53	Leroy	3,802
#54	Michael	3,543
#55	Samuel	3,531
#56	Peter	3,266
#57	Ray	3,254
#58	Roger	3,246
#59	Bill	3,160
#60	Russell	3,101
#61	Floyd	3,077
#62	Andrew	3,056
#63	Leo	3,035
#64	Dale	2,994
#65	Wayne	2,981
#66	Edwin	2,972
#67	Theodore	2,958
#68	Don	2,922
#69	Lloyd	2,838
#70	Gene	2,787
#71	Glenn	2,758
#72	Vernon	2,703
#73	Clifford	2,696
#74	Frederick	2,694
#75	Philip	2,655
#76	Clyde	2,631
#77	Gordon	2,611
#78	Herman	2,598
#79	Alvin	2,512
#80	Elmer	2,476
#81	Leon	2,401
#82	Lee	2,361
#83	Martin	2,322
#84	Vincent	2,318
#85	Allen	2,278
#86	Jimmie	2,255
#87	Lewis	2,243
#88	Bob	2,242
#89	Douglas	2,166
#90	Gilbert	2,119
#91	Charlie	2,113
#92	Harvey	2,062
#93	Milton	2,053
#94	Jesse	2,035
#95	Lester	2,020
#96	Warren	2,011
#97	Eddie	1,972
#98	Arnold	1,948
#99	Cecil	1,882
#100	Victor	1,844