US baby names · 1936

Most popular baby names of 1936

In 1936, Social Security card applications recorded 1,040,390 girls and 1,037,205 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 4,856 distinct girls’ names and 4,037 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (54,377 girls) and Robert (58,500 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 24% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 33% of boys. Compared with 1935, 12,333 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1935, 4 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1936 are newcomers (girls: Jeanette, Linda, Kay; boys: Stephen, Patrick). Of these names, 14 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 1936 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1935 1937 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1936

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	54,377
#2	Shirley	35,161
#3	Barbara	31,682
#4	Betty	25,868
#5	Patricia	23,916
#6	Dorothy	17,666
#7	Joan	17,072
#8	Nancy	16,755
#9	Margaret	14,596
#10	Carol	14,520
#11	Helen	12,234
#12	Joyce	11,988
#13	Marilyn	11,064
#14	Virginia	9,650
#15	Doris	9,226
#16	Ruth	9,217
#17	Beverly	8,901
#18	Elizabeth	8,860
#19	Frances	8,789
#20	Jean	8,536
#21	Janet	8,080
#22	Donna	7,932
#23	Carolyn	7,906
#24	Martha	7,392
#25	Phyllis	7,374
#26	Lois	7,232
#27	Alice	7,201
#28	Ann	6,666
#29	Norma	6,633
#30	Dolores	6,417
#31	Janice	6,150
#32	Gloria	6,140
#33	Marie	6,132
#34	Evelyn	6,108
#35	Peggy	6,068
#36	Anna	5,727
#37	Rose	5,699
#38	Sandra	5,526
#39	Marlene	5,332
#40	Mildred	5,051
#41	Geraldine	4,864
#42	Jane	4,719
#43	Judith	4,580
#44	Catherine	4,537
#45	Annie	4,529
#46	Louise	4,355
#47	Eleanor	4,341
#48	Joanne	4,305
#49	Marjorie	4,279
#50	Elaine	4,259
#51	Ruby	4,226
#52	Patsy	4,196
#53	Sylvia	4,156
#54	Arlene	3,898
#55	Joann	3,886
#56	Wanda	3,882
#57	Irene	3,817
#58	Delores	3,760
#59	Sally	3,635
#60	Sharon	3,573
#61	Charlotte	3,555
#62	June	3,515
#63	Sarah	3,515
#64	Roberta	3,467
#65	Bonnie	3,374
#66	Jacqueline	3,362
#67	Kathleen	3,352
#68	Audrey	3,345
#69	Rita	3,334
#70	Loretta	3,325
#71	Edna	3,305
#72	Jo	3,292
#73	Carole	3,199
#74	Thelma	3,196
#75	Juanita	3,183
#76	Lorraine	3,167
#77	Josephine	3,141
#78	Wilma	3,123
#79	Lillian	3,117
#80	Florence	3,083
#81	Yvonne	3,038
#82	Pauline	2,981
#83	Darlene	2,962
#84	Gladys	2,944
#85	Emma	2,831
#86	Grace	2,791
#87	Edith	2,759
#88	Theresa	2,758
#89	Anne	2,756
#90	Ethel	2,730
#91	Clara	2,684
#92	Lucille	2,632
#93	Marion	2,580
#94	Jeanette	2,552
#95	Bernice	2,540
#96	Hazel	2,512
#97	Linda	2,440
#98	Kay	2,408
#99	Ellen	2,398
#100	Katherine	2,355

Top 100 boys’ names, 1936

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	Robert	58,500
#2	James	54,694
#3	John	47,683
#4	William	39,398
#5	Richard	33,494
#6	Charles	29,101
#7	Donald	28,639
#8	Thomas	18,342
#9	George	18,197
#10	David	17,476
#11	Joseph	17,453
#12	Ronald	16,917
#13	Edward	14,194
#14	Kenneth	12,486
#15	Paul	12,307
#16	Frank	10,186
#17	Raymond	9,459
#18	Jerry	9,271
#19	Gerald	9,018
#20	Jack	8,857
#21	Harold	8,628
#22	Billy	8,587
#23	Joe	8,023
#24	Bobby	7,735
#25	Larry	7,611
#26	Walter	7,536
#27	Carl	6,591
#28	Henry	6,447
#29	Eugene	6,376
#30	Arthur	6,264
#31	Ralph	6,029
#32	Willie	6,011
#33	Michael	5,800
#34	Albert	5,759
#35	Roger	5,702
#36	Fred	5,602
#37	Lawrence	5,339
#38	Gary	5,192
#39	Harry	4,931
#40	Howard	4,874
#41	Daniel	4,817
#42	Roy	4,815
#43	Norman	4,645
#44	Louis	4,418
#45	Wayne	4,409
#46	Jimmy	4,214
#47	Earl	4,106
#48	Anthony	3,978
#49	Marvin	3,936
#50	Francis	3,876
#51	Don	3,830
#52	Clarence	3,772
#53	Melvin	3,730
#54	Leonard	3,716
#55	Ernest	3,715
#56	Peter	3,714
#57	Leroy	3,642
#58	Stanley	3,492
#59	Dale	3,393
#60	Alfred	3,253
#61	Bill	3,166
#62	Herbert	3,117
#63	Philip	3,033
#64	Franklin	2,939
#65	Ray	2,939
#66	Gene	2,909
#67	Samuel	2,893
#68	Bernard	2,853
#69	Russell	2,832
#70	Frederick	2,817
#71	Jimmie	2,742
#72	Johnny	2,729
#73	Bruce	2,630
#74	Dennis	2,627
#75	Gordon	2,567
#76	Lee	2,418
#77	Bob	2,408
#78	Douglas	2,374
#79	Eddie	2,347
#80	Glenn	2,328
#81	Allen	2,314
#82	Leon	2,282
#83	Andrew	2,276
#84	Edwin	2,271
#85	Jim	2,268
#86	Floyd	2,228
#87	Theodore	2,219
#88	Lloyd	2,160
#89	Clyde	2,153
#90	Clifford	2,132
#91	Tommy	2,108
#92	Martin	2,106
#93	Vernon	2,028
#94	Leo	2,017
#95	Warren	1,976
#96	Alvin	1,970
#97	Harvey	1,970
#98	Jerome	1,967
#99	Stephen	1,862
#100	Patrick	1,856