Birth year roster

Top names in 1931

Name: Top baby names in 1931
Creator: Social Security Administration

The names most likely to appear on 1931 birth certificates, ranked by SSA records.

Mary and Robert led the 1931 baby-name charts, a pair that captures the naming culture of mid-century America — a timeless classic that had dominated since the 1880s and Robert, a perennial powerhouse that would anchor the decade. The full top 25 below reveals which names defined the 1931 classroom and how many have since faded or endured.

Explore the 1930s decade

Girls

#1Mary60,299
#2Betty36,105
#3Dorothy26,524
#4Barbara21,804
#5Joan19,119
#6Helen17,664
#7Margaret17,332
#8Patricia16,469
#9Shirley14,405
#10Doris13,629
#11Ruth13,132
#12Virginia11,886
#13Jean11,013
#14Dolores10,807
#15Joyce10,580
#16Elizabeth10,292
#17Nancy10,036
#18Frances9,718
#19Marilyn9,664
#20Lois9,348
#21Alice8,815
#22Norma8,759
#23Gloria8,546
#24Evelyn8,492
#25Anna8,429

Boys

#1Robert60,519
#2James51,212
#3John48,423
#4William43,280
#5Richard31,822
#6Charles29,934
#7Donald29,100
#8George20,685
#9Joseph19,326
#10Thomas16,847
#11Edward15,646
#12Paul12,255
#13David11,784
#14Kenneth11,568
#15Jack11,488
#16Frank11,472
#17Raymond10,854
#18Harold10,695
#19Billy9,264
#20Walter8,940
#21Eugene8,151
#22Henry7,805
#23Arthur7,525
#24Albert7,131
#25Ralph6,960