Popular Names of 1931

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1931, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Marvin peaked among human males this year, at 45th.

Table 1. Female names, 1931
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	60,299	125
2	Betty	36,105	1,113
3	Dorothy	26,524	421
4	Barbara	21,804	968
5	Joan	19,119	1,087
6	Helen	17,664	462
7	Margaret	17,332	112
8	Patricia	16,469	1,336
9	Shirley	14,405	1,586
10	Doris	13,629	2,909
11	Ruth	13,132	173
12	Virginia	11,886	526
13	Jean	11,013	2,130
14	Dolores	10,807	2,567
15	Joyce	10,580	1,074
16	Elizabeth	10,292	17
17	Nancy	10,036	967
18	Frances	9,718	318
19	Marilyn	9,664	761
20	Lois	9,348	1,670

Table 2. Male names, 1931
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Robert	60,519	92
2	James	51,212	6
3	John	48,423	23
4	William	43,280	9
5	Richard	31,822	234
6	Charles	29,934	48
7	Donald	29,100	690
8	George	20,685	126
9	Joseph	19,326	29
10	Thomas	16,847	34
11	Edward	15,646	224
12	Paul	12,255	262
13	David	11,784	35
14	Kenneth	11,568	294
15	Jack	11,488	15
16	Frank	11,472	514
17	Raymond	10,854	395
18	Harold	10,695	993
19	Billy	9,264	1,068
20	Walter	8,940	252

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As recorded on the Social Security card application. Names given to fewer than five babies of a sex in a year are not published, so the file is a floor.