Popular Names of 1934

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1934, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Bob peaked among human males this year, at 75th.

Table 1. Female names, 1934
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	56,929	125
2	Betty	31,089	1,113
3	Barbara	29,239	968
4	Shirley	22,841	1,586
5	Dorothy	21,281	421
6	Patricia	20,844	1,336
7	Joan	19,465	1,087
8	Margaret	15,144	112
9	Helen	14,100	462
10	Nancy	13,520	967
11	Doris	11,627	2,909
12	Joyce	11,459	1,074
13	Ruth	10,565	173
14	Carol	10,273	2,242
15	Virginia	10,002	526
16	Jean	9,718	2,130
17	Marilyn	9,382	761
18	Elizabeth	9,346	17
19	Frances	9,206	318
20	Lois	8,387	1,670

Table 2. Male names, 1934
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Robert	55,843	92
2	James	54,270	6
3	John	46,743	23
4	William	40,175	9
5	Richard	33,167	234
6	Donald	30,408	690
7	Charles	29,790	48
8	George	18,500	126
9	Thomas	17,373	34
10	Joseph	17,111	29
11	Ronald	14,088	638
12	David	14,003	35
13	Edward	13,917	224
14	Paul	12,196	262
15	Kenneth	11,800	294
16	Frank	10,640	514
17	Jack	9,985	15
18	Harold	9,926	993
19	Raymond	9,588	395
20	Billy	9,562	1,068

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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.