Popular names of 1929, and how old they are now

People born in 1929 turn 97 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.2 million births in 1929 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 4% of them are still alive: about 87,000 people.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and Robert for boys. Babies born that year are in the Silent Generation (see Silent names).

4 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1929: Bennie, Jeannine, Sanford and Ofelia.

Top girl names of 1929

Most popular girl names of 1929
#	Name	Born 1929	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	63,512	3,700	66
2	Betty	36,675	2,100	76
3	Dorothy	31,476	1,800	72
4	Helen	20,983	1,200	66
5	Margaret	19,212	1,100	61
6	Doris	16,498	950	75
7	Barbara	16,038	920	72
8	Ruth	16,021	920	62
9	Shirley	14,576	840	75
10	Patricia	13,624	780	68
11	Virginia	13,234	760	66
12	Jean	11,865	680	69
13	Joan	11,666	670	73
14	Dolores	11,508	660	74
15	Elizabeth	11,248	650	44
16	Frances	11,093	640	67
17	Lois	10,295	590	75
18	Mildred	10,255	590	74
19	Evelyn	9,886	570	34
20	Anna	9,751	560	39
21	Alice	9,480	550	53
22	Marie	9,158	530	62
23	Joyce	8,596	500	72
24	Phyllis	7,995	460	74
25	Norma	7,893	450	69
26	Rose	7,785	450	56
27	Martha	7,639	440	66
28	Gloria	7,539	430	66
29	Irene	7,039	410	61
30	Marjorie	6,987	400	69
31	Louise	6,903	400	69
32	Nancy	6,872	400	68
33	Marilyn	6,731	390	69
34	Catherine	6,277	360	54
35	Florence	6,212	360	66
36	Ruby	6,153	350	39
37	Annie	5,955	340	54
38	Eleanor	5,865	340	30
39	Beverly	5,862	340	70
40	Lillian	5,712	330	29
41	Thelma	5,476	320	74
42	Lorraine	5,352	310	67
43	Geraldine	5,334	310	72
44	Gladys	5,327	310	68
45	Josephine	5,298	310	39
46	Ann	5,172	300	65
47	Donna	5,139	300	68
48	June	5,093	290	54
49	Theresa	5,068	290	61
50	Pauline	5,026	290	69

Top boy names of 1929

Most popular boy names of 1929
#	Name	Born 1929	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	59,807	1,300	58
2	James	52,135	1,100	54
3	John	52,112	1,100	55
4	William	47,815	1,000	51
5	Charles	29,930	650	54
6	Richard	29,572	640	60
7	Donald	27,181	590	64
8	George	23,020	500	57
9	Joseph	21,165	460	45
10	Edward	17,220	370	56
11	Thomas	16,272	350	53
12	Frank	12,966	280	59
13	Paul	12,431	270	57
14	Jack	12,167	260	34
15	Raymond	11,909	260	56
16	Harold	11,677	250	66
17	David	11,302	240	52
18	Kenneth	10,841	230	57
19	Walter	9,850	210	58
20	Eugene	9,046	200	63
21	Henry	8,571	190	34
22	Arthur	8,470	180	54
23	Billy	8,320	180	61
24	Albert	8,078	170	57
25	Herbert	7,881	170	65
26	Ralph	7,715	170	65
27	Harry	7,144	150	62
28	Carl	6,895	150	60
29	Willie	6,616	140	64
30	Joe	6,596	140	61
31	Howard	6,010	130	65
32	Louis	5,995	130	52
33	Gerald	5,965	130	64
34	Fred	5,856	130	67
35	Roy	5,812	130	60
36	Earl	5,737	120	64
37	Clarence	5,729	120	62
38	Lawrence	5,305	110	60
39	Francis	5,270	110	57
40	Norman	5,157	110	64
41	Alfred	4,928	110	60
42	Leonard	4,829	100	60
43	Ernest	4,753	100	61
44	Anthony	4,733	100	40
45	Ronald	4,479	under 100	64
46	Marvin	4,389	under 100	56
47	Daniel	4,366	under 100	42
48	Stanley	4,265	under 100	62
49	Melvin	4,100	under 100	59
50	Bobby	3,925	under 100	60

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1929, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of them are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables for people born in 1929. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1929 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this