Popular names of 1930, and how old they are now

People born in 1930 turn 96 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.2 million births in 1930 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 6% of them are still alive: about 120,000 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).

7 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1930: Betty, Dolores, Geraldine, Billie, Gilbert, Myron and Josefina.

Top girl names of 1930

Most popular girl names of 1930
#	Name	Born 1930	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	64,153	4,900	66
2	Betty	38,240	2,900	76
3	Dorothy	30,411	2,300	72
4	Helen	19,913	1,500	66
5	Margaret	18,350	1,400	61
6	Barbara	18,279	1,400	72
7	Patricia	15,751	1,200	68
8	Joan	15,478	1,200	73
9	Doris	15,464	1,200	75
10	Ruth	14,942	1,200	62
11	Shirley	14,775	1,100	75
12	Virginia	13,197	1,000	66
13	Dolores	12,842	990	74
14	Jean	11,986	920	69
15	Elizabeth	10,995	850	44
16	Frances	10,644	820	67
17	Lois	10,114	780	75
18	Joyce	9,658	740	72
19	Evelyn	9,536	730	34
20	Alice	9,516	730	53
21	Mildred	9,356	720	74
22	Marilyn	9,288	720	69
23	Anna	9,081	700	39
24	Nancy	9,068	700	68
25	Norma	8,511	660	69
26	Marie	8,426	650	62
27	Martha	7,832	600	66
28	Phyllis	7,770	600	74
29	Rose	7,688	590	56
30	Gloria	7,605	590	66
31	Louise	6,942	540	69
32	Marjorie	6,633	510	69
33	Irene	6,464	500	61
34	Beverly	6,455	500	70
35	Catherine	6,299	490	54
36	Ruby	5,993	460	39
37	Donna	5,978	460	68
38	Florence	5,867	450	66
39	Eleanor	5,823	450	30
40	Annie	5,756	440	54
41	Ann	5,531	430	65
42	Rita	5,470	420	67
43	Geraldine	5,448	420	72
44	Lillian	5,447	420	29
45	Thelma	5,250	400	74
46	Lorraine	5,166	400	67
47	June	5,094	390	54
48	Gladys	5,066	390	68
49	Josephine	4,988	380	39
50	Theresa	4,783	370	61

Top boy names of 1930

Most popular boy names of 1930
#	Name	Born 1930	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	62,153	2,000	58
2	James	53,957	1,700	54
3	John	52,447	1,700	55
4	William	47,271	1,500	51
5	Richard	32,187	1,000	60
6	Charles	31,867	1,000	54
7	Donald	29,052	920	64
8	George	22,788	720	57
9	Joseph	20,981	660	45
10	Edward	17,352	550	56
11	Thomas	17,008	540	53
12	Paul	12,955	410	57
13	Frank	12,535	400	59
14	Jack	12,430	390	34
15	David	12,275	390	52
16	Raymond	11,714	370	56
17	Kenneth	11,705	370	57
18	Harold	11,660	370	66
19	Walter	9,731	310	58
20	Billy	9,285	290	61
21	Eugene	9,029	290	63
22	Henry	8,594	270	34
23	Arthur	8,284	260	54
24	Albert	7,950	250	57
25	Ralph	7,634	240	65
26	Carl	6,951	220	60
27	Joe	6,873	220	61
28	Harry	6,847	220	62
29	Willie	6,667	210	64
30	Gerald	6,483	200	64
31	Howard	6,341	200	65
32	Fred	6,049	190	67
33	Roy	5,917	190	60
34	Louis	5,810	180	52
35	Herbert	5,675	180	65
36	Lawrence	5,639	180	60
37	Ronald	5,635	180	64
38	Earl	5,567	180	64
39	Clarence	5,498	170	62
40	Norman	5,289	170	64
41	Bobby	5,181	160	60
42	Francis	4,990	160	57
43	Ernest	4,787	150	61
44	Anthony	4,674	150	40
45	Leonard	4,662	150	60
46	Alfred	4,558	140	60
47	Daniel	4,465	140	42
48	Marvin	4,404	140	56
49	Stanley	4,383	140	62
50	Melvin	4,048	130	59

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1930, 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 1930. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1930 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this