Popular names of 1931, and how old they are now

People born in 1931 turn 95 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.1 million births in 1931 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 7% of them are still alive: about 150,000 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).

3 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1931: Norma, Lowell and Doyle.

Top girl names of 1931

Most popular girl names of 1931
#	Name	Born 1931	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	60,299	6,000	66
2	Betty	36,105	3,600	76
3	Dorothy	26,524	2,700	72
4	Barbara	21,804	2,200	72
5	Joan	19,119	1,900	73
6	Helen	17,664	1,800	66
7	Margaret	17,332	1,700	61
8	Patricia	16,469	1,700	68
9	Shirley	14,405	1,400	75
10	Doris	13,629	1,400	75
11	Ruth	13,132	1,300	62
12	Virginia	11,886	1,200	66
13	Jean	11,013	1,100	69
14	Dolores	10,807	1,100	74
15	Joyce	10,580	1,100	72
16	Elizabeth	10,292	1,000	44
17	Nancy	10,036	1,000	68
18	Frances	9,718	970	67
19	Marilyn	9,664	970	69
20	Lois	9,348	940	75
21	Alice	8,815	880	53
22	Norma	8,759	880	69
23	Gloria	8,546	860	66
24	Evelyn	8,492	850	34
25	Anna	8,429	840	39
26	Mildred	8,169	820	74
27	Marie	7,549	760	62
28	Martha	7,481	750	66
29	Phyllis	7,213	720	74
30	Rose	6,881	690	56
31	Beverly	6,789	680	70
32	Donna	6,600	660	68
33	Louise	5,897	590	69
34	Marjorie	5,880	590	69
35	Ann	5,858	590	65
36	Catherine	5,642	570	54
37	Irene	5,616	560	61
38	Geraldine	5,413	540	72
39	Ruby	5,331	530	39
40	Eleanor	5,255	530	30
41	Annie	5,090	510	54
42	Peggy	5,076	510	71
43	Florence	5,011	500	66
44	June	5,002	500	54
45	Janet	4,948	500	68
46	Carol	4,892	490	72
47	Lillian	4,807	480	29
48	Rita	4,613	460	67
49	Lorraine	4,588	460	67
50	Jane	4,532	450	62

Top boy names of 1931

Most popular boy names of 1931
#	Name	Born 1931	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	60,519	2,700	58
2	James	51,212	2,300	54
3	John	48,423	2,100	55
4	William	43,280	1,900	51
5	Richard	31,822	1,400	60
6	Charles	29,934	1,300	54
7	Donald	29,100	1,300	64
8	George	20,685	920	57
9	Joseph	19,326	860	45
10	Thomas	16,847	750	53
11	Edward	15,646	690	56
12	Paul	12,255	540	57
13	David	11,784	520	52
14	Kenneth	11,568	510	57
15	Jack	11,488	510	34
16	Frank	11,472	510	59
17	Raymond	10,854	480	56
18	Harold	10,695	470	66
19	Billy	9,264	410	61
20	Walter	8,940	400	58
21	Eugene	8,151	360	63
22	Henry	7,805	350	34
23	Arthur	7,525	330	54
24	Albert	7,131	320	57
25	Ralph	6,960	310	65
26	Gerald	6,823	300	64
27	Ronald	6,726	300	64
28	Carl	6,583	290	60
29	Joe	6,456	290	61
30	Harry	6,045	270	62
31	Willie	5,963	260	64
32	Bobby	5,858	260	60
33	Fred	5,698	250	67
34	Howard	5,624	250	65
35	Roy	5,489	240	60
36	Norman	5,426	240	64
37	Louis	5,423	240	52
38	Lawrence	5,364	240	60
39	Clarence	5,062	220	62
40	Earl	5,047	220	64
41	Herbert	4,788	210	65
42	Francis	4,735	210	57
43	Jerry	4,371	190	63
44	Daniel	4,360	190	42
45	Marvin	4,360	190	56
46	Anthony	4,310	190	40
47	Ernest	4,298	190	61
48	Leonard	4,279	190	60
49	Stanley	4,202	190	62
50	Alfred	3,949	180	60

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1931, 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 1931. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1931 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this