Popular names of 1933, and how old they are now

People born in 1933 turn 93 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2 million births in 1933 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 12% of them are still alive: about 230,000 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 1933: Franklin, Roosevelt and Bettye.

Top girl names of 1933

Most popular girl names of 1933
#	Name	Born 1933	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	55,517	8,600	66
2	Betty	31,531	4,900	76
3	Barbara	26,949	4,200	72
4	Dorothy	22,054	3,400	72
5	Joan	19,294	3,000	73
6	Patricia	18,632	2,900	68
7	Margaret	15,241	2,400	61
8	Helen	14,644	2,300	66
9	Shirley	14,320	2,200	75
10	Doris	12,025	1,900	75
11	Nancy	11,869	1,800	68
12	Joyce	11,191	1,700	72
13	Ruth	11,136	1,700	62
14	Jean	9,966	1,500	69
15	Virginia	9,719	1,500	66
16	Marilyn	9,126	1,400	69
17	Elizabeth	9,016	1,400	44
18	Frances	8,883	1,400	67
19	Lois	8,655	1,300	75
20	Carol	8,220	1,300	72
21	Dolores	8,022	1,200	74
22	Alice	7,697	1,200	53
23	Norma	7,482	1,200	69
24	Donna	7,360	1,100	68
25	Janet	7,342	1,100	68
26	Beverly	7,186	1,100	70
27	Martha	7,164	1,100	66
28	Phyllis	7,111	1,100	74
29	Anna	7,072	1,100	39
30	Evelyn	6,947	1,100	34
31	Gloria	6,752	1,000	66
32	Mildred	6,569	1,000	74
33	Marie	6,242	970	62
34	Ann	6,209	960	65
35	Rose	5,770	900	56
36	Peggy	5,534	860	71
37	Annie	5,123	800	54
38	Eleanor	5,106	790	30
39	Louise	5,079	790	69
40	Carolyn	5,043	780	67
41	Marjorie	5,043	780	69
42	Geraldine	4,962	770	72
43	Ruby	4,944	770	39
44	Catherine	4,908	760	54
45	June	4,677	730	54
46	Irene	4,506	700	61
47	Jane	4,377	680	62
48	Wanda	4,268	660	69
49	Florence	4,078	630	66
50	Marlene	4,045	630	63

Top boy names of 1933

Most popular boy names of 1933
#	Name	Born 1933	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	54,221	4,300	58
2	James	51,112	4,000	54
3	John	46,224	3,600	55
4	William	39,049	3,100	51
5	Richard	31,331	2,500	60
6	Charles	28,991	2,300	54
7	Donald	28,450	2,200	64
8	George	18,356	1,400	57
9	Joseph	17,162	1,300	45
10	Thomas	16,508	1,300	53
11	Edward	13,797	1,100	56
12	Ronald	12,061	950	64
13	David	12,026	940	52
14	Paul	11,854	930	57
15	Kenneth	11,410	900	57
16	Frank	10,962	860	59
17	Jack	9,838	770	34
18	Harold	9,543	750	66
19	Raymond	9,512	750	56
20	Billy	8,938	700	61
21	Walter	7,756	610	58
22	Gerald	7,422	580	64
23	Eugene	7,352	580	63
24	Henry	6,726	530	34
25	Arthur	6,525	510	54
26	Bobby	6,490	510	60
27	Joe	6,411	500	61
28	Carl	6,188	490	60
29	Ralph	6,185	490	65
30	Albert	6,091	480	57
31	Jerry	6,066	480	63
32	Willie	5,983	470	64
33	Franklin	5,363	420	49
34	Fred	5,287	420	67
35	Harry	5,134	400	62
36	Howard	4,995	390	65
37	Norman	4,959	390	64
38	Lawrence	4,911	390	60
39	Roy	4,906	390	60
40	Louis	4,695	370	52
41	Earl	4,374	340	64
42	Daniel	4,310	340	42
43	Clarence	4,280	340	62
44	Marvin	4,132	320	56
45	Francis	4,093	320	57
46	Anthony	3,974	310	40
47	Leonard	3,955	310	60
48	Roger	3,917	310	63
49	Herbert	3,685	290	65
50	Ernest	3,674	290	61

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1933, 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 1933. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1933 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this