Popular names of 1934, and how old they are now

People born in 1934 turn 92 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.1 million births in 1934 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 14% of them are still alive: about 300,000 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 1934: Donald, Billy, Arlene, Jimmie, Bobbie, Dick and Lavon.

Top girl names of 1934

Most popular girl names of 1934
#	Name	Born 1934	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	56,929	11,000	66
2	Betty	31,089	5,800	76
3	Barbara	29,239	5,500	72
4	Shirley	22,841	4,300	75
5	Dorothy	21,281	4,000	72
6	Patricia	20,844	3,900	68
7	Joan	19,465	3,600	73
8	Margaret	15,144	2,800	61
9	Helen	14,100	2,600	66
10	Nancy	13,520	2,500	68
11	Doris	11,627	2,200	75
12	Joyce	11,459	2,100	72
13	Ruth	10,565	2,000	62
14	Carol	10,273	1,900	72
15	Virginia	10,002	1,900	66
16	Jean	9,718	1,800	69
17	Marilyn	9,382	1,800	69
18	Elizabeth	9,346	1,700	44
19	Frances	9,206	1,700	67
20	Lois	8,387	1,600	75
21	Janet	8,071	1,500	68
22	Beverly	7,886	1,500	70
23	Donna	7,870	1,500	68
24	Norma	7,788	1,500	69
25	Alice	7,784	1,500	53
26	Dolores	7,689	1,400	74
27	Martha	7,604	1,400	66
28	Phyllis	7,180	1,300	74
29	Evelyn	6,983	1,300	34
30	Gloria	6,813	1,300	66
31	Anna	6,680	1,300	39
32	Ann	6,641	1,200	65
33	Carolyn	6,472	1,200	67
34	Marie	6,326	1,200	62
35	Mildred	6,180	1,200	74
36	Peggy	6,027	1,100	71
37	Rose	5,583	1,000	56
38	Annie	5,018	940	54
39	Ruby	4,978	930	39
40	Louise	4,973	930	69
41	Marjorie	4,972	930	69
42	Catherine	4,933	920	54
43	Geraldine	4,837	910	72
44	Eleanor	4,718	880	30
45	Joanne	4,543	850	68
46	June	4,387	820	54
47	Wanda	4,368	820	69
48	Jane	4,358	820	62
49	Irene	4,346	810	61
50	Joann	4,149	780	68

Top boy names of 1934

Most popular boy names of 1934
#	Name	Born 1934	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	55,843	5,600	58
2	James	54,270	5,400	54
3	John	46,743	4,700	55
4	William	40,175	4,000	51
5	Richard	33,167	3,300	60
6	Donald	30,408	3,000	64
7	Charles	29,790	3,000	54
8	George	18,500	1,800	57
9	Thomas	17,373	1,700	53
10	Joseph	17,111	1,700	45
11	Ronald	14,088	1,400	64
12	David	14,003	1,400	52
13	Edward	13,917	1,400	56
14	Paul	12,196	1,200	57
15	Kenneth	11,800	1,200	57
16	Frank	10,640	1,100	59
17	Jack	9,985	1000	34
18	Harold	9,926	990	66
19	Raymond	9,588	960	56
20	Billy	9,562	950	61
21	Walter	8,092	810	58
22	Gerald	7,816	780	64
23	Bobby	7,532	750	60
24	Eugene	7,145	710	63
25	Jerry	7,134	710	63
26	Joe	7,090	710	61
27	Henry	6,735	670	34
28	Carl	6,683	670	60
29	Arthur	6,443	640	54
30	Willie	6,348	630	64
31	Ralph	6,282	630	65
32	Albert	6,003	600	57
33	Fred	5,466	550	67
34	Lawrence	5,324	530	60
35	Roy	5,104	510	60
36	Harry	5,099	510	62
37	Howard	5,068	510	65
38	Norman	4,989	500	64
39	Roger	4,766	480	63
40	Louis	4,682	470	52
41	Earl	4,628	460	64
42	Daniel	4,502	450	42
43	Larry	4,474	450	65
44	Marvin	4,217	420	56
45	Clarence	4,213	420	62
46	Franklin	4,156	410	49
47	Michael	4,108	410	49
48	Wayne	4,035	400	63
49	Francis	4,006	400	57
50	Don	3,926	390	65

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1934, 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 1934. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1934 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this