Popular names of 1936, and how old they are now

People born in 1936 turn 90 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.1 million births in 1936 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 21% of them are still alive: about 430,000 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 1936: Joe, Marlene, Rosemarie and Claudette.

Top girl names of 1936

Most popular girl names of 1936
#	Name	Born 1936	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	54,377	14,000	66
2	Shirley	35,161	9,200	75
3	Barbara	31,682	8,300	72
4	Betty	25,868	6,800	76
5	Patricia	23,916	6,200	68
6	Dorothy	17,666	4,600	72
7	Joan	17,072	4,500	73
8	Nancy	16,755	4,400	68
9	Margaret	14,596	3,800	61
10	Carol	14,520	3,800	72
11	Helen	12,234	3,200	66
12	Joyce	11,988	3,100	72
13	Marilyn	11,064	2,900	69
14	Virginia	9,650	2,500	66
15	Doris	9,226	2,400	75
16	Ruth	9,217	2,400	62
17	Beverly	8,901	2,300	70
18	Elizabeth	8,860	2,300	44
19	Frances	8,789	2,300	67
20	Jean	8,536	2,200	69
21	Janet	8,080	2,100	68
22	Donna	7,932	2,100	68
23	Carolyn	7,906	2,100	67
24	Martha	7,392	1,900	66
25	Phyllis	7,374	1,900	74
26	Lois	7,232	1,900	75
27	Alice	7,201	1,900	53
28	Ann	6,666	1,700	65
29	Norma	6,633	1,700	69
30	Dolores	6,417	1,700	74
31	Janice	6,150	1,600	70
32	Gloria	6,140	1,600	66
33	Marie	6,132	1,600	62
34	Evelyn	6,108	1,600	34
35	Peggy	6,068	1,600	71
36	Anna	5,727	1,500	39
37	Rose	5,699	1,500	56
38	Sandra	5,526	1,400	66
39	Marlene	5,332	1,400	63
40	Mildred	5,051	1,300	74
41	Geraldine	4,864	1,300	72
42	Jane	4,719	1,200	62
43	Judith	4,580	1,200	72
44	Catherine	4,537	1,200	54
45	Annie	4,529	1,200	54
46	Louise	4,355	1,100	69
47	Eleanor	4,341	1,100	30
48	Joanne	4,305	1,100	68
49	Marjorie	4,279	1,100	69
50	Elaine	4,259	1,100	64

Top boy names of 1936

Most popular boy names of 1936
#	Name	Born 1936	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	58,500	8,900	58
2	James	54,694	8,400	54
3	John	47,683	7,300	55
4	William	39,398	6,000	51
5	Richard	33,494	5,100	60
6	Charles	29,101	4,400	54
7	Donald	28,639	4,400	64
8	Thomas	18,342	2,800	53
9	George	18,197	2,800	57
10	David	17,476	2,700	52
11	Joseph	17,453	2,700	45
12	Ronald	16,917	2,600	64
13	Edward	14,194	2,200	56
14	Kenneth	12,486	1,900	57
15	Paul	12,307	1,900	57
16	Frank	10,186	1,600	59
17	Raymond	9,459	1,400	56
18	Jerry	9,271	1,400	63
19	Gerald	9,018	1,400	64
20	Jack	8,857	1,400	34
21	Harold	8,628	1,300	66
22	Billy	8,587	1,300	61
23	Joe	8,023	1,200	61
24	Bobby	7,735	1,200	60
25	Larry	7,611	1,200	65
26	Walter	7,536	1,200	58
27	Carl	6,591	1,000	60
28	Henry	6,447	980	34
29	Eugene	6,376	970	63
30	Arthur	6,264	960	54
31	Ralph	6,029	920	65
32	Willie	6,011	920	64
33	Michael	5,800	890	49
34	Albert	5,759	880	57
35	Roger	5,702	870	63
36	Fred	5,602	860	67
37	Lawrence	5,339	820	60
38	Gary	5,192	790	65
39	Harry	4,931	750	62
40	Howard	4,874	740	65
41	Daniel	4,817	740	42
42	Roy	4,815	740	60
43	Norman	4,645	710	64
44	Louis	4,418	680	52
45	Wayne	4,409	670	63
46	Jimmy	4,214	640	57
47	Earl	4,106	630	64
48	Anthony	3,978	610	40
49	Marvin	3,936	600	56
50	Francis	3,876	590	57

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1936, 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 1936. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1936 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this