Birth year roster

Top names in 1931

Name: Top baby names in 1931
Creator: Social Security Administration

The names most likely to appear on 1931 birth certificates, ranked by SSA records.

Mary and Robert led the 1931 baby-name charts, a pair that captures the naming culture of mid-century America — a timeless classic that had dominated since the 1880s and Robert, a perennial powerhouse that would anchor the decade. The full top 25 below reveals which names defined the 1931 classroom and how many have since faded or endured.

Girls

#1Mary60,299
#2Betty36,105
#3Dorothy26,524
#4Barbara21,804
#5Joan19,119
#6Helen17,664
#7Margaret17,332
#8Patricia16,469
#9Shirley14,405
#10Doris13,629
#11Ruth13,132
#12Virginia11,886
#13Jean11,013
#14Dolores10,807
#15Joyce10,580
#16Elizabeth10,292
#17Nancy10,036
#18Frances9,718
#19Marilyn9,664
#20Lois9,348
#21Alice8,815
#22Norma8,759
#23Gloria8,546
#24Evelyn8,492
#25Anna8,429

Boys

#1Robert60,519
#2James51,212
#3John48,423
#4William43,280
#5Richard31,822
#6Charles29,934
#7Donald29,100
#8George20,685
#9Joseph19,326
#10Thomas16,847
#11Edward15,646
#12Paul12,255
#13David11,784
#14Kenneth11,568
#15Jack11,488
#16Frank11,472
#17Raymond10,854
#18Harold10,695
#19Billy9,264
#20Walter8,940
#21Eugene8,151
#22Henry7,805
#23Arthur7,525
#24Albert7,131
#25Ralph6,960