The Most Popular Baby Names of the 1930's



The Most Popular Baby Names of the 1930s Find more genealogy blogs at FamilyTree.comHas someone in your family announced a pregnancy? Chances are, the parents are being asked two important questions. Is the baby a boy or a girl? What are you going to name your baby? The answer to the second question can be a tough one. The popularity of specific baby names changes over the years.

FindMyPast is a British-owned world leader in genealogy. It has 18 million users across its family of brands. Those brands include Mocavo, Genes Reunited, and The British Newspaper Archive.

In August of 2015, the Office of National Statistics released their annual list of the most popular British baby names. It is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and is the recognized statistical institute for the UK.

The Office of National Statistics is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population, and society at national, regional and local levels. It also conducts the census in England and Wales every ten years.

The names at the top of the list were Amelia and Oliver. There were 5,327 baby girls in the UK who were given the name Amelia in 2015. There were 6.649 baby boys in the UK who were given the name Oliver that same year.

FindMyPast is working on research for the 1939 Register project. As part of their research, they have been able to access information from The National Archives. Among the things they found was an “Alphabetical List of Christian Names Commonly Used in England and Wales”. The list comes from the 1930’s.

You can find the name Oliver, and the name Amelia, on the list. Some of the other 1930’s baby names on the list are currently making a comeback. In addition, there are several names that you might not expect to see. Many have fallen out of style over the years.

Boys names that are on the list, and have since fallen out of style, include: Ebenezer, Wyn, Ulysses, Octavian, Montague, Hubert, Algernon, and Fulke. Girls names from the list that have since fallen out of style include: Queenie, Thomasine, Winifred, Gaynor, Elwen, Blanche, Kezia, and Griselda.

Nameberry put together a list of the most popular baby names of the 1930’s. The names were listed in alphabetical order, instead of in order of most popular to least popular.

The most popular girls names in the 1930’s were: Barbara, Betty, Beverly, Carol, Carolyn, Dolores, Geraldine, Gloria, Janet, Janice, Joan, Joyce, Judith, Marilyn, Nancy, Norma, Patricia, Peggy, Phyllis, Sandra, Shirley, and Wanda.

The most popular boys names in the 1930’s were: Billy, Bobby, Clarence, Donald, Earl, Edward, Eugene, Francis, Gary, George, Gerald, Harold, Howard, Kenneth, Larry, Marvin, Roger, Ronald, Roy, Wayne, and Willie.

Image by Smabs Sputzer on Flickr.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Inappropriate Baby Names

* Ranking of Popular Given Names

* An Ancestor’s Given Name

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