Most popular baby names of 1936

Looking at American baby name trends in 1936 compared to 1935, we see remarkable consistency at the top of the charts. The top three names for both boys and girls remained exactly the same year-over-year, with Robert, James, and John continuing their dominance for boys, while Mary, Shirley, and Barbara held steady as the premier choices for girls. This stability reflects the enduring popularity of these classic names during the mid-1930s.

Within the girls' top 10, we observe some noteworthy shifts despite the stable top three. Nancy climbed from 9th to 8th place, while Margaret dropped slightly from 8th to 9th. Carol rose one position from 11th to enter the top 10 at 10th place, displacing Helen who fell to 11th. Patricia and Dorothy maintained their positions at 5th and 6th respectively, while Joan held steady at 7th. Overall, the top 10 girls' names in 1936 showed a preference for names ending with the "ee" sound (Mary, Dorothy, Betty, Shirley) and shorter, two-syllable names.

The boys' top 10 saw subtler movements in 1936. Most notably, David climbed from 11th to 10th place, pushing George down from 8th to 9th. Thomas moved up one spot from 9th to 8th. The remaining names maintained remarkable consistency, with Robert, James, John, William, Richard, Charles, and Donald holding their exact same rankings from the previous year. Traditional, biblical names continued to dominate the boys' list, with six of the top 10 names having biblical origins (Robert, James, John, Thomas, David, and Joseph).

Looking at broader naming patterns across both lists, we see American parents in 1936 favoring classic, traditional names with strong historical roots. For girls, names ending in vowel sounds remained popular, while boys' names often featured strong consonant endings. Notably, the influence of popular culture was evident with Shirley remaining at #2 for girls, likely influenced by child star Shirley Temple who was at the height of her fame. One-syllable names like Joan and John continued to appear in both top 10 lists, reflecting a preference for simplicity alongside tradition. The data suggests American naming conventions were fairly conservative during this period, with few dramatic shifts in popularity among the most common names.

Top baby names of 1936