Popular Names and Name Trends · Historic and Vintage Names
1930s Names
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Geraldine
German and French, feminine variation of Gerald
"ruler with the spear"
Though twin brother Gerald is still in baby name limbo, Geraldine is in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival—even though Gerry is not as spunky a nickname as Josie. Geraldine was…
Howard
German, English
"high guardian; brave heart"
Howard, once hugely popular in the Top 50 from the 1870s to early 1950s, hitting Number 24 in 1920 -- has been stuck in Dad-Grandad limbo for decades, but is showing some signs of stirring back to…
Janet
Diminutive of Jane
"God is gracious"
Janet started as a pet form of Jane but has long been used independently. Jane is a feminine form of John, which derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan. Janet can also be considered a variation of…
Janice
Variation of Jane
"God is gracious"
For a minute or two this sounded more modern than Janet, now equally outmoded.
Jean
English and Scottish, from French variation of Johanna
"God is gracious"
Originally a feminine of John, Jean was popular in Scotland long before it found favor elsewhere, and had its most shining moment here in the era of Jean Harlow (born Harlean), ultimate symbol of…
Joan
English feminine variation of John, Hebrew
"God is gracious"
Joan was the perfect name choice for one of the leading characters on Mad Men , being a quintessential girls' name of the period. A Top 10 name in the 30s, a Top 50 name from the 40s through the…
Joyce
Latin
"merry, joyous"
Joyce was once a boy name , but took off for girls during the mid-twentieth century, when it spent 1930 to 1947 in the Top 20. Now, Joyce is one of the girls' names starting with J least likely to…
Larry
Diminutive of Lawrence, English from Latin
"from Laurentium or bay laurel"
Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular boys' names starting with L , that title now belongs to Liam.
Lois
Greek
"most desirable"
The eternal fiancee of Superman turned sweet gray-haired lady who's always available to babysit her grandkids turned....hot new baby name? True to the Hundred Year Rule, Lois is poised to climb the…
Marjorie
Scottish variation of Margery, diminutive of Margaret
"pearl"
Scottish Marjorie and her English twin Margery were early twentieth century favorites that date back to medieval times, when it was popular among the royals. They were at their height in the 1920s,…
Mildred
English
"gentle strength"
Is it clunky cute, strong and vintage, or dreadful and mildewy? Like Gertrude and Bertha, Mildred is one that divides the crowds, but with popular nickname Mildred and renewed interest in Winifred,…
Norma
English or Latin
"from the north; or, the pattern"
Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.
Norman
English
"northerner, Norseman"
Norman, perhaps because it sounds so much like the word 'normal', conjures up the image of a normal-looking guy with a normal kind of job-- not necessarily an image many modern parents seek for their…
Patricia
Latin
"noble, patrician"
Patricia still sounds patrician, though its scores of nicknames definitely don't. Wildly popular from the forties (alternately Number 3 and 4 throughout the decade) to the sixties, Patricia has been…
Peggy
Diminutive of Margaret, Greek
"pearl"
Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men , with intriguing mid-century characters with names…
Phyllis
Greek
"green bough"
Phyllis has been used by classical poets for the idealized pastoral maiden. A Greek mythological name of a woman who was turned into an almond tree, Phyllis was in the Top 100 from 1916 to 1958,…
Ralph
English from German
"wolf-counsel"
Ralph has two diametrically different images: there's the suave Ralph Fiennes-type Brit (often pronounced Rafe), and then there's the Jackie Gleason blue-collar, bowling blowhard Ralph Kramden bus…
Sandra
Diminutive of Alessandra, Italian from Greek
"defending men"
2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,…
Shirley
English
"bright meadow"
Shirley Temple almost single-handedly lifted the gloom of the Great Depression, and in tribute (and perhaps wishing for a similarly curly-headed, dimpled darling of their own), thousands of parents…
Wanda
Slavic or German
"shepherdess; wanderer"
Rarely heard, and when it is, usually attached to a witch. Historically, though, Wanda was a legendary eighth century queen of Poland, and in literature it is the central character of Ouida's…