Born in 1935 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1935
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,089,928 babies born in 1935: 1,048,577 girls and 1,041,351 boys. Mary and Robert were the most popular names, and 29.0% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 29.1% ten years later. The name most tied to 1935 is Huey: among boys, it was 7.9× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,089,928
- 1,048,577 girls · 1,041,351 boys
- Different names
- 4,893
- for girls, plus 4,146 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 29.0%
- of babies got one · girls 24.7%, boys 33.3%
Top 10 names of 1935
- Mary was already the #1 name for girls in 1935 and stayed there through 1946.
- Robert was already the #1 name for boys in 1935 and stayed there through 1939.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1935, 29.0% of babies were given one of that year's 10 most popular names. Across all years, that share fell from 29.0% in 1935 to 7.5% in 2025.
Names that sound like 1935
These names were far more common in 1935 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1935 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huey | Boy | #237 | 7.9× |
| Shirley | Girl | #2 | 6.1× |
| Marlene | Girl | #39 | 5.6× |
| Claudette | Girl | #238 | 4.8× |
| Joan | Girl | #7 | 4.2× |
| Myrna | Girl | #176 | 4.1× |
| Bobby | Boy | #24 | 3.9× |
| Bobbie | Boy | #211 | 3.4× |
| Buddy | Boy | #202 | 3.3× |
| Shirley | Boy | #259 | 3.3× |
Names that peaked in 1935
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1935, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1935.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Shirley | Girl | #2 |
| Joanne | Girl | #44 |
| Jackie | Boy | #102 |
| Mona | Girl | #243 |
| Buddy | Boy | #202 |
| Huey | Boy | #237 |
| Lavonne | Girl | #275 |
| Shirley | Boy | #259 |
| Ruthie | Girl | #314 |
| Marlin | Boy | #276 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1935
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1935 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1935 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1935 and 2025.
Girls
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data