Born in 1936 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1936
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,077,595 babies born in 1936: 1,040,390 girls and 1,037,205 boys. Mary and Robert were the most popular names, and 28.7% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 29.8% ten years later. The name most tied to 1936 is Shelby: among girls, it was 9.9× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,077,595
- 1,040,390 girls · 1,037,205 boys
- Different names
- 4,856
- for girls, plus 4,037 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 28.7%
- of babies got one · girls 24.2%, boys 33.3%
Top 10 names of 1936
- 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 1936, 28.7% 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 1936
These names were far more common in 1936 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1936 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Girl | #178 | 9.9× |
| Marlene | Girl | #39 | 6.5× |
| Myrna | Girl | #149 | 5.8× |
| Huey | Boy | #288 | 5.6× |
| Shirley | Girl | #2 | 5.1× |
| Claudette | Girl | #232 | 5.0× |
| Joan | Girl | #7 | 3.8× |
| Bobby | Boy | #24 | 3.8× |
| Patsy | Girl | #52 | 3.7× |
| Bobbie | Boy | #197 | 3.6× |
Names that peaked in 1936
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1936, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1936.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Marilyn | Girl | #13 |
| Bobby | Boy | #24 |
| Ann | Girl | #28 |
| Marlene | Girl | #39 |
| Patsy | Girl | #52 |
| Rosemarie | Girl | #158 |
| Claudette | Girl | #232 |
| Arline | Girl | #248 |
| Marlys | Girl | #323 |
| Marva | Girl | #334 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1936
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1936 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1936 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1936 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