Born in 1937 · Silent Generation
Baby names of 1937
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 2,130,692 babies born in 1937: 1,064,033 girls and 1,066,659 boys. Mary and Robert were the most popular names, and 28.6% of all babies got a top-10 name, compared with 30.1% ten years later. The name most tied to 1937 is Shelby: among girls, it was 19× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Silent Generation
- Born 1928–1945
- Babies on record
- 2,130,692
- 1,064,033 girls · 1,066,659 boys
- Different names
- 4,930
- for girls, plus 4,020 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 28.6%
- of babies got one · girls 23.6%, boys 33.6%
Top 10 names of 1937
- 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 1937, 28.6% 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 1937
These names were far more common in 1937 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1937 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Girl | #119 | 19× |
| Myrna | Girl | #137 | 7.0× |
| Marlene | Girl | #40 | 5.9× |
| Claudette | Girl | #247 | 4.6× |
| Carole | Girl | #56 | 4.4× |
| Pat | Girl | #147 | 3.9× |
| Deanna | Girl | #139 | 3.9× |
| Shirley | Girl | #4 | 3.8× |
| Patsy | Girl | #54 | 3.6× |
| Bobby | Boy | #24 | 3.5× |
Names that peaked in 1937
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1937, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1937.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Beverly | Girl | #14 |
| Peggy | Girl | #31 |
| Sylvia | Girl | #50 |
| Roberta | Girl | #66 |
| Yvonne | Girl | #77 |
| Gene | Boy | #61 |
| Carlton | Boy | #217 |
| Shelba | Girl | #341 |
| Marylou | Girl | #350 |
| Melva | Girl | #372 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1937
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1937 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1937 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1937 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