Most popular baby names of 1929

Looking at the data from 1928 to 1929, I notice several interesting patterns in baby naming trends across the United States.

The top 3 names for both boys and girls remained remarkably stable between 1928 and 1929. Robert, John, and James continued to dominate the boys' charts, though James moved up from third to second place, switching positions with John. For girls, Mary, Betty, and Dorothy held strong in their exact same positions, showing the enduring popularity of these classic feminine names.

Among the top 10 girls' names in 1929, we see Joan making an impressive climb to 13th place from 27th the previous year. Patricia held steady at 10th place, while Shirley moved up one position to 9th. Traditional names like Mary and Helen continued their long-standing popularity, suggesting parents were still drawn to classic, timeless choices for their daughters. The popularity of names ending with the "ee" sound (Betty, Shirley) also remained a notable pattern.

For boys, the top 10 remained largely unchanged with Robert firmly established as the most popular choice. Donald and George held steady at 7th and 8th place respectively. The data shows a clear preference for biblical names (John, James, Joseph) and traditional English names (William, Charles, Robert). Interestingly, Richard maintained its 6th position, showing its consistent appeal among American parents.

Looking at broader naming patterns, short, two-syllable names were particularly popular for both genders. Many top girls' names ended with vowel sounds, especially "y" (Mary, Betty, Dorothy, Shirley), while boys' names often featured strong consonant endings (Robert, James, William). Traditional English and biblical names dominated both lists, suggesting parents in the late 1920s were generally conservative in their naming choices. The relative stability between these two years indicates that naming trends evolved slowly during this period, without dramatic shifts in popularity.

Top baby names of 1929