Birth year

Born in 1936? Here's your year in charts

In 1936, the top baby names were Mary and Robert and a newborn could expect to live 58.5 years.

Top baby names of 1936

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 54,377 babies, 5.2% of girls
  2. 2. Shirley 35,161 babies, 3.4% of girls
  3. 3. Barbara 31,682 babies, 3.0% of girls
  4. 4. Betty 25,868 babies, 2.5% of girls
  5. 5. Patricia 23,916 babies, 2.3% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Robert 58,500 babies, 5.6% of boys
  2. 2. James 54,694 babies, 5.3% of boys
  3. 3. John 47,683 babies, 4.6% of boys
  4. 4. William 39,398 babies, 3.8% of boys
  5. 5. Richard 33,494 babies, 3.2% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

1936 then vs. now

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    58.5 years in 1936, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1936.

$100 in 1936 buys about as much as $2,429.86 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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