1920s Baby Names

13,525 names were given to children in the United States between 1920 and 1929, ranked below by how many.

A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#1
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
704,186 in the 1920s
#2
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
579,614 in the 1920s
#3
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
567,647 in the 1920s
#4
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
518,511 in the 1920s
#5
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
515,057 in the 1920s
#6
Dorothy Dorothy is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God."
369,879 in the 1920s
#7
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
300,191 in the 1920s
#8
Helen Helen is a girl's name from Greek whose meaning is not settled, though torch and shining are the usual readings.
291,152 in the 1920s
#9
Betty Betty is a girl's name that began as a short form of Elizabeth and is now used in its own right.
283,849 in the 1920s
#10
George George is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "farmer" or "worker of the earth," from ge, earth, and ergon, work.
264,005 in the 1920s
#11
Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.
245,709 in the 1920s
#12
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
245,187 in the 1920s
#13
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
223,759 in the 1920s
#14
Ruth Ruth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin usually given as "companion" or "friend," though the derivation is not secure.
219,217 in the 1920s
#15
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
198,362 in the 1920s
#16
Donald Donald is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall, meaning world ruler.
192,835 in the 1920s
#17
Virginia Virginia is a girl's name from a Roman family name, and the American state was named before the name became common in America — both honoring Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
170,037 in the 1920s
#18
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
162,051 in the 1920s
#19
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
152,777 in the 1920s
#20
Doris Doris is a girl's name from Greek mythology, where she is a sea nymph and the mother of the fifty Nereids.
152,135 in the 1920s
#21
Mildred Mildred is a girl's name from Old English elements meaning gentle strength, and it is among the least fashionable names of the twentieth century — yet it is reviving, ninety years after its 1920 peak.
147,624 in the 1920s
#22
Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.
141,498 in the 1920s
#23
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
140,106 in the 1920s
#24
Harold Harold is a boy's name from Norse and Old English elements meaning army ruler, and it belongs to the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, killed at Hastings in 1066.
134,392 in the 1920s
#25
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
133,237 in the 1920s
#26
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
124,863 in the 1920s
#27
Evelyn Evelyn is a girl's name of English and French origin meaning "desired" or "wished for".
124,521 in the 1920s
#28
Anna Anna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah.
124,291 in the 1920s
#29
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
120,673 in the 1920s
#30
Jack Jack is a boy's name of English origin that began as a pet form of John, by way of the medieval nickname Jankin.
116,741 in the 1920s
#31
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
110,955 in the 1920s
#32
Alice Alice is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," arrived at by a long contraction of Adelaide.
110,911 in the 1920s
#33
Jean Jean is a unisex name on record: the French form of John, meaning "God is gracious," and separately a Scottish feminine form of Jane.
108,977 in the 1920s
#34
Willie Willie is a pet form of William meaning resolute protector, and one of the more mixed names on record — a quarter of the births we hold are female, which is unusual for a name read today as male.
105,807 in the 1920s
#35
Henry Henry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler," from heim, meaning home or estate, and ric, meaning ruler or power.
105,474 in the 1920s
#36
Shirley Shirley is a girl's name from an English place name meaning bright clearing, and it was a boys' name until Charlotte Brontë used it for a heroine in 1849.
100,902 in the 1920s
#37
Kenneth Kenneth is a boy's name anglicizing two separate Gaelic names, one meaning born of fire and one meaning handsome.
100,068 in the 1920s
#38
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
97,818 in the 1920s
#39
Barbara Barbara is a girl's name from the Greek for foreign or strange, the feminine of the word that gives us barbarian.
97,471 in the 1920s
#40
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
94,971 in the 1920s
#41
Irene Irene is a girl's name from the Greek word for peace, and the name of the goddess who personified it.
93,192 in the 1920s
#42
Marjorie Marjorie is a girl's name meaning pearl, an English form of Margaret whose modern spelling was pulled toward the herb marjoram by nothing more than a coincidence of sound.
91,438 in the 1920s
#43
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
89,233 in the 1920s
#44
Lois Lois is a girl's name that appears once in the New Testament, in a letter naming Timothy's grandmother, and its meaning has never been established.
88,830 in the 1920s
#45
Florence Florence is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "blossoming" or "flourishing."
88,628 in the 1920s
#46
Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."
87,102 in the 1920s
#47
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
86,694 in the 1920s
#48
Rose Rose is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the flower, from rosa.
85,665 in the 1920s

What Made a 1920s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1920 and 1929. A name's position here is how many of them were.

Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade

A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.

Where to Go Next

Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.