1920s Baby Names

5,260 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

#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
#7
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
300,191 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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#40
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
94,971 in the 1920s
#43
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
89,233 in the 1920s
#47
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
86,694 in the 1920s
#49
Eugene Eugene is a boy's name from the Greek for well-born, and it is the source of the word eugenics — a connection worth knowing, since the name long predates and has nothing to do with that movement.
85,390 in the 1920s
#50
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
84,952 in the 1920s
#59
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is genuinely contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
70,793 in the 1920s
#60
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
70,346 in the 1920s
#65
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
68,296 in the 1920s
#66
Clarence Clarence is a boy's name taken from an English dukedom, itself named for a Suffolk town.
66,979 in the 1920s
#68
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
65,206 in the 1920s
#69
Joe Joe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," a short form of Joseph that has become the English word for an ordinary person.
64,421 in the 1920s
#71
Earl Earl is a boy's name taken from the English noble title, and it is the only rank in the British peerage with a native English name rather than a French one.
64,153 in the 1920s
#73
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
63,803 in the 1920s
#74
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
63,215 in the 1920s
#82
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
57,176 in the 1920s
#84
Herbert Herbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright army.
56,846 in the 1920s
#85
Leonard Leonard is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "lion-strong," and its saint is the patron of prisoners and of women in labor.
54,111 in the 1920s
#86
Ernest Ernest is a boy's name from a Germanic word meaning serious or resolute, and it is far stronger in Europe than in America — 252nd in England and Wales and 276th in France against 1042nd in the United States.
54,033 in the 1920s
#89
Alfred Alfred is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel."
50,456 in the 1920s
#90
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is genuinely unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
50,349 in the 1920s
#93
Norman Norman means a Northman — a Viking.
49,765 in the 1920s
#94
Stanley Stanley is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "stony clearing."
49,760 in the 1920s
#104
Gerald Gerald is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning rule of the spear, and it gave Ireland one of its great Norman dynasties, the FitzGeralds.
44,866 in the 1920s
#108
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
43,664 in the 1920s
#109
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
43,599 in the 1920s
#110
Billy Billy is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector."
43,212 in the 1920s
#112
Bernard Bernard is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning brave as a bear.
42,661 in the 1920s
#115
Melvin Melvin is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, and the gentle chieftain reading usually given for it is an invention — the source is a Norman family who took their name from Malleville in France.
41,011 in the 1920s

What made a 1920s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1920 and 1929, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1920s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

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.