1920s Baby Names

5,242 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
#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
#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 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
#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 1,042nd 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 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

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.