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

#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
#51
Lillian Lillian is a girl's name usually explained as an elaboration of Lily, from the Latin lilium, and sometimes as a variant of Elizabeth by way of the medieval pet form Lilian.
83,492 in the 1920s
#52
Louise Louise is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," the French feminine form of Louis.
83,395 in the 1920s
#53
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
79,136 in the 1920s
#54
Ruby Ruby is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the red gemstone, from ruber, meaning red.
77,390 in the 1920s
#55
Eleanor Eleanor is a girl's name that traces back to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the twelfth-century queen of France and later England, whose own name, Aliénor, is widely explained as "the other Aenor," distinguishing her from her mother, also named Aenor.
74,964 in the 1920s
#56
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
74,940 in the 1920s
#57
Gladys Gladys is a girl's name from Welsh, usually taken as a form of Claudia — which would give it the meaning lame.
72,812 in the 1920s
#58
Marion Marion is a French diminutive of Mary that has crossed sexes twice over — it is 81 percent female on record, yet its most famous bearer was John Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison.
71,213 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
#61
Annie Annie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor."
69,902 in the 1920s
#62
Josephine Josephine is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," the French feminine form of Joseph.
69,444 in the 1920s
#63
Thelma Thelma is a girl's name invented for a novel in 1887, and the Greek word it was probably built from means "will" or "volition."
69,101 in the 1920s
#64
Edna Edna is a girl's name from a Hebrew word meaning delight, and it shares its root with Eden.
68,877 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
#67
Norma Norma is a girl's name that appears to have been invented for an opera — Bellini's Norma of 1831 — and it was the birth name of Marilyn Monroe, who appears elsewhere in these pages under the name that replaced it.
65,461 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
#70
Pauline Pauline is a girl's name from the Latin for small or humble, the feminine of Paul.
64,301 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
#72
Lucille Lucille is a girl's name from the Latin for light, given to children born at daybreak.
64,103 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
#75
Edith Edith is a girl's name of Old English origin meaning "prosperous in war."
63,172 in the 1920s
#76
Ethel Ethel is a girl's name from an Old English word meaning noble, and it is not a name in its own right in that language — it is the first half of longer names like Ethelred, cut off and used alone.
63,144 in the 1920s
#77
Gloria Gloria is a girl's name that is simply the Latin word for glory, taken unchanged.
63,053 in the 1920s
#78
Phyllis Phyllis is a girl's name from the Greek for foliage, borne by a mythological princess who was turned into an almond tree.
62,010 in the 1920s
#79
Grace Grace is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "favor" or "blessing," from gratia.
60,283 in the 1920s
#80
Hazel Hazel is a girl's name of English origin naming the hazel tree, from the Old English hæsel.
59,627 in the 1920s
#81
June June is a girl's name of Latin origin taken from the month, which is named for the goddess Juno — the queen of the Roman gods and the protector of marriage and childbirth.
57,245 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
#83
Bernice Bernice is a girl's name meaning bringer of victory, and it is the same name as Veronica — both descend from the Greek Berenike by different routes.
56,896 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
#87
Dolores Dolores is a girl's name meaning sorrows — taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, which counts seven specific griefs.
52,300 in the 1920s
#88
Rita Rita is a girl's name meaning pearl, clipped from the end of Margarita rather than the front.
50,724 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
#91
Lorraine Lorraine is a girl's name from the French region, whose own name means the kingdom of Lothair — a Frankish king's realm that was carved out of Charlemagne's empire and slowly disappeared.
50,198 in the 1920s
#92
Ann Ann is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor, and the spelling without the final e.
49,975 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
#95
Beatrice Beatrice is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "she who brings happiness."
49,453 in the 1920s
#96
Esther Esther is a girl's name usually connected to the Persian word for star, and possibly to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.
49,420 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.