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

#97
Juanita Juanita is a girl's name meaning God is gracious, the Spanish diminutive of Juana.
48,749 in the 1920s
#98
Clara Clara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright" or "clear," from clarus.
48,392 in the 1920s
#99
Jane Jane is a girl's name from the Hebrew for God is gracious, the English feminine of John.
48,230 in the 1920s
#100
Geraldine Geraldine was invented in a 1537 love poem — the Earl of Surrey coined it for Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, calling her the Fair Geraldine.
48,195 in the 1920s
#101
Sarah Sarah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
46,994 in the 1920s
#102
Emma Emma is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "whole" or "universal," from the element ermen, found in older names such as Ermintrude.
46,730 in the 1920s
#103
Joan Joan is a girl's name, the medieval English feminine of John meaning God is gracious, and it was once as common as Mary.
45,605 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
#105
Joyce Joyce is a girl's name that was a man's name for most of its history, from a Breton saint called Iodoc. Our data marks it stable, and its highest current rank is France at 334th — not any English-speaking market.
44,737 in the 1920s
#106
Jessie Jessie is a name that arrives from two unrelated directions — the Scottish pet form of Janet, and a feminine of the Hebrew Jesse.
44,086 in the 1920s
#107
Nancy Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace."
43,958 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
#111
Katherine Katherine is a girl's name whose meaning is not settled.
42,911 in the 1920s
#112
Bernard Bernard is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning brave as a bear.
42,661 in the 1920s
#113
Gertrude Gertrude is a girl's name from Germanic elements meaning spear-strength, and its saint is patron of cats — a modern attribution that no medieval source supports.
42,589 in the 1920s
#114
Elsie Elsie is a girl's name that began as a Scottish short form of Elspeth, itself a Scottish form of Elizabeth.
42,328 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
#116
Julia Julia is a girl's name of Latin origin, the feminine of the Roman family name Julius.
40,538 in the 1920s
#117
Marvin Marvin is a boy's name from the Welsh Merfyn, and the sea friend reading usually given for it is not supported — the Welsh elements point to marrow and eminent instead.
39,898 in the 1920s
#118
Agnes Agnes is a girl's name from the Greek for pure, and the reason its saint is shown with a lamb is a Latin pun — agnus, lamb, sounds like the Greek hagnos but is a completely different word.
39,362 in the 1920s
#119
Wilma Wilma means resolute protection, and The Flintstones did nothing for it.
39,347 in the 1920s
#120
Marian Marian is a girl's name that either joins Mary and Ann or diminutives Mary alone — the sources disagree.
39,316 in the 1920s
#121
Warren Warren is a boy's name from a Norman place name, and it is the second-strongest revival we hold — it peaked in 1921 and now ranks 240th in the United States on 1,493 births, a century later.
39,025 in the 1920s
#122
Bertha Bertha is a girl's name from a Germanic word meaning bright, and it was Charlemagne's mother's name.
38,754 in the 1920s
#123
Eva Eva is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "life" or "living."
38,217 in the 1920s
#124
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
38,196 in the 1920s
#125
Audrey Audrey is a girl's name of Old English origin meaning "noble strength," from Æthelthryth.
38,176 in the 1920s
#126
Leroy Leroy is a boy's name that is simply the French for the king, taken as one word.
38,114 in the 1920s
#127
Russell Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy.
37,472 in the 1920s
#128
Leo Leo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "lion."
37,456 in the 1920s
#129
Vivian Vivian is a name of Latin origin meaning "alive" or "lively," from vivus.
37,162 in the 1920s
#130
Theresa Theresa is a girl's name of uncertain meaning, the German and English spelling of Teresa.
36,795 in the 1920s
#131
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
36,204 in the 1920s
#132
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
36,141 in the 1920s
#133
Wanda Wanda is a girl's name from Polish, borne by a legendary queen who drowned herself in the Vistula rather than marry a German prince.
36,116 in the 1920s
#134
Charlotte Charlotte is a girl's name of French origin meaning "free man," the feminine form of Charles, itself from the Germanic name Karl.
35,824 in the 1920s
#135
Ida Ida is a girl's name from a Germanic word for work or labor, and it charts in all seven markets we track.
35,790 in the 1920s
#136
Edwin Edwin is a boy's name from Old English meaning rich friend, borne by a Northumbrian king whose fortress may have given Edinburgh its name.
35,483 in the 1920s
#137
Elmer Elmer means noble and famous, and its American popularity is traceable to two brothers — the Ebenezer and Jonathan Elmer who signed early revolutionary documents, after whom patriotic families went on to name sons.
35,449 in the 1920s
#138
Elaine Elaine is a girl's name, the Old French form of Helen, whose meaning was never established.
35,018 in the 1920s
#139
Anne Anne is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning favor or grace.
34,603 in the 1920s
#140
Marilyn Marilyn is a girl's name usually read as a blend of Mary and Lyn.
34,295 in the 1920s
#141
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
34,270 in the 1920s
#142
Maxine Maxine is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "greatest," a feminine form of Maximus.
33,872 in the 1920s
#143
Kathryn Kathryn is a girl's name, the y-spelling of Katherine, and it inherits that name's genuinely unknown meaning.
33,868 in the 1920s
#144
Kathleen Kathleen is a girl's name anglicizing the Irish Caitlín, a form of Catherine, and it inherits that name's genuinely unknown meaning.
33,679 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.