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. It is 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 on record — 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.
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 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 unknown meaning.
33,679 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.