US baby names · the 1920s

Most popular baby names of the 1920s

These are the most given US names of the 1920s, adding up Social Security counts for each year from 1920 to 1929. Across those years SSA recorded 11,952,683 girls and 11,019,370 boys under names given to five or more babies.

Mary led the girls with 701,755 babies, followed by Dorothy, Helen and Betty. For boys, Robert came first with 576,374, ahead of John, James and William.

Against the top 100 of the 1910s, 17 girls’ names and 8 boys’ names in the 1920s are newcomers (girls: Shirley, Patricia, Norma; boys: Billy, Calvin, Dale). Of these names, 17 of the 100 girls’ names and 19 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

A decade total favours names that were steady for ten years over a single-year spike, so a list here can differ from any one year’s top 100. The sparklines show each name before and after the 1920s.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

← 1910s 1930s →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1920s

Rank	Name	Girls in decade
#1	Mary	701,755
#2	Dorothy	368,875
#3	Helen	290,404
#4	Betty	283,096
#5	Margaret	245,011
#6	Ruth	218,520
#7	Virginia	169,554
#8	Doris	151,193
#9	Mildred	147,155
#10	Frances	140,391
#11	Elizabeth	139,672
#12	Evelyn	124,166
#13	Anna	123,895
#14	Marie	110,564
#15	Alice	110,526
#16	Jean	105,999
#17	Shirley	98,602
#18	Barbara	97,210
#19	Irene	92,836
#20	Marjorie	91,221
#21	Florence	88,295
#22	Lois	88,133
#23	Martha	86,788
#24	Rose	85,305
#25	Lillian	83,160
#26	Louise	82,895
#27	Catherine	78,881
#28	Ruby	76,738
#29	Eleanor	74,760
#30	Patricia	74,732
#31	Gladys	72,561
#32	Annie	69,468
#33	Josephine	69,223
#34	Thelma	68,767
#35	Edna	68,629
#36	Norma	65,241
#37	Pauline	64,075
#38	Lucille	63,883
#39	Edith	62,989
#40	Gloria	62,859
#41	Ethel	62,806
#42	Phyllis	61,871
#43	Grace	60,060
#44	Hazel	58,984
#45	June	56,482
#46	Bernice	55,842
#47	Marion	55,178
#48	Dolores	51,990
#49	Rita	50,587
#50	Lorraine	49,939
#51	Ann	49,810
#52	Beatrice	49,230
#53	Esther	49,230
#54	Juanita	48,547
#55	Clara	48,183
#56	Jane	48,049
#57	Geraldine	48,044
#58	Sarah	46,769
#59	Emma	46,538
#60	Joan	45,351
#61	Joyce	44,174
#62	Nancy	43,807
#63	Katherine	42,745
#64	Gertrude	42,459
#65	Elsie	42,098
#66	Julia	40,331
#67	Agnes	39,222
#68	Wilma	39,127
#69	Marian	38,978
#70	Bertha	38,571
#71	Eva	38,048
#72	Willie	37,814
#73	Audrey	37,550
#74	Theresa	36,666
#75	Vivian	36,572
#76	Wanda	36,007
#77	Laura	35,991
#78	Charlotte	35,752
#79	Ida	35,619
#80	Elaine	34,907
#81	Anne	34,511
#82	Marilyn	34,202
#83	Kathryn	33,791
#84	Maxine	33,743
#85	Kathleen	33,597
#86	Viola	33,251
#87	Pearl	32,774
#88	Vera	32,541
#89	Bessie	32,158
#90	Myrtle	30,569
#91	Alma	30,434
#92	Beverly	30,205
#93	Violet	30,022
#94	Nellie	29,689
#95	Ella	29,521
#96	Lillie	29,382
#97	Jessie	29,289
#98	Jeanne	29,119
#99	Eileen	28,588
#100	Ellen	28,391

Top 100 boys’ names, 1920s

Rank	Name	Boys in decade
#1	Robert	576,374
#2	John	564,052
#3	James	515,301
#4	William	512,402
#5	Charles	298,031
#6	George	261,945
#7	Joseph	243,809
#8	Richard	222,599
#9	Edward	197,348
#10	Donald	191,816
#11	Thomas	161,107
#12	Frank	151,830
#13	Harold	133,585
#14	Paul	132,384
#15	Raymond	124,212
#16	Walter	119,809
#17	Jack	115,983
#18	Henry	104,552
#19	Kenneth	99,490
#20	Arthur	97,112
#21	Albert	94,431
#22	David	88,736
#23	Harry	86,183
#24	Eugene	84,755
#25	Ralph	84,466
#26	Howard	70,348
#27	Carl	69,851
#28	Willie	67,993
#29	Louis	67,693
#30	Clarence	66,574
#31	Earl	63,602
#32	Roy	63,259
#33	Fred	62,742
#34	Joe	62,676
#35	Francis	59,096
#36	Lawrence	56,867
#37	Herbert	56,531
#38	Leonard	53,793
#39	Ernest	53,653
#40	Alfred	50,156
#41	Anthony	50,054
#42	Stanley	49,456
#43	Norman	49,364
#44	Gerald	44,520
#45	Daniel	43,407
#46	Samuel	43,362
#47	Bernard	42,408
#48	Billy	42,096
#49	Melvin	40,583
#50	Marvin	39,589
#51	Warren	38,775
#52	Michael	37,893
#53	Leroy	37,871
#54	Russell	37,208
#55	Leo	36,960
#56	Andrew	35,952
#57	Edwin	35,255
#58	Elmer	34,919
#59	Peter	34,066
#60	Floyd	33,157
#61	Lloyd	33,125
#62	Ray	32,045
#63	Frederick	31,512
#64	Theodore	31,287
#65	Clifford	31,242
#66	Vernon	29,432
#67	Herman	29,011
#68	Clyde	28,957
#69	Chester	28,435
#70	Philip	27,268
#71	Alvin	26,872
#72	Lester	26,513
#73	Wayne	26,402
#74	Vincent	26,237
#75	Gordon	25,622
#76	Leon	25,577
#77	Lewis	25,328
#78	Charlie	25,176
#79	Glenn	25,157
#80	Calvin	24,785
#81	Martin	24,243
#82	Milton	24,198
#83	Lee	23,556
#84	Jesse	23,170
#85	Dale	22,752
#86	Cecil	22,528
#87	Bill	22,288
#88	Harvey	21,785
#89	Roger	21,753
#90	Victor	21,498
#91	Benjamin	21,028
#92	Wallace	20,916
#93	Ronald	20,894
#94	Sam	20,844
#95	Allen	20,092
#96	Arnold	19,531
#97	Willard	18,440
#98	Gilbert	18,233
#99	Edgar	18,037
#100	Oscar	17,740