US baby names · 1920

Most popular baby names of 1920

In 1920, Social Security card applications recorded 1,198,289 girls and 1,064,356 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,767 distinct girls’ names and 4,989 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (70,983 girls) and John (56,913 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 23% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 32% of boys. Compared with 1919, 152,406 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1919, 2 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1920 are newcomers (girls: Kathleen, Eileen; boys: Wallace, Allen, Gilbert). Of these names, 18 of the 100 girls’ names and 20 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1920 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1919 1921 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1920

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	70,983
#2	Dorothy	36,643
#3	Helen	35,097
#4	Margaret	27,994
#5	Ruth	26,102
#6	Mildred	18,060
#7	Virginia	17,314
#8	Elizabeth	15,908
#9	Frances	15,883
#10	Anna	14,581
#11	Betty	14,016
#12	Evelyn	13,838
#13	Marie	12,743
#14	Doris	11,892
#15	Alice	11,596
#16	Florence	10,731
#17	Irene	10,072
#18	Lillian	10,049
#19	Louise	9,179
#20	Rose	9,011
#21	Catherine	8,878
#22	Gladys	8,819
#23	Martha	8,709
#24	Marjorie	8,658
#25	Eleanor	8,497
#26	Ruby	8,336
#27	Edna	8,331
#28	Josephine	8,093
#29	Lucille	7,989
#30	Ethel	7,868
#31	Thelma	7,814
#32	Edith	7,773
#33	Jean	7,714
#34	Hazel	7,308
#35	Annie	7,268
#36	Pauline	7,180
#37	Grace	7,172
#38	Lois	6,560
#39	Esther	6,068
#40	Bernice	5,928
#41	Beatrice	5,804
#42	Gertrude	5,797
#43	Marion	5,745
#44	Clara	5,470
#45	Katherine	5,276
#46	Emma	5,238
#47	Barbara	5,106
#48	Jane	5,054
#49	Ann	5,041
#50	Sarah	5,031
#51	Elsie	4,993
#52	Rita	4,979
#53	June	4,911
#54	Agnes	4,907
#55	Julia	4,889
#56	Shirley	4,713
#57	Bertha	4,604
#58	Eva	4,498
#59	Viola	4,292
#60	Geraldine	4,265
#61	Juanita	4,238
#62	Pearl	4,204
#63	Laura	4,171
#64	Vivian	4,128
#65	Anne	4,114
#66	Ida	4,090
#67	Kathryn	4,082
#68	Myrtle	3,955
#69	Norma	3,949
#70	Lorraine	3,928
#71	Bessie	3,906
#72	Phyllis	3,852
#73	Marian	3,845
#74	Willie	3,816
#75	Vera	3,785
#76	Nellie	3,762
#77	Violet	3,694
#78	Wilma	3,670
#79	Charlotte	3,624
#80	Alma	3,584
#81	Maxine	3,507
#82	Stella	3,492
#83	Mabel	3,364
#84	Jessie	3,329
#85	Sylvia	3,317
#86	Genevieve	3,258
#87	Minnie	3,244
#88	Ella	3,232
#89	Leona	3,166
#90	Lillie	3,162
#91	Kathleen	3,158
#92	Ellen	3,076
#93	Marguerite	3,055
#94	Lucy	3,018
#95	Nancy	2,982
#96	Mattie	2,902
#97	Jennie	2,808
#98	Lena	2,785
#99	Mae	2,730
#100	Eileen	2,718

Top 100 boys’ names, 1920

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	56,913
#2	William	50,146
#3	Robert	48,679
#4	James	47,908
#5	Charles	28,309
#6	George	26,891
#7	Joseph	25,587
#8	Edward	20,097
#9	Frank	16,430
#10	Richard	15,010
#11	Thomas	14,936
#12	Harold	13,678
#13	Walter	13,294
#14	Paul	12,570
#15	Raymond	12,193
#16	Donald	11,941
#17	Henry	11,305
#18	Arthur	10,236
#19	Albert	9,997
#20	Jack	9,599
#21	Harry	9,406
#22	Ralph	8,556
#23	Kenneth	7,840
#24	Howard	7,466
#25	David	7,444
#26	Clarence	7,221
#27	Carl	7,010
#28	Louis	6,966
#29	Willie	6,887
#30	Eugene	6,867
#31	Earl	6,533
#32	Roy	6,355
#33	Fred	6,298
#34	Francis	6,241
#35	Joe	6,071
#36	Lawrence	5,727
#37	Ernest	5,566
#38	Leonard	5,511
#39	Warren	5,492
#40	Stanley	5,314
#41	Herbert	5,249
#42	Alfred	5,006
#43	Anthony	4,944
#44	Samuel	4,654
#45	Elmer	4,206
#46	Bernard	4,163
#47	Norman	4,109
#48	Leo	4,054
#49	Andrew	4,026
#50	Michael	4,003
#51	Russell	3,901
#52	Daniel	3,897
#53	Edwin	3,734
#54	Melvin	3,717
#55	Chester	3,698
#56	Leroy	3,549
#57	Peter	3,497
#58	Lloyd	3,454
#59	Clifford	3,291
#60	Frederick	3,275
#61	Floyd	3,260
#62	Marvin	3,244
#63	Theodore	3,219
#64	Gerald	3,157
#65	Vernon	3,144
#66	Herman	3,109
#67	Ray	3,086
#68	Clyde	3,069
#69	Lester	3,068
#70	Charlie	2,785
#71	Philip	2,700
#72	Lewis	2,688
#73	Vincent	2,661
#74	Milton	2,592
#75	Leon	2,554
#76	Alvin	2,523
#77	Cecil	2,459
#78	Martin	2,439
#79	Jesse	2,420
#80	Glenn	2,375
#81	Victor	2,349
#82	Lee	2,321
#83	Benjamin	2,309
#84	Sam	2,283
#85	Gordon	2,277
#86	Wayne	2,180
#87	Harvey	2,165
#88	Willard	2,089
#89	Edgar	2,029
#90	Oscar	2,006
#91	Arnold	1,911
#92	Claude	1,893
#93	Wallace	1,877
#94	Allen	1,866
#95	Everett	1,827
#96	Stephen	1,771
#97	Gilbert	1,763
#98	Wilbur	1,741
#99	Johnnie	1,727
#100	Homer	1,722