US baby names · 1921

Most popular baby names of 1921

In 1921, Social Security card applications recorded 1,233,058 girls and 1,101,449 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,871 distinct girls’ names and 4,985 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (73,984 girls) and John (58,216 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 1920, 71,862 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1920, 3 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1921 are newcomers (girls: Audrey, Patricia, Elaine; boys: Dale, Virgil, Roger). Of these names, 19 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 1921 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1920 1922 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1921

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	73,984
#2	Dorothy	39,087
#3	Helen	34,822
#4	Margaret	28,468
#5	Ruth	25,783
#6	Virginia	19,032
#7	Mildred	17,880
#8	Betty	17,638
#9	Frances	15,993
#10	Elizabeth	15,800
#11	Anna	14,476
#12	Evelyn	14,278
#13	Doris	13,152
#14	Marie	12,501
#15	Alice	11,955
#16	Marjorie	11,209
#17	Florence	10,720
#18	Irene	10,624
#19	Lillian	9,770
#20	Rose	9,352
#21	Martha	9,264
#22	Louise	9,180
#23	Catherine	8,887
#24	Gladys	8,814
#25	Jean	8,592
#26	Ruby	8,333
#27	Edna	8,302
#28	Josephine	8,135
#29	Eleanor	8,054
#30	Thelma	7,839
#31	Lucille	7,698
#32	Ethel	7,603
#33	Edith	7,589
#34	Hazel	7,341
#35	Grace	7,230
#36	Annie	7,209
#37	Pauline	7,142
#38	Lois	6,899
#39	Bernice	6,190
#40	Barbara	6,013
#41	Beatrice	5,968
#42	Esther	5,926
#43	Marion	5,814
#44	Shirley	5,695
#45	Clara	5,606
#46	Gertrude	5,349
#47	Jane	5,188
#48	Rita	5,157
#49	Katherine	5,156
#50	June	5,155
#51	Norma	5,102
#52	Emma	5,072
#53	Ann	5,058
#54	Sarah	5,024
#55	Elsie	4,879
#56	Agnes	4,798
#57	Juanita	4,779
#58	Julia	4,737
#59	Bertha	4,608
#60	Phyllis	4,590
#61	Lorraine	4,533
#62	Geraldine	4,523
#63	Eva	4,325
#64	Kathryn	4,201
#65	Pearl	4,175
#66	Viola	4,160
#67	Ida	4,146
#68	Vivian	4,103
#69	Marian	4,064
#70	Anne	4,007
#71	Laura	3,998
#72	Wilma	3,824
#73	Myrtle	3,791
#74	Willie	3,748
#75	Bessie	3,678
#76	Vera	3,631
#77	Maxine	3,630
#78	Alma	3,589
#79	Charlotte	3,587
#80	Nellie	3,513
#81	Violet	3,469
#82	Audrey	3,434
#83	Kathleen	3,419
#84	Patricia	3,380
#85	Mabel	3,336
#86	Stella	3,335
#87	Nancy	3,323
#88	Sylvia	3,297
#89	Ella	3,237
#90	Genevieve	3,235
#91	Jessie	3,225
#92	Leona	3,210
#93	Lucy	3,157
#94	Lillie	3,118
#95	Ellen	3,064
#96	Minnie	2,998
#97	Elaine	2,922
#98	Marguerite	2,897
#99	Jennie	2,889
#100	Eileen	2,862

Top 100 boys’ names, 1921

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	58,216
#2	Robert	52,779
#3	William	51,862
#4	James	49,750
#5	Charles	29,242
#6	George	27,476
#7	Joseph	26,182
#8	Edward	20,817
#9	Frank	16,705
#10	Richard	16,376
#11	Thomas	15,308
#12	Harold	13,811
#13	Donald	13,776
#14	Paul	13,169
#15	Walter	13,004
#16	Raymond	12,645
#17	Henry	11,411
#18	Jack	10,757
#19	Arthur	10,527
#20	Albert	10,158
#21	Harry	9,731
#22	Kenneth	8,959
#23	Ralph	8,860
#24	Warren	7,798
#25	David	7,765
#26	Eugene	7,717
#27	Howard	7,713
#28	Clarence	7,332
#29	Louis	7,247
#30	Carl	7,077
#31	Earl	6,754
#32	Roy	6,545
#33	Fred	6,496
#34	Willie	6,492
#35	Francis	6,293
#36	Joe	6,204
#37	Lawrence	5,977
#38	Ernest	5,697
#39	Leonard	5,650
#40	Anthony	5,239
#41	Stanley	5,231
#42	Herbert	5,217
#43	Alfred	4,925
#44	Samuel	4,754
#45	Bernard	4,485
#46	Norman	4,479
#47	Michael	4,198
#48	Elmer	4,146
#49	Daniel	4,087
#50	Leo	4,066
#51	Andrew	4,015
#52	Russell	3,946
#53	Melvin	3,887
#54	Edwin	3,750
#55	Leroy	3,749
#56	Chester	3,549
#57	Peter	3,548
#58	Lloyd	3,536
#59	Marvin	3,490
#60	Gerald	3,382
#61	Frederick	3,376
#62	Clifford	3,262
#63	Floyd	3,255
#64	Herman	3,219
#65	Theodore	3,172
#66	Lester	3,076
#67	Ray	3,075
#68	Vernon	3,069
#69	Clyde	3,022
#70	Vincent	2,779
#71	Lewis	2,712
#72	Philip	2,703
#73	Alvin	2,686
#74	Leon	2,616
#75	Milton	2,588
#76	Charlie	2,574
#77	Jesse	2,486
#78	Martin	2,461
#79	Cecil	2,456
#80	Glenn	2,449
#81	Wayne	2,417
#82	Benjamin	2,412
#83	Victor	2,407
#84	Gordon	2,382
#85	Sam	2,367
#86	Lee	2,354
#87	Harvey	2,287
#88	Wallace	2,095
#89	Willard	2,077
#90	Edgar	2,014
#91	Arnold	1,982
#92	Oscar	1,978
#93	Dale	1,956
#94	Allen	1,937
#95	Everett	1,913
#96	Claude	1,887
#97	Stephen	1,868
#98	Virgil	1,830
#99	Roger	1,803
#100	Wilbur	1,755