How Many of Me

Most Popular First Names of the 1920s

The top first names registered in the United States between 1920 and 1929, ranked by total births recorded with the Social Security Administration. The sparkline for each name shows how it trended across the 10 years of the decade.

During this decade, the SSA recorded 6,631,995 male and 5,861,762 female births across the top 50 names shown below. Click any name for a full statistical profile.

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

How to read this table

Each name is ranked by total birth registrations across all 10 years of the 1920s. The Trend column shows a sparkline of annual births within the decade. Hover over any sparkline to see the exact count for each year.

The Change column compares the first year (1920) to the last year (1929). A positive percentage means the name was gaining popularity by the end of the decade. A negative one means it was on the decline.

Top Male Names

6,631,995 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Robert 576,375 +22.9%
2 John 564,051 -8.4%
3 James 515,302 +8.8%
4 William 512,402 -4.7%
5 Charles 298,031 +5.7%
6 George 261,946 -14.4%
7 Joseph 243,809 -17.3%
8 Richard 222,598 +97%
9 Edward 197,347 -14.3%
10 Donald 191,817 +127.6%
11 Thomas 161,109 +9%
12 Frank 151,830 -21.1%
13 Harold 133,585 -14.6%
14 Paul 132,384 -1.1%
15 Raymond 124,213 -2.3%
16 Walter 119,809 -25.9%
17 Jack 115,983 +26.8%
18 Henry 104,552 -24.2%
19 Kenneth 99,490 +38.3%
20 Arthur 97,112 -17.3%
21 Albert 94,432 -19.2%
22 David 88,737 +51.8%
23 Harry 86,183 -24%
24 Eugene 84,755 +31.7%
25 Ralph 84,466 -9.8%
26 Howard 70,348 -19.5%
27 Carl 69,851 -1.6%
28 Willie 67,993 -3.9%
29 Louis 67,693 -13.9%
30 Clarence 66,574 -20.7%
31 Earl 63,602 -12.2%
32 Roy 63,259 -8.5%
33 Fred 62,743 -7%
34 Joe 62,676 +8.6%
35 Francis 59,096 -15.6%
36 Lawrence 56,867 -7.4%
37 Herbert 56,531 +50.1%
38 Leonard 53,793 -12.4%
39 Ernest 53,653 -14.6%
40 Alfred 50,156 -1.6%
41 Anthony 50,054 -4.3%
42 Stanley 49,456 -19.7%
43 Norman 49,364 +25.5%
44 Gerald 44,521 +89%
45 Daniel 43,407 +12%
46 Samuel 43,362 -23.4%
47 Bernard 42,410 -8.5%
48 Billy 42,096 +589.9%
49 Melvin 40,583 +10.3%
50 Marvin 39,589 +35.3%

Top Female Names

5,861,762 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Mary 701,756 -10.5%
2 Dorothy 368,876 -14.1%
3 Helen 290,403 -40.2%
4 Betty 283,097 +161.7%
5 Margaret 245,010 -31.4%
6 Ruth 218,521 -38.6%
7 Virginia 169,554 -23.6%
8 Doris 151,192 +38.7%
9 Mildred 147,155 -43.2%
10 Frances 140,391 -30.2%
11 Elizabeth 139,672 -29.3%
12 Evelyn 124,166 -28.6%
13 Anna 123,894 -33.1%
14 Marie 110,564 -28.1%
15 Alice 110,526 -18.2%
16 Jean 105,999 +53.8%
17 Shirley 98,601 +209.3%
18 Barbara 97,210 +214.1%
19 Irene 92,836 -30.1%
20 Marjorie 91,221 -19.3%
21 Florence 88,295 -42.1%
22 Lois 88,133 +56.9%
23 Martha 86,788 -12.3%
24 Rose 85,305 -13.6%
25 Lillian 83,159 -43.2%
26 Louise 82,895 -24.8%
27 Catherine 78,881 -29.3%
28 Ruby 76,737 -26.2%
29 Eleanor 74,760 -31%
30 Patricia 74,732 +444.5%
31 Gladys 72,561 -39.6%
32 Annie 69,468 -18.1%
33 Josephine 69,223 -34.5%
34 Thelma 68,767 -29.9%
35 Edna 68,629 -40.8%
36 Norma 65,241 +99.9%
37 Pauline 64,075 -30%
38 Lucille 63,883 -43.6%
39 Edith 62,989 -42.7%
40 Gloria 62,859 +642%
41 Ethel 62,806 -42.6%
42 Phyllis 61,871 +107.6%
43 Grace 60,060 -36.3%
44 Hazel 58,984 -43%
45 June 56,483 +3.7%
46 Bernice 55,842 -23.2%
47 Marion 55,178 -19.4%
48 Dolores 51,988 +386.5%
49 Rita 50,587 -4.3%
50 Lorraine 49,939 +36.3%
1910s 1930s