These Were The Most Popular Baby Names In The 1920s

Dorothy, Helen, Edward and Robert dominated the charts.
The Social Security Administration tracks the most popular names of each decade going back to 1880.
H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock via Getty Images
The Social Security Administration tracks the most popular names of each decade going back to 1880.

Thanks to the Social Security Administration, Americans can see which baby names were the most popular every year going back to 1880. The agency also tracks the hottest names from each decade.

Looking back to the 1920s, it’s clear the top names for little girls have changed over time, as the list contains choices like Betty, Mildred, Jean, Shirley and Barbara. Still some, like Elizabeth and Anna, have a little more staying power. And others, like Ruby and Alice, have gotten more popular again in recent years.

On the list of boys’ names, there are many more still-popular picks, such as James, William, Robert, Charles, John and Joseph. But of course, other names like Harold, Eugene and Howard have fallen down in the ranks.

Keep scrolling to see the 50 most popular names for boys and girls born in the U.S. from 1920 to 1929.

Girls

  1. Mary
  2. Dorothy
  3. Helen
  4. Betty
  5. Margaret
  6. Ruth
  7. Virginia
  8. Doris
  9. Mildred
  10. Frances
  11. Elizabeth
  12. Evelyn
  13. Anna
  14. Marie
  15. Alice
  16. Jean
  17. Shirley
  18. Barbara
  19. Irene
  20. Marjorie
  21. Florence
  22. Lois
  23. Martha
  24. Rose
  25. Lillian
  26. Louise
  27. Catherine
  28. Ruby
  29. Eleanor
  30. Patricia
  31. Gladys
  32. Annie
  33. Josephine
  34. Thelma
  35. Edna
  36. Norma
  37. Pauline
  38. Lucille
  39. Edith
  40. Gloria
  41. Ethel
  42. Phyllis
  43. Grace
  44. Hazel
  45. June
  46. Bernice
  47. Marion
  48. Dolores
  49. Rita
  50. Lorraine

Boys

  1. Robert
  2. John
  3. James
  4. William
  5. Charles
  6. George
  7. Joseph
  8. Richard
  9. Edward
  10. Donald
  11. Thomas
  12. Frank
  13. Harold
  14. Paul
  15. Raymond
  16. Walter
  17. Jack
  18. Henry
  19. Kenneth
  20. Arthur
  21. Albert
  22. David
  23. Harry
  24. Eugene
  25. Ralph
  26. Howard
  27. Carl
  28. Willie
  29. Louis
  30. Clarence
  31. Earl
  32. Roy
  33. Fred
  34. Joe
  35. Francis
  36. Lawrence
  37. Herbert
  38. Leonard
  39. Ernest
  40. Alfred
  41. Anthony
  42. Stanley
  43. Norman
  44. Gerald
  45. Daniel
  46. Samuel
  47. Bernard
  48. Billy
  49. Melvin
  50. Marvin

Before You Go

LOADINGERROR LOADING

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE