Most Popular Baby Names of 1919

In 1919, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 65,836 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 53,522. Mary held on to number one for a 40th year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 40th year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,130,117 girls and 980,122 boys born in 1919 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,559 different girls' names and 4,810 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1919

Top girls' names, 1919
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1918
1	Mary	65,836	same
2	Helen	33,706	same
3	Dorothy	31,733	same
4	Margaret	26,238	same
5	Ruth	24,562	same
6	Mildred	17,300	same
7	Virginia	15,636	same
8	Elizabeth	15,287	up 1
9	Frances	15,106	down 1
10	Anna	14,498	same
11	Evelyn	13,321	same
12	Marie	12,008	same
13	Alice	11,141	same
14	Florence	10,482	same
15	Betty	10,106	up 6
16	Irene	9,712	same
17	Lillian	9,516	down 2
18	Doris	9,433	up 1
19	Rose	9,195	down 2
20	Louise	8,812	down 2
21	Gladys	8,717	up 1
22	Edna	8,404	up 1
23	Catherine	8,335	down 3
24	Ruby	8,334	up 3
25	Martha	8,322	same
26	Josephine	8,104	down 2
27	Lucille	7,856	up 2
28	Ethel	7,809	same
29	Edith	7,767	up 1
30	Eleanor	7,611	down 4
31	Thelma	7,558	up 1
32	Hazel	7,430	up 1
33	Marjorie	7,335	up 1
34	Grace	7,195	down 3
35	Annie	7,146	up 1
36	Pauline	6,973	down 1
37	Jean	6,799	same
38	Esther	6,248	same
39	Gertrude	6,014	same
40	Lois	5,976	up 2
41	Beatrice	5,856	down 1
42	Bernice	5,793	down 1
43	Clara	5,404	same
44	Marion	5,158	up 1
45	Emma	5,087	up 1
46	Sarah	5,022	up 6
47	Elsie	4,995	up 2
48	Julia	4,950	same
49	Ann	4,924	down 5
50	Agnes	4,901	down 3
51	Katherine	4,846	down 1
52	Bertha	4,754	down 1
53	Jane	4,527	same
54	Rita	4,515	up 4
55	Eva	4,484	same
56	Pearl	4,273	same
57	Ida	4,163	same
58	Viola	4,129	up 1
59	Bessie	4,106	up 2
60	Barbara	4,084	same
61	Willie	4,051	up 9
62	Lorraine	3,976	up 7
63	Anne	3,975	down 9
64	June	3,963	up 2
65	Vera	3,848	up 3
66	Kathryn	3,825	down 3
67	Myrtle	3,816	down 5
68	Geraldine	3,727	up 9
69	Nellie	3,726	down 4
70	Stella	3,700	down 3
71	Laura	3,663	down 7
72	Vivian	3,640	same
73	Juanita	3,636	up 12
74	Violet	3,597	up 9
75	Jessie	3,530	same
76	Alma	3,438	down 3
77	Sylvia	3,412	down 6
78	Mabel	3,405	down 4
79	Charlotte	3,353	down 1
80	Minnie	3,272	up 8
81	Lillie	3,262	up 8
82	Marian	3,261	down 6
83	Norma	3,199	up 15
84	Phyllis	3,189	down 4
85	Maxine	3,183	up 2
86	Wilma	3,170	down 4
87	Ella	3,158	down 3
88	Genevieve	3,155	down 7
89	Shirley	3,149	up 8
90	Leona	3,033	down 11
91	Lucy	3,007	down 1
92	Ellen	2,929	same
93	Jennie	2,928	down 2
94	Lena	2,872	down 1
95	Mattie	2,856	up 5
96	Marguerite	2,836	down 10
97	Blanche	2,668	down 1
98	Opal	2,652	down 4
99	Mae	2,634	down 4
100	Nancy	2,628	up 2

Top boys' names, 1919
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1918
1	John	53,522	same
2	William	43,969	same
3	James	42,392	same
4	Robert	41,025	same
5	Charles	25,192	same
6	George	25,170	same
7	Joseph	24,266	same
8	Edward	18,536	same
9	Frank	15,701	same
10	Thomas	13,434	same
11	Walter	12,879	same
12	Richard	12,441	same
13	Harold	12,021	same
14	Raymond	11,384	up 1
15	Paul	11,305	down 1
16	Henry	10,613	same
17	Donald	9,904	up 1
18	Albert	9,607	up 1
19	Arthur	9,540	down 2
20	Harry	8,990	same
21	Jack	8,263	same
22	Ralph	7,709	same
23	Willie	6,942	up 6
24	Howard	6,843	up 2
25	Clarence	6,825	down 2
26	Kenneth	6,796	up 1
27	David	6,716	up 1
28	Louis	6,661	down 4
29	Carl	6,474	down 4
30	Fred	6,091	up 3
31	Earl	5,975	same
32	Roy	5,970	same
33	Eugene	5,892	up 2
34	Francis	5,726	down 4
35	Joe	5,709	down 1
36	Ernest	5,296	up 1
37	Stanley	5,238	down 1
38	Lawrence	5,205	same
39	Leonard	5,010	up 2
40	Herbert	4,960	same
41	Anthony	4,737	down 2
42	Alfred	4,615	same
43	Samuel	4,472	same
44	Elmer	3,982	same
45	Bernard	3,915	up 2
46	Michael	3,909	down 1
47	Andrew	3,851	down 1
48	Norman	3,809	up 1
49	Leo	3,802	down 1
50	Russell	3,645	same
51	Daniel	3,526	up 1
52	Edwin	3,450	up 3
53	Chester	3,432	up 1
54	Theodore	3,424	up 10
55	Leroy	3,422	up 2
56	Melvin	3,384	same
57	Peter	3,375	down 4
58	Lloyd	3,238	down 7
59	Floyd	3,121	up 2
60	Clifford	3,040	same
61	Herman	3,027	up 4
62	Lester	3,020	same
63	Marvin	2,997	up 5
64	Frederick	2,932	down 5
65	Vernon	2,929	up 1
66	Charlie	2,891	up 4
67	Clyde	2,884	same
68	Victor	2,751	down 5
69	Ray	2,722	same
70	Gerald	2,689	up 2
71	Philip	2,531	same
72	Vincent	2,531	up 1
73	Milton	2,448	up 3
74	Lewis	2,429	same
75	Sam	2,384	same
76	Alvin	2,383	up 4
77	Jesse	2,356	up 1
78	Cecil	2,300	up 4
79	Benjamin	2,279	same
80	Leon	2,250	down 3
81	Martin	2,204	same
82	Lee	2,189	up 4
83	Warren	2,180	up 7
84	Glenn	2,153	same
85	Harvey	2,028	up 3
86	Gordon	2,017	down 1
87	Willard	2,014	down 4
88	Oscar	1,991	down 1
89	Edgar	1,986	same
90	Wayne	1,955	up 1
91	Woodrow	1,808	down 33
92	Claude	1,772	up 3
93	Everett	1,772	same
94	Arnold	1,767	down 2
95	Johnnie	1,716	up 15
96	Sidney	1,715	down 2
97	Stephen	1,693	down 1
98	Wilbur	1,689	down 1
99	Eddie	1,660	up 18
100	Morris	1,660	up 1

Biggest climbers in 1919

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1918.

Girls

Christene: up 175 places, from 921st to 746th
Adelina: up 159 places, from 930th to 771st
Hazle: up 153 places, from 888th to 735th
Eloisa: up 145 places, from 845th to 700th
Marilynn: up 141 places, from 957th to 816th
Dimple: up 139 places, from 939th to 800th
Vena: up 136 places, from 958th to 822nd
Treva: up 126 places, from 717th to 591st
Bulah: up 125 places, from 771st to 646th
Exie: up 125 places, from 970th to 845th

Boys

Ernesto: up 226 places, from 845th to 619th
Felton: up 211 places, from 797th to 586th
Alford: up 186 places, from 831st to 645th
Gregorio: up 184 places, from 953rd to 769th
Ocie: up 184 places, from 980th to 796th
Melton: up 180 places, from 960th to 780th
Santiago: up 179 places, from 868th to 689th
Obie: up 171 places, from 907th to 736th
Garth: up 165 places, from 862nd to 697th
Arturo: up 165 places, from 903rd to 738th

New to the top 1,000 in 1919

Girls

Angelita, 762nd (back after dropping out)
Clarabelle, 806th (back after dropping out)
Richard, 818th (back after dropping out)
Afton, 829th (back after dropping out)
Harold, 831st (back after dropping out)
Elease, 843rd (back after dropping out)
Emmer, 844th (back after dropping out)
Cruz, 850th (its first time ever)
Margurite, 855th (back after dropping out)
Cordie, 859th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Dempsey, 581st (back after dropping out)
Edsel, 731st (its first time ever)
Gilberto, 768th (back after dropping out)
Golden, 805th (back after dropping out)
Cruz, 812th (back after dropping out)
Fidel, 813th (back after dropping out)
Lynwood, 821st (back after dropping out)
Ashley, 860th (back after dropping out)
Joy, 870th (back after dropping out)
Olan, 874th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1919?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23% of the girls counted in 1919, and the top ten boys' names to 30.9% of the boys. In 1899, those shares were 20.2% for girls and 34.3% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.