Most Popular Baby Names of 1920

In 1920, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 70,983 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 56,913. Mary held on to number one for a 41st year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 41st year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,198,289 girls and 1,064,356 boys born in 1920 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,767 different girls' names and 4,989 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1920

Top girls' names, 1920
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919
1	Mary	70,983	same
2	Dorothy	36,643	up 1
3	Helen	35,097	down 1
4	Margaret	27,994	same
5	Ruth	26,102	same
6	Mildred	18,060	same
7	Virginia	17,314	same
8	Elizabeth	15,908	same
9	Frances	15,883	same
10	Anna	14,581	same
11	Betty	14,016	up 4
12	Evelyn	13,838	down 1
13	Marie	12,743	down 1
14	Doris	11,892	up 4
15	Alice	11,596	down 2
16	Florence	10,731	down 2
17	Irene	10,072	down 1
18	Lillian	10,049	down 1
19	Louise	9,179	up 1
20	Rose	9,011	down 1
21	Catherine	8,878	up 2
22	Gladys	8,819	down 1
23	Martha	8,709	up 2
24	Marjorie	8,658	up 9
25	Eleanor	8,497	up 5
26	Ruby	8,336	down 2
27	Edna	8,331	down 5
28	Josephine	8,093	down 2
29	Lucille	7,989	down 2
30	Ethel	7,868	down 2
31	Thelma	7,814	same
32	Edith	7,773	down 3
33	Jean	7,714	up 4
34	Hazel	7,308	down 2
35	Annie	7,268	same
36	Pauline	7,180	same
37	Grace	7,172	down 3
38	Lois	6,560	up 2
39	Esther	6,068	down 1
40	Bernice	5,928	up 2
41	Beatrice	5,804	same
42	Gertrude	5,797	down 3
43	Marion	5,745	up 1
44	Clara	5,470	down 1
45	Katherine	5,276	up 6
46	Emma	5,238	down 1
47	Barbara	5,106	up 13
48	Jane	5,054	up 5
49	Ann	5,041	same
50	Sarah	5,031	down 4
51	Elsie	4,993	down 4
52	Rita	4,979	up 2
53	June	4,911	up 11
54	Agnes	4,907	down 4
55	Julia	4,889	down 7
56	Shirley	4,713	up 33
57	Bertha	4,604	down 5
58	Eva	4,498	down 3
59	Viola	4,292	down 1
60	Geraldine	4,265	up 8
61	Juanita	4,238	up 12
62	Pearl	4,204	down 6
63	Laura	4,171	up 8
64	Vivian	4,128	up 8
65	Anne	4,114	down 2
66	Ida	4,090	down 9
67	Kathryn	4,082	down 1
68	Myrtle	3,955	down 1
69	Norma	3,949	up 14
70	Lorraine	3,928	down 8
71	Bessie	3,906	down 12
72	Phyllis	3,852	up 12
73	Marian	3,845	up 9
74	Willie	3,816	down 13
75	Vera	3,785	down 10
76	Nellie	3,762	down 7
77	Violet	3,694	down 3
78	Wilma	3,670	up 8
79	Charlotte	3,624	same
80	Alma	3,584	down 4
81	Maxine	3,507	up 4
82	Stella	3,492	down 12
83	Mabel	3,364	down 5
84	Jessie	3,329	down 9
85	Sylvia	3,317	down 8
86	Genevieve	3,258	up 2
87	Minnie	3,244	down 7
88	Ella	3,232	down 1
89	Leona	3,166	up 1
90	Lillie	3,162	down 9
91	Kathleen	3,158	up 10
92	Ellen	3,076	same
93	Marguerite	3,055	up 3
94	Lucy	3,018	down 3
95	Nancy	2,982	up 5
96	Mattie	2,902	down 1
97	Jennie	2,808	down 4
98	Lena	2,785	down 4
99	Mae	2,730	same
100	Eileen	2,718	up 3

Top boys' names, 1920
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919
1	John	56,913	same
2	William	50,146	same
3	Robert	48,679	up 1
4	James	47,908	down 1
5	Charles	28,309	same
6	George	26,891	same
7	Joseph	25,587	same
8	Edward	20,097	same
9	Frank	16,430	same
10	Richard	15,010	up 2
11	Thomas	14,936	down 1
12	Harold	13,678	up 1
13	Walter	13,294	down 2
14	Paul	12,570	up 1
15	Raymond	12,193	down 1
16	Donald	11,941	up 1
17	Henry	11,305	down 1
18	Arthur	10,236	up 1
19	Albert	9,997	down 1
20	Jack	9,599	up 1
21	Harry	9,406	down 1
22	Ralph	8,556	same
23	Kenneth	7,840	up 3
24	Howard	7,466	same
25	David	7,444	up 2
26	Clarence	7,221	down 1
27	Carl	7,010	up 2
28	Louis	6,966	same
29	Willie	6,887	down 6
30	Eugene	6,867	up 3
31	Earl	6,533	same
32	Roy	6,355	same
33	Fred	6,298	down 3
34	Francis	6,241	same
35	Joe	6,071	same
36	Lawrence	5,727	up 2
37	Ernest	5,566	down 1
38	Leonard	5,511	up 1
39	Warren	5,492	up 44
40	Stanley	5,314	down 3
41	Herbert	5,249	down 1
42	Alfred	5,006	same
43	Anthony	4,944	down 2
44	Samuel	4,654	down 1
45	Elmer	4,206	down 1
46	Bernard	4,163	down 1
47	Norman	4,109	up 1
48	Leo	4,054	up 1
49	Andrew	4,026	down 2
50	Michael	4,003	down 4
51	Russell	3,901	down 1
52	Daniel	3,897	down 1
53	Edwin	3,734	down 1
54	Melvin	3,717	up 2
55	Chester	3,698	down 2
56	Leroy	3,549	down 1
57	Peter	3,497	same
58	Lloyd	3,454	same
59	Clifford	3,291	up 1
60	Frederick	3,275	up 4
61	Floyd	3,260	down 2
62	Marvin	3,244	up 1
63	Theodore	3,219	down 9
64	Gerald	3,157	up 6
65	Vernon	3,144	same
66	Herman	3,109	down 5
67	Ray	3,086	up 2
68	Clyde	3,069	down 1
69	Lester	3,068	down 7
70	Charlie	2,785	down 4
71	Philip	2,700	same
72	Lewis	2,688	up 2
73	Vincent	2,661	down 1
74	Milton	2,592	down 1
75	Leon	2,554	up 5
76	Alvin	2,523	same
77	Cecil	2,459	up 1
78	Martin	2,439	up 3
79	Jesse	2,420	down 2
80	Glenn	2,375	up 4
81	Victor	2,349	down 13
82	Lee	2,321	same
83	Benjamin	2,309	down 4
84	Sam	2,283	down 9
85	Gordon	2,277	up 1
86	Wayne	2,180	up 4
87	Harvey	2,165	down 2
88	Willard	2,089	down 1
89	Edgar	2,029	same
90	Oscar	2,006	down 2
91	Arnold	1,911	up 3
92	Claude	1,893	same
93	Wallace	1,877	up 14
94	Allen	1,866	up 7
95	Everett	1,827	down 2
96	Stephen	1,771	up 1
97	Gilbert	1,763	up 5
98	Wilbur	1,741	same
99	Johnnie	1,727	down 4
100	Homer	1,722	up 4

Biggest climbers in 1920

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1919.

Girls

Myrl: up 204 places, from 994th to 790th
Jonnie: up 197 places, from 973rd to 776th
Zoe: up 183 places, from 999th to 816th
Neta: up 175 places, from 978th to 803rd
Lucie: up 165 places, from 976th to 811th
Ethelyn: up 155 places, from 706th to 551st
Patty: up 155 places, from 939th to 784th
Concepcion: up 149 places, from 891st to 742nd
Luvenia: up 142 places, from 905th to 763rd
Ozella: up 141 places, from 996th to 855th

Boys

Bryce: up 252 places, from 832nd to 580th
Kyle: up 230 places, from 932nd to 702nd
Bradley: up 227 places, from 919th to 692nd
Jordan: up 213 places, from 977th to 764th
Jennings: up 205 places, from 856th to 651st
Gaetano: up 190 places, from 941st to 751st
Bobbie: up 172 places, from 718th to 546th
Rowland: up 169 places, from 905th to 736th
Arvil: up 163 places, from 929th to 766th
Bobby: up 161 places, from 629th to 468th

New to the top 1,000 in 1920

Girls

Colleen, 818th (back after dropping out)
Elvina, 822nd (back after dropping out)
Eugenie, 854th (back after dropping out)
Francine, 860th (back after dropping out)
Fairy, 867th (back after dropping out)
Dana, 874th (back after dropping out)
Lyla, 877th (back after dropping out)
Reatha, 878th (back after dropping out)
Gearldine, 882nd (its first time ever)
Mickey, 889th (its first time ever)

Boys

Harding, 391st (its first time ever)
Cameron, 745th (back after dropping out)
Williams, 784th (back after dropping out)
Claire, 786th (back after dropping out)
Silvio, 789th (back after dropping out)
Guillermo, 813th (back after dropping out)
Alejandro, 817th (back after dropping out)
Burnell, 819th (back after dropping out)
Glenwood, 829th (back after dropping out)
Kay, 839th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1920?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23.2% of the girls counted in 1920, and the top ten boys' names to 31.6% of the boys. In 1900, those shares were 19.5% for girls and 34.2% 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.