Most Popular Baby Names of 1922

In 1922, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 72,177 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 57,280. Mary held on to number one for a 43rd year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 43rd year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,201,003 girls and 1,088,154 boys born in 1922 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,789 different girls' names and 4,967 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1922

Top girls' names, 1922
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1921
1	Mary	72,177	same
2	Dorothy	37,716	same
3	Helen	32,510	same
4	Margaret	26,862	same
5	Ruth	23,633	same
6	Betty	20,895	up 2
7	Virginia	19,144	down 1
8	Mildred	16,412	down 1
9	Elizabeth	15,244	up 1
10	Frances	15,054	down 1
11	Doris	13,798	up 2
12	Anna	13,408	down 1
13	Evelyn	13,320	down 1
14	Marie	11,912	same
15	Alice	11,277	same
16	Marjorie	10,385	same
17	Irene	10,173	up 1
18	Florence	10,036	down 1
19	Lillian	9,430	same
20	Jean	9,109	up 5
21	Martha	9,021	same
22	Louise	8,886	same
23	Rose	8,791	down 3
24	Catherine	8,537	down 1
25	Gladys	8,042	down 1
26	Ruby	8,003	same
27	Josephine	7,864	up 1
28	Eleanor	7,852	up 1
29	Edna	7,622	down 2
30	Annie	7,476	up 6
31	Thelma	7,254	down 1
32	Ethel	7,246	same
33	Lucille	7,151	down 2
34	Edith	7,136	down 1
35	Lois	6,946	up 3
36	Pauline	6,811	up 1
37	Hazel	6,757	down 3
38	Grace	6,743	down 3
39	Shirley	6,407	up 5
40	Barbara	6,272	same
41	Bernice	5,912	down 2
42	Marion	5,667	up 1
43	Beatrice	5,476	down 2
44	Esther	5,474	down 2
45	June	5,382	up 5
46	Norma	5,238	up 5
47	Clara	5,126	down 2
48	Gertrude	5,082	down 2
49	Ann	5,054	up 4
50	Emma	5,013	up 2
51	Sarah	4,982	up 3
52	Rita	4,976	down 4
53	Phyllis	4,935	up 7
54	Katherine	4,827	down 5
55	Jane	4,805	down 8
56	Lorraine	4,668	up 5
57	Juanita	4,643	same
58	Geraldine	4,641	up 4
59	Elsie	4,618	down 4
60	Julia	4,616	down 2
61	Gloria	4,496	up 41
62	Agnes	4,480	down 6
63	Bertha	4,419	down 4
64	Eva	4,192	down 1
65	Ida	3,987	up 2
66	Anne	3,974	up 4
67	Marian	3,951	up 2
68	Laura	3,902	up 3
69	Patricia	3,902	up 15
70	Willie	3,885	up 4
71	Pearl	3,848	down 6
72	Viola	3,793	down 6
73	Kathryn	3,792	down 9
74	Vivian	3,733	down 6
75	Myrtle	3,649	down 2
76	Charlotte	3,582	up 3
77	Wilma	3,535	down 5
78	Nancy	3,518	up 9
79	Vera	3,510	down 3
80	Kathleen	3,466	up 3
81	Bessie	3,447	down 6
82	Maxine	3,444	down 5
83	Nellie	3,274	down 3
84	Alma	3,233	down 6
85	Lillie	3,200	up 9
86	Violet	3,194	down 5
87	Jessie	3,182	up 4
88	Stella	3,166	down 2
89	Audrey	3,164	down 7
90	Ella	3,150	down 1
91	Minnie	3,115	up 5
92	Wanda	2,986	up 9
93	Lucy	2,977	same
94	Sylvia	2,961	down 6
95	Ellen	2,953	same
96	Eileen	2,939	up 4
97	Jeanne	2,917	up 12
98	Genevieve	2,897	down 8
99	Mabel	2,894	down 14
100	Margie	2,854	up 6

Top boys' names, 1922
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1921
1	John	57,280	same
2	Robert	53,796	same
3	William	51,111	same
4	James	49,802	same
5	Charles	28,839	same
6	George	27,350	same
7	Joseph	25,699	same
8	Edward	20,419	same
9	Richard	17,537	up 1
10	Frank	16,013	down 1
11	Thomas	15,261	same
12	Donald	14,913	up 1
13	Harold	13,593	down 1
14	Paul	12,922	same
15	Walter	12,631	same
16	Raymond	12,129	same
17	Henry	11,207	same
18	Jack	10,847	same
19	Arthur	10,114	same
20	Albert	9,896	same
21	Kenneth	9,258	up 1
22	Harry	9,077	down 1
23	Ralph	8,484	same
24	David	7,865	up 1
25	Eugene	7,849	up 1
26	Howard	7,296	up 1
27	Louis	7,095	up 2
28	Willie	6,903	up 6
29	Clarence	6,861	down 1
30	Carl	6,690	same
31	Earl	6,461	same
32	Roy	6,458	same
33	Fred	6,245	same
34	Francis	6,147	up 1
35	Joe	6,089	up 1
36	Lawrence	5,786	up 1
37	Ernest	5,503	up 1
38	Leonard	5,407	up 1
39	Anthony	5,091	up 1
40	Herbert	5,047	up 2
41	Stanley	5,045	same
42	Alfred	4,833	up 1
43	Samuel	4,600	up 1
44	Norman	4,527	up 2
45	Warren	4,484	down 21
46	Bernard	4,409	down 1
47	Daniel	4,285	up 2
48	Michael	3,990	down 1
49	Russell	3,965	up 3
50	Melvin	3,908	up 3
51	Leo	3,901	down 1
52	Edwin	3,827	up 2
53	Andrew	3,803	down 2
54	Elmer	3,738	down 6
55	Leroy	3,671	same
56	Marvin	3,580	up 3
57	Peter	3,545	same
58	Gerald	3,541	up 2
59	Lloyd	3,364	down 1
60	Frederick	3,353	up 1
61	Floyd	3,221	up 2
62	Theodore	3,216	up 3
63	Clifford	3,157	down 1
64	Chester	3,133	down 8
65	Ray	3,051	up 2
66	Herman	3,014	down 2
67	Clyde	3,007	up 2
68	Vernon	3,003	same
69	Lester	2,951	down 3
70	Philip	2,769	up 2
71	Vincent	2,710	down 1
72	Charlie	2,655	up 4
73	Alvin	2,599	same
74	Milton	2,556	up 1
75	Lewis	2,555	down 4
76	Gordon	2,527	up 8
77	Leon	2,521	down 3
78	Wayne	2,476	up 3
79	Glenn	2,425	up 1
80	Martin	2,402	down 2
81	Jesse	2,395	down 4
82	Benjamin	2,378	same
83	Lee	2,371	up 3
84	Sam	2,349	up 1
85	Cecil	2,336	down 6
86	Victor	2,322	down 3
87	Wallace	2,210	up 1
88	Harvey	2,207	down 1
89	Dale	2,041	up 4
90	Billy	2,029	up 19
91	Willard	2,017	down 2
92	Oscar	2,007	same
93	Edgar	1,923	down 3
94	Arnold	1,892	down 3
95	Allen	1,887	down 1
96	Roger	1,848	up 3
97	Claude	1,806	down 1
98	Everett	1,798	down 3
99	Virgil	1,790	down 1
100	Gilbert	1,748	up 3

Biggest climbers in 1922

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1921.

Girls

Marilynn: up 274 places, from 662nd to 388th
Jacquelyn: up 203 places, from 763rd to 560th
Colleen: up 187 places, from 700th to 513th
Ardell: up 177 places, from 919th to 742nd
Diane: up 173 places, from 868th to 695th
Sammie: up 165 places, from 822nd to 657th
Laurel: up 165 places, from 939th to 774th
Elease: up 151 places, from 895th to 744th
Paul: up 146 places, from 962nd to 816th
Kattie: up 144 places, from 924th to 780th

Boys

Daryl: up 417 places, from 843rd to 426th
Eduardo: up 265 places, from 914th to 649th
Ricardo: up 246 places, from 959th to 713th
Giles: up 239 places, from 977th to 738th
Silvio: up 199 places, from 907th to 708th
Lucious: up 199 places, from 986th to 787th
Edsel: up 192 places, from 800th to 608th
Fidel: up 181 places, from 993rd to 812th
Bradley: up 166 places, from 869th to 703rd
Arlo: up 161 places, from 920th to 759th

New to the top 1,000 in 1922

Girls

Leatrice, 687th (its first time ever)
Willia, 818th (back after dropping out)
Marylou, 822nd (back after dropping out)
Billye, 831st (its first time ever)
Madlyn, 843rd (back after dropping out)
Ellamae, 874th (back after dropping out)
Drucilla, 880th (back after dropping out)
Versie, 886th (back after dropping out)
Oneta, 890th (back after dropping out)
Irine, 900th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Gorden, 725th (back after dropping out)
Jackie, 726th (its first time ever)
Burdette, 769th (back after dropping out)
Damon, 801st (back after dropping out)
Joaquin, 806th (back after dropping out)
Desmond, 842nd (back after dropping out)
Joy, 847th (back after dropping out)
Buel, 850th (back after dropping out)
Sumner, 854th (back after dropping out)
Arley, 864th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1922?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23.3% of the girls counted in 1922, and the top ten boys' names to 32% of the boys. In 1902, those shares were 19.8% for girls and 33.6% 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.