Most Popular Baby Names of 1923

In 1923, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 71,634 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 57,467. Mary held on to number one for a 44th year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 44th year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,206,366 girls and 1,096,102 boys born in 1923 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,739 different girls' names and 4,904 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1923

Top girls' names, 1923
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1922
1	Mary	71,634	same
2	Dorothy	39,043	same
3	Helen	31,486	same
4	Margaret	26,134	same
5	Betty	25,989	up 1
6	Ruth	23,637	down 1
7	Virginia	18,325	same
8	Mildred	15,989	same
9	Elizabeth	15,459	same
10	Frances	14,881	same
11	Doris	14,610	same
12	Evelyn	13,173	up 1
13	Anna	12,865	down 1
14	Marie	11,513	same
15	Alice	11,331	same
16	Marjorie	10,220	same
17	Irene	10,054	same
18	Florence	9,746	same
19	Jean	9,511	up 1
20	Lillian	9,328	down 1
21	Martha	8,961	same
22	Louise	8,882	same
23	Rose	8,440	same
24	Catherine	8,437	same
25	Ruby	8,232	up 1
26	Shirley	7,918	up 13
27	Lois	7,814	up 8
28	Eleanor	7,772	same
29	Gladys	7,695	down 4
30	Josephine	7,560	down 3
31	Thelma	7,379	same
32	Edna	7,299	down 3
33	Barbara	7,209	up 7
34	Annie	7,095	down 4
35	Lucille	6,914	down 2
36	Edith	6,836	down 2
37	Pauline	6,707	down 1
38	Ethel	6,541	down 6
39	Grace	6,316	down 1
40	Hazel	6,246	down 3
41	Norma	5,885	up 5
42	June	5,810	up 3
43	Bernice	5,809	down 2
44	Marion	5,711	down 2
45	Phyllis	5,476	up 8
46	Beatrice	5,464	down 3
47	Esther	5,315	down 3
48	Gloria	5,310	up 13
49	Clara	5,134	down 2
50	Rita	5,095	up 2
51	Juanita	5,048	up 6
52	Ann	5,022	down 3
53	Emma	4,977	down 3
54	Sarah	4,963	down 3
55	Jane	4,917	same
56	Patricia	4,800	up 13
57	Lorraine	4,764	down 1
58	Geraldine	4,712	same
59	Gertrude	4,700	down 11
60	Katherine	4,579	down 6
61	Elsie	4,550	down 2
62	Julia	4,323	down 2
63	Agnes	4,222	down 1
64	Bertha	4,122	down 1
65	Marian	4,029	up 2
66	Eva	3,975	down 2
67	Willie	3,963	up 3
68	Ida	3,888	down 3
69	Vivian	3,831	up 5
70	Kathleen	3,754	up 10
71	Anne	3,727	down 5
72	Kathryn	3,714	up 1
73	Laura	3,710	down 5
74	Wilma	3,706	up 3
75	Nancy	3,673	up 3
76	Maxine	3,603	up 6
77	Charlotte	3,596	down 1
78	Pearl	3,543	down 7
79	Viola	3,534	down 7
80	Wanda	3,405	up 12
81	Bessie	3,387	same
82	Vera	3,375	down 3
83	Dolores	3,369	up 21
84	Myrtle	3,314	down 9
85	Audrey	3,281	up 4
86	Violet	3,276	same
87	Elaine	3,212	up 15
88	Nellie	3,184	down 5
89	Alma	3,070	down 5
90	Jeanne	3,040	up 7
91	Lillie	3,036	down 6
92	Lucy	3,002	up 1
93	Ella	2,995	down 3
94	Jessie	2,995	down 7
95	Eileen	2,976	up 1
96	Stella	2,956	down 8
97	Genevieve	2,869	up 1
98	Sylvia	2,838	down 4
99	Minnie	2,785	down 8
100	Leona	2,744	up 1

Top boys' names, 1923
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1922
1	John	57,467	same
2	Robert	56,111	same
3	William	52,136	same
4	James	50,462	same
5	Charles	28,966	same
6	George	27,025	same
7	Joseph	25,561	same
8	Edward	20,597	same
9	Richard	18,887	same
10	Donald	16,433	up 2
11	Frank	15,903	down 1
12	Thomas	15,886	down 1
13	Harold	13,874	same
14	Paul	13,362	same
15	Raymond	12,460	up 1
16	Walter	12,433	down 1
17	Jack	11,190	up 1
18	Henry	11,067	down 1
19	Arthur	9,924	same
20	Albert	9,825	same
21	Kenneth	9,734	same
22	Harry	9,261	same
23	Ralph	8,629	same
24	David	8,230	same
25	Eugene	7,947	same
26	Howard	7,156	same
27	Louis	7,074	same
28	Carl	6,871	up 2
29	Clarence	6,801	same
30	Willie	6,665	down 2
31	Earl	6,339	same
32	Roy	6,316	same
33	Fred	6,314	same
34	Francis	6,087	same
35	Joe	6,003	same
36	Lawrence	5,913	same
37	Leonard	5,486	up 1
38	Ernest	5,372	down 1
39	Anthony	5,121	same
40	Herbert	5,071	same
41	Stanley	5,036	same
42	Alfred	5,005	same
43	Warren	4,820	up 2
44	Norman	4,706	same
45	Samuel	4,578	down 2
46	Bernard	4,376	same
47	Daniel	4,264	same
48	Melvin	4,012	up 2
49	Leo	3,973	up 2
50	Michael	3,915	down 2
51	Marvin	3,810	up 5
52	Russell	3,805	down 3
53	Andrew	3,748	same
54	Gerald	3,696	up 4
55	Leroy	3,686	same
56	Edwin	3,652	down 4
57	Elmer	3,630	down 3
58	Peter	3,409	down 1
59	Lloyd	3,387	same
60	Frederick	3,278	same
61	Ray	3,161	up 4
62	Theodore	3,157	same
63	Chester	3,150	up 1
64	Floyd	3,143	down 3
65	Clifford	3,106	down 2
66	Herman	2,961	same
67	Vernon	2,956	up 1
68	Clyde	2,853	down 1
69	Wallace	2,803	up 18
70	Philip	2,783	same
71	Lester	2,765	down 2
72	Vincent	2,719	down 1
73	Alvin	2,647	same
74	Lewis	2,618	up 1
75	Wayne	2,597	up 3
76	Gordon	2,576	same
77	Leon	2,528	same
78	Billy	2,488	up 12
79	Charlie	2,471	down 7
80	Martin	2,460	same
81	Milton	2,446	down 7
82	Calvin	2,408	up 46
83	Jesse	2,387	down 2
84	Glenn	2,370	down 5
85	Lee	2,359	down 2
86	Benjamin	2,316	down 4
87	Cecil	2,255	down 2
88	Victor	2,226	down 2
89	Sam	2,204	down 5
90	Dale	2,172	down 1
91	Harvey	2,115	down 3
92	Willard	1,945	down 1
93	Arnold	1,927	up 1
94	Edgar	1,897	down 1
95	Roger	1,888	up 1
96	Oscar	1,880	down 4
97	Allen	1,875	down 2
98	Bill	1,833	up 6
99	Everett	1,745	down 1
100	Virgil	1,713	down 1

Biggest climbers in 1923

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1922.

Girls

Laurel: up 288 places, from 774th to 486th
Marlene: up 285 places, from 974th to 689th
Leatrice: up 238 places, from 687th to 449th
Deborah: up 184 places, from 868th to 684th
Doreen: up 183 places, from 717th to 534th
Lida: up 162 places, from 876th to 714th
Dale: up 155 places, from 941st to 786th
Vita: up 153 places, from 977th to 824th
Colleen: up 136 places, from 513th to 377th
Amalia: up 132 places, from 861st to 729th

Boys

Jordan: up 258 places, from 954th to 696th
Guillermo: up 240 places, from 924th to 684th
Jennings: up 233 places, from 860th to 627th
Donovan: up 222 places, from 980th to 758th
Lupe: up 208 places, from 922nd to 714th
Garth: up 204 places, from 844th to 640th
Allie: up 203 places, from 928th to 725th
Ernie: up 202 places, from 857th to 655th
Lon: up 186 places, from 921st to 735th
Evert: up 178 places, from 834th to 656th

New to the top 1,000 in 1923

Girls

Eris, 457th (its first time ever)
Cruz, 793rd (back after dropping out)
Marlys, 817th (back after dropping out)
Jeraldine, 840th (back after dropping out)
Caryl, 846th (back after dropping out)
Berenice, 865th (back after dropping out)
Jeanie, 868th (back after dropping out)
Mariam, 876th (back after dropping out)
Ozella, 877th (back after dropping out)
Bettyjane, 882nd (its first time ever)

Boys

Hosea, 781st (back after dropping out)
Vergil, 832nd (back after dropping out)
Tim, 844th (back after dropping out)
Weston, 845th (back after dropping out)
Ardell, 847th (back after dropping out)
Norton, 858th (back after dropping out)
Paris, 867th (back after dropping out)
Rollie, 868th (back after dropping out)
Rudolf, 869th (back after dropping out)
Reese, 879th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1923?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23.4% of the girls counted in 1923, and the top ten boys' names to 32.3% of the boys. In 1903, those shares were 19.9% for girls and 33.2% 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.