Family

Vintage baby names that rocked the 1920s

Written by:
Morgan Mullings
February 23, 2018
Fnsy // Shutterstock

Vintage baby names that rocked the 1920s

Though many refer to it as the Roaring Twenties, growing up in this decade wasn't totally glamorous. Often called the Greatest Generation, babies born in the early 20s were born after World War I and grew up during the Great Depression. But, they weren't old enough to fight during World War II. Then followed the Silent Generation, a more cautious group born at the end of the 20s. Men born around this time would be young adults when it came time for the Korean and Vietnam War. While their parents enjoyed the height of American consumerism, the children of this time faced unique hardships.

Mothers of '20s babies were able to vote in national elections for the first time, and their kids grew up alongside future presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. George and James are pretty high on this list, and more of these popular baby names are still common today.

Using data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker has organized the 50 most popular male and female names of these 20s babies, plus how each of those names ranks in the year 2016. Many of these names have remained popular for over 90 years.

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#50 Girl: Dolores

Rank in the 1920s: #50
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,198.6
Rank in 2016: #3,226
Births in 2016: 50


 

#50 Boy: Marvin

Rank in the 1920s: #50
Average annual births in the 1920s: 3,958.9
Rank in 2016: #544
Births in 2016: 529


 

#49 Girl: Gloria

Rank in the 1920s: #49
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,285.4
Rank in 2016: #550
Births in 2016: 563


 

#49 Boy: Melvin

Rank in the 1920s: #49
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,057.6
Rank in 2016: #738
Births in 2016: 328


 

#48 Girl: Lorraine

Rank in the 1920s: #48
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,993.8
Rank in 2016: #1,557
Births in 2016: 143


 

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#48 Boy: Billy

Rank in the 1920s: #48
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,209.9
Rank in 2016: #865
Births in 2016: 258


 

#47 Girl: Rita

Rank in the 1920s: #47
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,058.6
Rank in 2016: #1,185
Births in 2016: 209


 

#47 Boy: Bernard

Rank in the 1920s: #47
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,240.8
Rank in 2016: #1,163
Births in 2016: 163


 

#46 Girl: Marion

Rank in the 1920s: #46
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,517.7
Rank in 2016: #1,449
Births in 2016: 158


 

#46 Boy: Samuel

Rank in the 1920s: #46
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,336.7
Rank in 2016: #21
Births in 2016: 10,492


 

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#45 Girl: Bernice

Rank in the 1920s: #45
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,583.8
Rank in 2016: #3,089
Births in 2016: 53


 

#45 Boy: Daniel

Rank in the 1920s: #45
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,342.
Rank in 2016: #13
Births in 2016: 12,839


 

#44 Girl: Hazel

Rank in the 1920s: #44
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,898.4
Rank in 2016: #52
Births in 2016: 4,634


 

#44 Boy: Gerald

Rank in the 1920s: #44
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,452.5
Rank in 2016: #812
Births in 2016: 283


 

#43 Girl: June

Rank in the 1920s: #43
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,648.1
Rank in 2016: #268
Births in 2016: 1,180


 

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#43 Boy: Norman

Rank in the 1920s: #43
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,935.7
Rank in 2016: #1,085
Births in 2016: 180


 

#42 Girl: Grace

Rank in the 1920s: #42
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,006.1
Rank in 2016: #19
Births in 2016: 7,531


 

#42 Boy: Stanley

Rank in the 1920s: #42
Average annual births in the 1920s: 4,945.5
Rank in 2016: #682
Births in 2016: 364


 

#41 Girl: Patricia

Rank in the 1920s: #41
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,473.7
Rank in 2016: #745
Births in 2016: 380


 

#41 Boy: Anthony

Rank in the 1920s: #41
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,005.5
Rank in 2016: #30
Births in 2016: 9,815


 

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#40 Girl: Phyllis

Rank in the 1920s: #40
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,186.7
Rank in 2016: #6,104
Births in 2016: 21


 

#40 Boy: Alfred

Rank in the 1920s: #40
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,015.8
Rank in 2016: #844
Births in 2016: 263


 

#39 Girl: Edith

Rank in the 1920s: #39
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,298.8
Rank in 2016: #488
Births in 2016: 631


 

#39 Boy: Ernest

Rank in the 1920s: #39
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,365.2
Rank in 2016: #976
Births in 2016: 208


 

#38 Girl: Ethel

Rank in the 1920s: #38
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,280.
Rank in 2016: #5,300
Births in 2016: 25


 

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#38 Boy: Leonard

Rank in the 1920s: #38
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,379.8
Rank in 2016: #600
Births in 2016: 446


 

#37 Girl: Lucille

Rank in the 1920s: #37
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,387.9
Rank in 2016: #284
Births in 2016: 1,122


 

#37 Boy: Herbert

Rank in the 1920s: #37
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,652.6
Rank in 2016: #1,853
Births in 2016: 80


 

#36 Girl: Pauline

Rank in the 1920s: #36
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,407.1
Rank in 2016: #2,801
Births in 2016: 61


 

#36 Boy: Lawrence

Rank in the 1920s: #36
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,686.2
Rank in 2016: #493
Births in 2016: 612


 

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#35 Girl: Norma

Rank in the 1920s: #35
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,523.8
Rank in 2016: #2,223
Births in 2016: 86


 

#35 Boy: Francis

Rank in the 1920s: #35
Average annual births in the 1920s: 5,909.2
Rank in 2016: #480
Births in 2016: 636


 

#34 Girl: Edna

Rank in the 1920s: #34
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,862.7
Rank in 2016: #2,334
Births in 2016: 80


 

#34 Boy: Joe

Rank in the 1920s: #34
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,267.1
Rank in 2016: #618
Births in 2016: 431


 

#33 Girl: Thelma

Rank in the 1920s: #33
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,876.9
Rank in 2016: #4,496
Births in 2016: 32


 

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#33 Boy: Fred

Rank in the 1920s: #33
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,274.
Rank in 2016: #1,539
Births in 2016: 107


 

#32 Girl: Josephine

Rank in the 1920s: #32
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,921.7
Rank in 2016: #114
Births in 2016: 2,766


 

#32 Boy: Roy

Rank in the 1920s: #32
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,325.8
Rank in 2016: #539
Births in 2016: 536


 

#31 Girl: Annie

Rank in the 1920s: #31
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,946.3
Rank in 2016: #287
Births in 2016: 1,113


 

#31 Boy: Earl

Rank in the 1920s: #31
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,360.2
Rank in 2016: #1,527
Births in 2016: 109


 

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#30 Girl: Gladys

Rank in the 1920s: #30
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,256.1
Rank in 2016: #2,514
Births in 2016: 71


 

#30 Boy: Clarence

Rank in the 1920s: #30
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,657.7
Rank in 2016: #1,207
Births in 2016: 155


 

#29 Girl: Eleanor

Rank in the 1920s: #29
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,475.7
Rank in 2016: #41
Births in 2016: 5,100


 

#29 Boy: Louis

Rank in the 1920s: #29
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,768.9
Rank in 2016: #289
Births in 2016: 1,239


 

#28 Girl: Ruby

Rank in the 1920s: #28
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,673.4
Rank in 2016: #71
Births in 2016: 3,796


 

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#28 Boy: Willie

Rank in the 1920s: #28
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,798.9
Rank in 2016: #799
Births in 2016: 290


 

#27 Girl: Catherine

Rank in the 1920s: #27
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,888.1
Rank in 2016: #195
Births in 2016: 1,660


 

#27 Boy: Carl

Rank in the 1920s: #27
Average annual births in the 1920s: 6,985.
Rank in 2016: #604
Births in 2016: 442


 

#26 Girl: Lillian

Rank in the 1920s: #26
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,315.2
Rank in 2016: #28
Births in 2016: 6,333


 

#26 Boy: Howard

Rank in the 1920s: #26
Average annual births in the 1920s: 7,034.7
Rank in 2016: #900
Births in 2016: 239


 

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#25 Girl: Louise

Rank in the 1920s: #25
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,289.5
Rank in 2016: #897
Births in 2016: 309


 

#25 Boy: Ralph

Rank in the 1920s: #25
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,446.4
Rank in 2016: #992
Births in 2016: 204


 

#24 Girl: Lois

Rank in the 1920s: #24
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,813.
Rank in 2016: #1,753
Births in 2016: 118


 

#24 Boy: Eugene

Rank in the 1920s: #24
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,475.2
Rank in 2016: #788
Births in 2016: 298


 

#23 Girl: Barbara

Rank in the 1920s: #23
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,721.2
Rank in 2016: #856
Births in 2016: 326


 

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#23 Boy: Harry

Rank in the 1920s: #23
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,618.
Rank in 2016: #679
Births in 2016: 372


 

#22 Girl: Shirley

Rank in the 1920s: #22
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,859.9
Rank in 2016: #1,388
Births in 2016: 168


 

#22 Boy: David

Rank in the 1920s: #22
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,875.1
Rank in 2016: #19
Births in 2016: 11,028


 

#21 Girl: Rose

Rank in the 1920s: #21
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,530.7
Rank in 2016: #154
Births in 2016: 2,016


 

#21 Boy: Albert

Rank in the 1920s: #21
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,442.6
Rank in 2016: #474
Births in 2016: 642


 

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#20 Girl: Florence

Rank in the 1920s: #20
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,829.5
Rank in 2016: #1,053
Births in 2016: 246


 

#20 Boy: Arthur

Rank in the 1920s: #20
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,711.5
Rank in 2016: #273
Births in 2016: 1,333


 

#19 Girl: Martha

Rank in the 1920s: #19
Average annual births in the 1920s: 8,678.4
Rank in 2016: #727
Births in 2016: 389


 

#19 Boy: Kenneth

Rank in the 1920s: #19
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,949.1
Rank in 2016: #208
Births in 2016: 1,901


 

#18 Girl: Marjorie

Rank in the 1920s: #18
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,122.1
Rank in 2016: #925
Births in 2016: 295


 

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#18 Boy: Henry

Rank in the 1920s: #18
Average annual births in the 1920s: 10,455.3
Rank in 2016: #22
Births in 2016: 10,323


 

#17 Girl: Irene

Rank in the 1920s: #17
Average annual births in the 1920s: 9,283.3
Rank in 2016: #656
Births in 2016: 444


 

#17 Boy: Jack

Rank in the 1920s: #17
Average annual births in the 1920s: 11,598.6
Rank in 2016: #38
Births in 2016: 8,367


 

#16 Girl: Jean

Rank in the 1920s: #16
Average annual births in the 1920s: 10,599.6
Rank in 2016: #2,444
Births in 2016: 75


 

#16 Boy: Walter

Rank in the 1920s: #16
Average annual births in the 1920s: 11,981.2
Rank in 2016: #302
Births in 2016: 1,163


 

#15 Girl: Marie

Rank in the 1920s: #15
Average annual births in the 1920s: 11,056.5
Rank in 2016: #583
Births in 2016: 526


 

#15 Boy: Raymond

Rank in the 1920s: #15
Average annual births in the 1920s: 12,421.2
Rank in 2016: #284
Births in 2016: 1,264


 

#14 Girl: Alice

Rank in the 1920s: #14
Average annual births in the 1920s: 11,052.2
Rank in 2016: #76
Births in 2016: 3,669


 

#14 Boy: Paul

Rank in the 1920s: #14
Average annual births in the 1920s: 13,238.5
Rank in 2016: #206
Births in 2016: 1,921


 

#13 Girl: Anna

Rank in the 1920s: #13
Average annual births in the 1920s: 12,389.1
Rank in 2016: #51
Births in 2016: 4,749


 

#13 Boy: Harold

Rank in the 1920s: #13
Average annual births in the 1920s: 13,359.5
Rank in 2016: #803
Births in 2016: 285


 

#12 Girl: Evelyn

Rank in the 1920s: #12
Average annual births in the 1920s: 12,416.2
Rank in 2016: #12
Births in 2016: 10,060


 

#12 Boy: Frank

Rank in the 1920s: #12
Average annual births in the 1920s: 15,182.7
Rank in 2016: #353
Births in 2016: 951


 

#11 Girl: Elizabeth

Rank in the 1920s: #11
Average annual births in the 1920s: 13,967.3
Rank in 2016: #13
Births in 2016: 9,493


 

#11 Boy: Thomas

Rank in the 1920s: #11
Average annual births in the 1920s: 16,110.9
Rank in 2016: #48
Births in 2016: 7,309


 

#10 Girl: Frances

Rank in the 1920s: #10
Average annual births in the 1920s: 14,038.7
Rank in 2016: #446
Births in 2016: 716


 

#10 Boy: Donald

Rank in the 1920s: #10
Average annual births in the 1920s: 19,182.
Rank in 2016: #488
Births in 2016: 621


 

#9 Girl: Mildred

Rank in the 1920s: #9
Average annual births in the 1920s: 14,715.2
Rank in 2016: #2,388
Births in 2016: 78


 

#9 Boy: Edward

Rank in the 1920s: #9
Average annual births in the 1920s: 19,735.5
Rank in 2016: #163
Births in 2016: 2,491


 

#8 Girl: Doris

Rank in the 1920s: #8
Average annual births in the 1920s: 15,118.7
Rank in 2016: #1,759
Births in 2016: 117


 

#8 Boy: Richard

Rank in the 1920s: #8
Average annual births in the 1920s: 22,260.4
Rank in 2016: #160
Births in 2016: 2,499


 

#7 Girl: Virginia

Rank in the 1920s: #7
Average annual births in the 1920s: 16,955.1
Rank in 2016: #517
Births in 2016: 599


 

#7 Boy: Joseph

Rank in the 1920s: #7
Average annual births in the 1920s: 24,380.9
Rank in 2016: #20
Births in 2016: 10,823


 

#6 Girl: Ruth

Rank in the 1920s: #6
Average annual births in the 1920s: 21,850.8
Rank in 2016: #299
Births in 2016: 1,081


 

#6 Boy: George

Rank in the 1920s: #6
Average annual births in the 1920s: 26,195.2
Rank in 2016: #125
Births in 2016: 3,288


 

#5 Girl: Betty

Rank in the 1920s: #5
Average annual births in the 1920s: 28,308.7
Rank in 2016: #1,337
Births in 2016: 176


 

#5 Boy: Charles

Rank in the 1920s: #5
Average annual births in the 1920s: 29,803.
Rank in 2016: #51
Births in 2016: 7,050


 

#4 Girl: Margaret

Rank in the 1920s: #4
Average annual births in the 1920s: 24,500.6
Rank in 2016: #139
Births in 2016: 2,202


 

#4 Boy: William

Rank in the 1920s: #4
Average annual births in the 1920s: 51,239.4
Rank in 2016: #3
Births in 2016: 15,668


 

#3 Girl: Helen

Rank in the 1920s: #3
Average annual births in the 1920s: 29,039.7
Rank in 2016: #408
Births in 2016: 813


 

#3 Boy: James

Rank in the 1920s: #3
Average annual births in the 1920s: 51,530.4
Rank in 2016: #5
Births in 2016: 14,776


 

#2 Girl: Dorothy

Rank in the 1920s: #2
Average annual births in the 1920s: 36,886.5
Rank in 2016: #652
Births in 2016: 448


 

#2 Boy: John

Rank in the 1920s: #2
Average annual births in the 1920s: 56,406.6
Rank in 2016: #28
Births in 2016: 9,952


 

#1 Girl: Mary

Rank in the 1920s: #1
Average annual births in the 1920s: 70,173.9
Rank in 2016: #127
Births in 2016: 2,487


 

#1 Boy: Robert

Rank in the 1920s: #1
Average annual births in the 1920s: 57,635.5
Rank in 2016: #62
Births in 2016: 5,953


 

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