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.
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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