babynamepicker

Girl Names of the 1920s

The 100 most common girl names given in the United States during the 1920s, by the number of children recorded with each name across those years.

All 100 names

  1. Mary 701,755
  2. Dorothy 368,875
  3. Helen 290,404
  4. Betty 283,096
  5. Margaret 245,011
  6. Ruth 218,520
  7. Virginia 169,554
  8. Doris 151,193
  9. Mildred 147,155
  10. Frances 140,391
  11. Elizabeth 139,672
  12. Evelyn 124,166
  13. Anna 123,895
  14. Marie 110,564
  15. Alice 110,526
  16. Jean 105,999
  17. Shirley 98,602
  18. Barbara 97,210
  19. Irene 92,836
  20. Marjorie 91,221
  21. Florence 88,295
  22. Lois 88,133
  23. Martha 86,788
  24. Rose 85,305
  25. Lillian 83,160
  26. Louise 82,895
  27. Catherine 78,881
  28. Ruby 76,738
  29. Eleanor 74,760
  30. Patricia 74,732
  31. Gladys 72,561
  32. Annie 69,468
  33. Josephine 69,223
  34. Thelma 68,767
  35. Edna 68,629
  36. Norma 65,241
  37. Pauline 64,075
  38. Lucille 63,883
  39. Edith 62,989
  40. Gloria 62,859
  41. Ethel 62,806
  42. Phyllis 61,871
  43. Grace 60,060
  44. Hazel 58,984
  45. June 56,482
  46. Bernice 55,842
  47. Marion 55,178
  48. Dolores 51,990
  49. Rita 50,587
  50. Lorraine 49,939
  51. Ann 49,810
  52. Beatrice 49,230
  53. Esther 49,230
  54. Juanita 48,547
  55. Clara 48,183
  56. Jane 48,049
  57. Geraldine 48,044
  58. Sarah 46,769
  59. Emma 46,538
  60. Joan 45,351
  61. Joyce 44,174
  62. Nancy 43,807
  63. Katherine 42,745
  64. Gertrude 42,459
  65. Elsie 42,098
  66. Julia 40,331
  67. Agnes 39,222
  68. Wilma 39,127
  69. Marian 38,978
  70. Bertha 38,571
  71. Eva 38,048
  72. Willie 37,814
  73. Audrey 37,550
  74. Theresa 36,666
  75. Vivian 36,572
  76. Wanda 36,007
  77. Laura 35,991
  78. Charlotte 35,752
  79. Ida 35,619
  80. Elaine 34,907
  81. Anne 34,511
  82. Marilyn 34,202
  83. Kathryn 33,791
  84. Maxine 33,743
  85. Kathleen 33,597
  86. Viola 33,251
  87. Pearl 32,774
  88. Vera 32,541
  89. Bessie 32,158
  90. Myrtle 30,569
  91. Alma 30,434
  92. Beverly 30,205
  93. Violet 30,022
  94. Nellie 29,689
  95. Ella 29,521
  96. Lillie 29,382
  97. Jessie 29,289
  98. Jeanne 29,119
  99. Eileen 28,588
  100. Ellen 28,391

How 1920s girl names compare

Mary was the most common girl name of the 1920s, given to 701,755 girls across those years, with Dorothy, Helen, Betty and Margaret behind it. The hundredth name on the list, Ellen, accounts for 28,391. Between them the hundred names cover 7,743,732 births. Mary was number one in every one of those ten years.

83 of these names were also in the 1910s top 100, and 17 were not. 17 are still in the 2025 top 100 — Elizabeth, Evelyn, Alice, Lillian, Ruby, Eleanor, Josephine and Grace, among others — and 42 are inside the top 500.

Those hundred names cover 64.8% of all girls born in the 1920s — 7,743,732 of 11,952,683 — and Mary alone accounts for 5.9% of them. The hundred most common names of 2025 take 31.5% between them, so naming has spread wider since. Every one of the hundred was already in the record before the 1920s began.

Questions about 1920s girl names

What was the most popular girl name of the 1920s?

Mary, given to 701,755 girls across those years. The next two were Dorothy and Helen.

Are 1920s girl names still used today?

17 of the hundred are in the 2025 top 100: Elizabeth, Evelyn, Alice, Lillian, Ruby, Eleanor, Josephine and Grace, among others.