Popular names of 1920, and how old they are now

People born in 1920 turn 106 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.3 million births in 1920 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 1,200 of them are still alive.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and John for boys. Babies born that year belong to the Greatest Generation.

12 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1920: Ruth, Mildred, Marie, Lillian, Louise, Eleanor, Lucille, Vivian, Chester, Vernon, Clyde and Mattie.

Top girl names of 1920

Most popular girl names of 1920
#	Name	Born 1920	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	70,983	under 100	66
2	Dorothy	36,643	under 100	72
3	Helen	35,097	under 100	66
4	Margaret	27,994	under 100	61
5	Ruth	26,102	under 100	62
6	Mildred	18,060	under 100	74
7	Virginia	17,314	under 100	66
8	Elizabeth	15,908	under 100	44
9	Frances	15,883	under 100	67
10	Anna	14,581	under 100	39
11	Betty	14,016	under 100	76
12	Evelyn	13,838	under 100	34
13	Marie	12,743	under 100	62
14	Doris	11,892	under 100	75
15	Alice	11,596	under 100	53
16	Florence	10,731	under 100	66
17	Irene	10,072	under 100	61
18	Lillian	10,049	under 100	29
19	Louise	9,179	under 100	69
20	Rose	9,011	under 100	56
21	Catherine	8,878	under 100	54
22	Gladys	8,819	under 100	68
23	Martha	8,709	under 100	66
24	Marjorie	8,658	under 100	69
25	Eleanor	8,497	under 100	30
26	Ruby	8,336	under 100	39
27	Edna	8,331	under 100	70
28	Josephine	8,093	under 100	39
29	Lucille	7,989	under 100	52
30	Ethel	7,868	under 100	76
31	Thelma	7,814	under 100	74
32	Edith	7,773	under 100	57
33	Jean	7,714	under 100	69
34	Hazel	7,308	under 100	27
35	Annie	7,268	under 100	54
36	Pauline	7,180	under 100	69
37	Grace	7,172	under 100	27
38	Lois	6,560	under 100	75
39	Esther	6,068	under 100	42
40	Bernice	5,928	under 100	70
41	Beatrice	5,804	under 100	56
42	Gertrude	5,797	under 100	76
43	Marion	5,745	under 100	65
44	Clara	5,470	under 100	36
45	Katherine	5,276	under 100	43
46	Emma	5,238	under 100	20
47	Barbara	5,106	0	72
48	Jane	5,054	0	62
49	Ann	5,041	0	65
50	Sarah	5,031	0	39

Top boy names of 1920

Most popular boy names of 1920
#	Name	Born 1920	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	56,913	under 100	55
2	William	50,146	under 100	51
3	Robert	48,679	under 100	58
4	James	47,908	under 100	54
5	Charles	28,309	0	54
6	George	26,891	0	57
7	Joseph	25,587	0	45
8	Edward	20,097	0	56
9	Frank	16,430	0	59
10	Richard	15,010	0	60
11	Thomas	14,936	0	53
12	Harold	13,678	0	66
13	Walter	13,294	0	58
14	Paul	12,570	0	57
15	Raymond	12,193	0	56
16	Donald	11,941	0	64
17	Henry	11,305	0	34
18	Arthur	10,236	0	54
19	Albert	9,997	0	57
20	Jack	9,599	0	34
21	Harry	9,406	0	62
22	Ralph	8,556	0	65
23	Kenneth	7,840	0	57
24	Howard	7,466	0	65
25	David	7,444	0	52
26	Clarence	7,221	0	62
27	Carl	7,010	0	60
28	Louis	6,966	0	52
29	Willie	6,887	0	64
30	Eugene	6,867	0	63
31	Earl	6,533	0	64
32	Roy	6,355	0	60
33	Fred	6,298	0	67
34	Francis	6,241	0	57
35	Joe	6,071	0	61
36	Lawrence	5,727	0	60
37	Ernest	5,566	0	61
38	Leonard	5,511	0	60
39	Warren	5,492	0	51
40	Stanley	5,314	0	62
41	Herbert	5,249	0	65
42	Alfred	5,006	0	60
43	Anthony	4,944	0	40
44	Samuel	4,654	0	32
45	Elmer	4,206	0	56
46	Bernard	4,163	0	61
47	Norman	4,109	0	64
48	Leo	4,054	0	24
49	Andrew	4,026	0	36
50	Michael	4,003	0	49

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1920, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of them are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables for people born in 1920. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1920 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this