Baby names in New York in the 1920s

In New York in the 1920s the most given names were John (61,807 boys) and Mary (50,777 girls), of 1,942,880 births recorded.

1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Babies SSA recorded in New York each year, the 1920s shaded

Births under names given to 5 or more babies of one sex in the state that year.

New York, 1920-1929: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in New York, 1920s

Girls, 1920-1929
#	Name	Births
1	Mary	50,777
2	Dorothy	31,656
3	Helen	29,182
4	Margaret	23,646
5	Ruth	21,129
6	Rose	17,594
7	Anna	16,559
8	Marie	15,840
9	Frances	15,386
10	Florence	15,246
11	Elizabeth	14,260
12	Shirley	13,987
13	Jean	13,824
14	Betty	13,284
15	Gloria	13,203
16	Doris	13,064
17	Josephine	12,587
18	Catherine	12,326
19	Virginia	11,566
20	Mildred	11,527

Boys, 1920-1929
#	Name	Births
1	John	61,807
2	Robert	49,146
3	William	43,867
4	Joseph	41,696
5	James	29,557
6	George	25,800
7	Edward	25,535
8	Charles	24,084
9	Frank	22,629
10	Richard	22,587
11	Thomas	18,176
12	Donald	16,390
13	Anthony	14,669
14	Arthur	13,423
15	Harold	12,968
16	Walter	11,870
17	Raymond	11,169
18	Louis	10,148
19	Paul	10,110
20	Albert	10,052

Births summed over 1920-1929, per sex.

The names most over-represented in New York in the 1920s

Each figure is the name’s births in the state in the decade against the births its national share, year by year, would predict (names with at least 100 births in the state).

Girls

Sydelle · 8.8×Sydell · 8.3×Roslyn · 7.1×Vincenza · 7.0×Yetta · 6.3×Seena · 6.2×

Boys

Moe · 7.8×Isidore · 7.6×Seymour · 7.2×Ignazio · 7.1×Carmine · 6.4×Sal · 6.4×

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1920-1929.

More about names in New York

The 1920s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
New York: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
New York in the 1930sThe next decade in the state.
The top names of 1920The first year of the decade, nationally.
Every state’s most given namesEach state since 1910.
Look up any nameIts rank, births since 1880 and the people alive with it.

Back to New York: 2025 and every year since 1910