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Baby names in Tennessee in the 1920s

In Tennessee in the 1920s the most given names were James (24,120 boys) and Mary (22,488 girls), of 523,440 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in Tennessee each year, the 1920s shaded
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101950199020251920-1929BoysGirls

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

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

The top names in Tennessee, 1920s

Girls, 1920-1929
#NameBirths
1Mary22,488
2Dorothy9,296
3Margaret6,204
4Helen5,630
5Mildred5,548
6Betty4,904
7Ruby4,747
8Martha4,602
9Frances4,512
10Ruth4,470
11Virginia4,361
12Annie3,640
13Elizabeth3,269
14Evelyn3,062
15Willie2,951
16Gladys2,853
17Louise2,804
18Anna2,698
19Edna2,657
20Thelma2,600
Boys, 1920-1929
#NameBirths
1James24,120
2William15,833
3John12,157
4Robert11,062
5Charles9,218
6George5,486
7Thomas4,860
8Joe3,371
9Willie3,174
10Edward3,133
11Paul3,111
12Jack2,789
13Roy2,743
14Henry2,697
15Walter2,655
16Frank2,534
17Carl2,363
18Joseph2,295
19Fred2,286
20Billy2,271

Births summed over 1920-1929, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Tennessee 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

Boys

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1920-1929.

More about names in Tennessee

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

Back to Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910