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These Were The Most Popular Baby Names In 1921

The Social Security Administration's baby naming data goes back more than a century.
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost Life

Some vintage baby names remain popular today, while others have faded into obscurity.
H. Armstrong Roberts via Getty Images
Some vintage baby names remain popular today, while others have faded into obscurity.

The list of most popular baby names in the U.S. doesn’t change dramatically from one year to the next, but there are some interesting trends over longer stretches of time.

Knowing the Social Security Administration’s baby naming data goes back more than a century, we decided to take a look at which names parents were loving 100 years ago. While many of the top names remain popular today (classics like William, Elizabeth and James), others have declined considerably over time (Mildred, Doris, Harold and Ralph). Still others fell in popularity in the 20th century, only to have a recent resurgence in popularity (a la Evelyn and Alice).

Below, find the 50 most popular baby names for boys and girls in 1921.

Girls

  1. Mary
  2. Dorothy
  3. Helen
  4. Margaret
  5. Ruth
  6. Virginia
  7. Mildred
  8. Betty
  9. Frances
  10. Elizabeth
  11. Anna
  12. Evelyn
  13. Doris
  14. Marie
  15. Alice
  16. Marjorie
  17. Florence
  18. Irene
  19. Lillian
  20. Rose
  21. Martha
  22. Louise
  23. Catherine
  24. Gladys
  25. Jean
  26. Ruby
  27. Edna
  28. Josephine
  29. Eleanor
  30. Thelma
  31. Lucille
  32. Ethel
  33. Edith
  34. Hazel
  35. Grace
  36. Annie
  37. Pauline
  38. Lois
  39. Bernice
  40. Barbara
  41. Beatrice
  42. Esther
  43. Marion
  44. Shirley
  45. Clara
  46. Gertrude
  47. Jane
  48. Rita
  49. Katherine
  50. June

Boys

  1. John
  2. Robert
  3. William
  4. James
  5. Charles
  6. George
  7. Joseph
  8. Edward
  9. Frank
  10. Richard
  11. Thomas
  12. Harold
  13. Donald
  14. Paul
  15. Walter
  16. Raymond
  17. Henry
  18. Jack
  19. Arthur
  20. Albert
  21. Harry
  22. Kenneth
  23. Ralph
  24. Warren
  25. David
  26. Eugene
  27. Howard
  28. Clarence
  29. Louis
  30. Carl
  31. Earl
  32. Roy
  33. Fred
  34. Willie
  35. Francis
  36. Joe
  37. Lawrence
  38. Ernest
  39. Leonard
  40. Anthony
  41. Stanley
  42. Herbert
  43. Alfred
  44. Samuel
  45. Bernard
  46. Norman
  47. Michael
  48. Elmer
  49. Daniel
  50. Leo

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