The 100 Most Popular Baby Names From 1922

While names like Luna and Oliver rule the charts these days (for both new babies and new pets), 1922 looked a little different.

According to data from BabyNames.it, plenty of parents chose timeless classics for their infants that year: John took the top spot for boys, followed by Robert, William, James, and Charles. For girls, Mary was number one; Elizabeth, Anna, and Marie all finished within the top 15. If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed over the last century, it’s the popularity of female names that start with E—Elizabeth, Evelyn, Emma, and Eleanor made 1922’s top 50 and 2021’s top 50.

Though you won’t find Ella, Emily, Elena, or Everly on the former list, you will find Edna, Ethel, Edith, Esther, and many more monikers that we’d now consider “old lady names,” from Mildred to Gertrude. Similarly, male names like Earl, Albert, and Eugene—which we now associate with older men—were deemed perfect for bouncing baby boys.

Some entries reflect naming trends from the past. Virginia, for example, follows the fad of naming babies after states. And Ruby illustrates 20th-century parents’ affinity for choosing jewels or other words that embodied opulence. Others could turn up in Generation Alpha more than you’d expect. Betty, Frank, and Ralph were still popular into the 1950s—an era from which today’s Millennial parents are borrowing names.

See 1922’s top 50 girls’ and top 50 boys’ names below, and find out what just missed the cut-off here.

Most Popular Baby Girl Names From 1922

1. Mary


2. Dorothy


3. Helen


4. Margaret


5. Ruth


6. Betty


7. Virginia


8. Mildred


9. Elizabeth


10. Frances


11. Doris


12. Anna


13. Evelyn


14. Marie


15. Alice


16. Marjorie


17. Irene


18. Florence


19. Lillian


20. Jean


21. Martha


22. Louise


23. Rose


24. Catherine


25. Gladys


26. Ruby


27. Eleanor


28. Josephine


29. Edna


30. Annie


31. Ethel


32. Thelma


33. Lucille


34. Edith


35. Lois


36. Pauline


37. Hazel


38. Grace


39. Shirley


40. Barbara


41. Bernice


42. Marion


43. Beatrice


44. Esther


45. June


46. Norma


47. Clara


48. Gertrude


49. Ann


50. Emma

Most Popular Baby Boy Names From 1922

1. John


2. Robert


3. William


4. James


5. Charles


6. George


7. Joseph


8. Edward


9. Richard


10. Frank


11. Thomas


12. Donald


13. Harold


14. Paul


15. Walter


16. Raymond


17. Henry


18. Jack


19. Arthur


20. Albert


21. Kenneth


22. Harry


23. Ralph


24. Eugene


25. David


26. Howard


27. Louis


28. Willie


29. Clarence


30. Carl


31. Earl


32. Roy


33. Fred


34. Francis


35. Joe


36. Lawrence


37. Ernest


38. Leonard


39. Anthony


40. Herbert


41. Stanley


42. Alfred


43. Samuel


44. Norman


45. Warren


46. Bernard


47. Daniel


48. Michael


49. Russell


50. Melvin