Most popular baby names of 1923

The top three baby names for both boys and girls remained remarkably stable from 1922 to 1923. John, Robert, and William continued to dominate as the top three boys' names in exactly the same order. Similarly, Mary, Dorothy, and Helen maintained their stronghold as the top three girls' names, showing American parents' consistent preferences during this period. This stability in the highest-ranking names suggests that traditional naming patterns remained powerful in the early 1920s.

Among the top 10 girls' names in 1923, we see that Betty climbed from 6th place to 5th, while Ruth dropped from 5th to 6th. Virginia, Mildred, Elizabeth, and Frances all held steady at positions 7 through 10, respectively. Doris (11th) and Evelyn (12th) remained just outside the top 10, though Evelyn did move up one position from the previous year. The prevalence of names ending in soft sounds like the "-y" in Mary, Dorothy, and Betty, and the "-en" sound in Helen remained a consistent pattern in girls' naming.

For boys' names in 1923, the most notable shift in the top 10 was Donald's rise to 10th place, moving up two positions from 12th in 1922. Frank, who previously held the 10th spot, dropped to 11th place. The rest of the boys' top 10 maintained remarkable consistency with John, Robert, William, James, Charles, George, Joseph, Edward, and Richard all holding their exact same positions. Traditional, biblical names like John, James, and Joseph continued their long-standing popularity, alongside classic English names like William, Robert, and Edward.

Looking at broader naming patterns, short, classic names dominated the top rankings for both genders. For boys, five of the top 10 names were single-syllable (John, James, Charles, George), while girls' names tended to be two or three syllables. Both lists featured several biblical names, reflecting continuing religious influences on American naming practices. Interestingly, while the name Donald was climbing for boys, its feminine counterpart Donna hadn't yet achieved similar popularity. Names starting with "J" were particularly strong among boys, with John and James in the top ranks, while "M" names (Mary, Margaret) showed strength for girls.

Top baby names of 1923