Birth year

Born in 1921? Here's your year in charts

In 1921, the top baby names were Mary and John and a newborn could expect to live 60.8 years.

Top baby names of 1921

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 73,984 babies, 6.0% of girls
  2. 2. Dorothy 39,087 babies, 3.2% of girls
  3. 3. Helen 34,822 babies, 2.8% of girls
  4. 4. Margaret 28,468 babies, 2.3% of girls
  5. 5. Ruth 25,783 babies, 2.1% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. John 58,216 babies, 5.3% of boys
  2. 2. Robert 52,779 babies, 4.8% of boys
  3. 3. William 51,862 babies, 4.7% of boys
  4. 4. James 49,750 babies, 4.5% of boys
  5. 5. Charles 29,242 babies, 2.7% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

1921 then vs. now

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    60.8 years in 1921, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1921.

$100 in 1921 buys about as much as $1,887.62 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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