Most Popular Baby Names of the 1880s

Top 100 girl and boy names, Social Security records, 1880 to 1889

Mary and John were the most popular baby names of the 1880s: 91,668 girls were named Mary and 89,949 boys John from 1880 to 1889. The tables rank the 100 names given to the most babies of each sex, out of 2,059 girl names and 1,890 boy names in the records for those years. Social Security lists a name in a year only when at least 5 babies of one sex got it.

Year by Year

The top 100 girl and boy names of each year of the 1880s, with what changed from the year before.

Top 100 Girl Names, 1880 to 1889

#	Name	Babies
1	Mary	91,668
2	Anna	38,159
3	Emma	25,404
4	Elizabeth	25,006
5	Margaret	21,799
6	Minnie	21,724
7	Ida	18,283
8	Bertha	18,263
9	Clara	17,717
10	Alice	17,142
11	Annie	17,027
12	Florence	16,699
13	Bessie	15,373
14	Grace	15,227
15	Ethel	14,866
16	Sarah	14,715
17	Ella	13,936
18	Martha	13,911
19	Nellie	13,761
20	Mabel	13,096
21	Laura	12,806
22	Carrie	12,514
23	Cora	11,954
24	Helen	11,496
25	Maude	11,454
26	Lillian	11,270
27	Gertrude	11,100
28	Rose	11,064
29	Edna	11,020
30	Pearl	10,903
31	Edith	10,881
32	Jennie	10,220
33	Hattie	10,199
34	Mattie	9,844
35	Eva	9,800
35	Julia	9,800
37	Myrtle	9,769
38	Louise	9,596
39	Lillie	9,467
40	Jessie	9,187
41	Frances	9,182
42	Catherine	8,915
43	Lula	8,882
44	Lena	8,691
45	Marie	8,490
46	Ada	8,423
47	Josephine	7,732
48	Fannie	7,527
49	Lucy	7,520
50	Dora	7,288
51	Agnes	7,237
52	Maggie	7,072
53	Blanche	6,925
54	Katherine	6,922
55	Elsie	6,648
56	Nora	6,521
57	Mamie	6,330
58	Rosa	6,157
59	Stella	6,130
60	Daisy	6,054
61	May	5,881
62	Effie	5,850
63	Mae	5,647
64	Ellen	5,402
65	Nettie	5,313
66	Ruth	5,298
67	Alma	5,190
68	Della	5,048
69	Lizzie	5,035
70	Sadie	4,915
71	Sallie	4,840
72	Nancy	4,792
73	Susie	4,780
74	Maud	4,201
75	Flora	4,195
76	Irene	4,002
77	Etta	3,973
78	Katie	3,907
79	Lydia	3,902
80	Lottie	3,888
81	Viola	3,806
82	Caroline	3,743
83	Addie	3,739
84	Hazel	3,644
85	Georgia	3,540
86	Esther	3,476
87	Mollie	3,471
88	Olive	3,456
89	Willie	3,397
90	Harriet	3,369
91	Emily	3,368
92	Charlotte	3,311
93	Amanda	3,280
94	Kathryn	3,276
95	Lulu	3,253
96	Susan	3,231
97	Kate	3,194
98	Nannie	3,165
99	Jane	2,971
100	Amelia	2,957

Top 100 Boy Names, 1880 to 1889

#	Name	Babies
1	John	89,949
2	William	84,881
3	James	54,055
4	George	47,651
5	Charles	46,656
6	Frank	30,967
7	Joseph	26,292
8	Henry	24,139
9	Robert	24,074
10	Thomas	23,750
11	Edward	23,133
12	Harry	22,649
13	Walter	18,185
14	Arthur	16,180
15	Fred	15,602
16	Albert	14,375
17	Samuel	9,129
18	Clarence	8,760
19	Louis	8,275
20	David	7,569
21	Joe	7,098
22	Charlie	7,091
23	Richard	7,010
24	Ernest	6,700
25	Roy	6,565
26	Will	6,196
27	Andrew	6,053
28	Jesse	6,003
29	Oscar	5,982
30	Willie	5,906
31	Daniel	5,679
32	Benjamin	5,407
33	Carl	5,227
34	Sam	5,069
35	Alfred	4,837
36	Earl	4,830
37	Peter	4,656
38	Elmer	4,627
39	Frederick	4,603
40	Howard	4,349
41	Lewis	4,341
42	Ralph	4,269
43	Herbert	4,257
44	Paul	4,196
45	Lee	3,945
46	Tom	3,786
47	Herman	3,689
48	Martin	3,595
49	Jacob	3,566
50	Michael	3,558
51	Jim	3,520
52	Claude	3,504
53	Ben	3,449
54	Eugene	3,430
55	Francis	3,244
56	Grover	3,184
57	Raymond	3,135
58	Harvey	3,123
59	Clyde	3,034
60	Edwin	3,011
61	Edgar	3,006
62	Ed	2,957
63	Lawrence	2,919
64	Bert	2,808
65	Chester	2,699
66	Jack	2,684
67	Otto	2,679
68	Luther	2,619
69	Charley	2,550
70	Guy	2,489
71	Floyd	2,476
72	Ira	2,379
73	Ray	2,371
74	Hugh	2,355
75	Isaac	2,311
76	Oliver	2,287
77	Patrick	2,285
78	Homer	2,213
79	Theodore	2,176
80	Leonard	2,144
81	Leo	2,098
82	Alexander	2,081
83	August	2,012
84	Harold	2,001
85	Allen	1,998
86	Jessie	1,843
87	Archie	1,816
88	Philip	1,741
89	Stephen	1,684
90	Horace	1,650
91	Marion	1,624
92	Bernard	1,616
93	Anthony	1,611
94	Julius	1,605
95	Warren	1,580
96	Leroy	1,574
97	Clifford	1,552
98	Eddie	1,526
99	Sidney	1,505
100	Milton	1,479

Open a name to see how many people with it are alive today. To compare decades, pick another one above.