Most Popular Baby Names of the 1900s

Top 100 girl and boy names, Social Security records, 1900 to 1909

Mary and John were the most popular baby names of the 1900s: 161,504 girls were named Mary and 84,590 boys John from 1900 to 1909. The tables rank the 100 names given to the most babies of each sex, out of 3,828 girl names and 2,487 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 1900s, with what changed from the year before.

Top 100 Girl Names, 1900 to 1909

#	Name	Babies
1	Mary	161,504
2	Helen	69,428
3	Margaret	57,919
4	Anna	54,918
5	Ruth	51,010
6	Elizabeth	41,708
7	Dorothy	39,112
8	Marie	37,091
9	Florence	36,191
10	Mildred	36,173
11	Alice	35,232
12	Ethel	34,868
13	Lillian	32,519
14	Gladys	30,285
15	Edna	29,832
16	Frances	28,499
17	Rose	28,106
18	Annie	27,748
19	Grace	26,927
20	Bertha	24,247
21	Emma	24,176
22	Bessie	23,984
23	Clara	23,899
24	Hazel	23,802
25	Irene	23,656
26	Gertrude	23,607
27	Louise	22,862
28	Catherine	22,006
29	Martha	21,750
30	Mabel	21,625
31	Pearl	20,913
32	Edith	20,884
33	Esther	20,026
34	Minnie	19,715
35	Myrtle	19,691
36	Ida	18,866
37	Josephine	18,785
38	Evelyn	18,603
39	Elsie	18,452
40	Eva	18,357
41	Thelma	18,265
42	Ruby	18,175
43	Agnes	17,616
44	Sarah	17,342
45	Viola	16,559
46	Nellie	16,339
47	Beatrice	16,282
48	Julia	16,107
49	Laura	15,532
50	Lillie	15,391
51	Lucille	15,041
52	Ella	14,763
53	Virginia	14,539
54	Mattie	13,837
55	Pauline	13,310
56	Carrie	13,140
57	Alma	13,092
58	Jessie	12,756
59	Mae	12,711
60	Lena	12,703
61	Willie	12,357
62	Katherine	12,105
63	Blanche	11,730
64	Hattie	11,717
65	Marion	11,713
66	Lucy	11,020
67	Stella	11,014
68	Mamie	10,618
69	Vera	10,457
70	Cora	10,372
71	Fannie	10,346
72	Eleanor	10,030
73	Bernice	10,010
74	Jennie	9,988
75	Ann	9,932
76	Leona	9,848
77	Beulah	9,716
78	Lula	9,518
79	Rosa	9,297
80	Ada	9,121
81	Ellen	8,339
82	Kathryn	8,333
83	Maggie	8,289
84	Doris	8,252
85	Dora	8,011
86	Betty	7,921
87	Marguerite	7,912
88	Violet	7,844
89	Lois	7,691
90	Daisy	7,687
91	Anne	7,615
92	Sadie	7,461
93	Susie	7,312
94	Nora	7,172
95	Georgia	7,142
95	Maude	7,142
97	Marjorie	7,025
98	Opal	6,791
99	Hilda	6,783
100	Velma	6,558

Top 100 Boy Names, 1900 to 1909

#	Name	Babies
1	John	84,590
2	William	69,320
3	James	62,170
4	George	43,589
5	Charles	36,184
6	Robert	35,849
7	Joseph	35,173
8	Frank	29,046
9	Edward	24,516
10	Thomas	21,783
11	Henry	21,772
12	Walter	19,997
13	Harry	17,906
14	Willie	17,746
15	Arthur	15,409
16	Albert	15,318
17	Clarence	13,573
18	Fred	13,076
19	Harold	12,795
20	Paul	12,636
21	Raymond	11,650
22	Richard	10,675
23	Roy	10,632
24	Joe	10,466
25	Louis	10,372
26	Carl	9,865
27	Ralph	9,298
28	Earl	9,251
29	Jack	9,222
30	Ernest	8,657
31	David	8,619
32	Samuel	8,149
33	Howard	8,014
34	Charlie	7,928
35	Francis	7,021
36	Herbert	6,957
37	Lawrence	6,846
38	Theodore	6,490
39	Alfred	6,356
40	Andrew	6,277
41	Elmer	6,161
41	Sam	6,161
43	Eugene	5,909
44	Leo	5,629
45	Michael	5,220
46	Lee	5,158
47	Herman	5,064
48	Anthony	5,043
49	Daniel	5,036
50	Leonard	5,022
51	Floyd	4,968
52	Donald	4,632
53	Kenneth	4,579
54	Jesse	4,559
55	Russell	4,552
56	Clyde	4,524
57	Oscar	4,517
58	Peter	4,375
59	Lester	4,361
60	Leroy	4,300
61	Ray	4,256
62	Stanley	4,156
63	Clifford	4,055
64	Lewis	4,042
65	Benjamin	4,009
66	Edwin	3,961
67	Frederick	3,900
68	Chester	3,788
69	Claude	3,704
70	Eddie	3,695
71	Cecil	3,610
72	Lloyd	3,507
73	Jessie	3,379
74	Martin	3,346
75	Bernard	3,296
76	Tom	3,293
77	Will	3,246
78	Norman	3,178
79	Edgar	3,154
80	Harvey	3,104
81	Ben	3,028
82	Homer	2,915
83	Luther	2,866
84	Leon	2,859
85	Melvin	2,840
86	Philip	2,817
87	Johnnie	2,781
88	Jim	2,718
89	Milton	2,695
90	Everett	2,597
91	Allen	2,558
92	Leslie	2,531
93	Alvin	2,484
94	Victor	2,447
95	Marvin	2,324
96	Stephen	2,247
97	Alexander	2,230
98	Jacob	2,191
99	Hugh	2,176
100	Patrick	2,141

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