Popular baby names (English speaking, American, typical, common, usual)

Popular Baby Names

What makes a name popular? Here is a list of popular baby boy names and baby girl names from 1880 to 2000 in 30 year increments. The data is from the US Census. Also see popular baby names for twins

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1880

Rank Male name Percent of
total males Female name Percent of
total females

1 John 8.1522% Mary 7.2383%

2 William 8.0517% Anna 2.6675%

3 James 5.0050% Emma 2.0519%

4 Charles 4.5161% Elizabeth 1.9863%

5 George 4.3286% Minnie 1.7886%

6 Frank 2.7377% Margaret 1.6165%

7 Joseph 2.2234% Ida 1.5079%

8 Thomas 2.1406% Alice 1.4485%

9 Henry 2.0638% Bertha 1.3522%

10 Robert 2.0402% Sarah 1.3194%

11 Edward 1.9963% Annie 1.2887%

12 Harry 1.8172% Clara 1.2559%

13 Walter 1.4820% Ella 1.1842%

14 Arthur 1.3503% Florence 1.0889%

15 Fred 1.3249% Cora 1.0705%

16 Albert 1.2607% Martha 1.0654%

17 Samuel 0.8647% Laura 1.0367%

18 David 0.7355% Nellie 1.0193%

19 Louis 0.6992% Grace 1.0060%

20 Joe 0.6173% Carrie 0.9721%

Note: Rank 1 is the most popular baby name, rank 2 is the next most popular baby name, and so forth.
All names are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1910

Rank Male name Percent of
total males Female name Percent of
total females

1 John 5.4954% Mary 5.4457%

2 James 4.4121% Helen 2.4964%

3 William 4.2435% Margaret 1.9622%

4 Robert 2.6905% Dorothy 1.7433%

5 George 2.6060% Ruth 1.7202%

6 Joseph 2.5104% Anna 1.5336%

7 Charles 2.2961% Elizabeth 1.3821%

8 Frank 1.8062% Mildred 1.3558%

9 Edward 1.6347% Marie 1.1420%

10 Willie 1.3911% Alice 1.1138%

11 Henry 1.3907% Frances 1.0581%

12 Thomas 1.3686% Florence 1.0199%

13 Walter 1.2446% Ethel 0.9898%

14 Albert 1.0457% Lillian 0.9831%

15 Paul 0.9631% Gladys 0.9167%

16 Harry 0.9473% Rose 0.9153%

17 Arthur 0.9309% Evelyn 0.9005%

18 Harold 0.9141% Edna 0.8742%

19 Raymond 0.8325% Annie 0.8388%

20 Clarence 0.8181% Louise 0.8228%

Note: Rank 1 is the most popular baby name, rank 2 is the next most popular baby name, and so forth.
All names are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1940

Rank Male name Percent of
total males Female name Percent of
total females

1 James 5.2651% Mary 4.7598%

2 Robert 5.1562% Barbara 3.1105%

3 John 4.6136% Patricia 2.7664%

4 William 3.7765% Judith 1.8951%

5 Richard 3.1537% Betty 1.8687%

6 Charles 2.6725% Carol 1.8418%

7 David 2.3332% Nancy 1.6709%

8 Thomas 2.0228% Linda 1.5575%

9 Donald 1.9462% Shirley 1.5136%

10 Ronald 1.7516% Sandra 1.3677%

11 George 1.5428% Margaret 1.2749%

12 Joseph 1.5354% Dorothy 1.2570%

13 Larry 1.4513% Joyce 1.2539%

14 Jerry 1.2826% Joan 1.1247%

15 Kenneth 1.2748% Carolyn 1.0727%

16 Edward 1.2158% Judy 0.9641%

17 Paul 1.1897% Sharon 0.9413%

18 Michael 1.1141% Helen 0.8640%

19 Gary 1.0598% Janet 0.8558%

20 Frank 0.8941% Elizabeth 0.8425%

Note: Rank 1 is the most popular baby name, rank 2 is the next most popular baby name, and so forth.
All names are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1970

Rank Male name Percent of
total males Female name Percent of
total females

1 Michael 4.4800% Jennifer 2.5193%

2 James 3.2435% Lisa 2.1268%

3 David 3.2430% Kimberly 1.8633%

4 John 3.0719% Michelle 1.8591%

5 Robert 3.0037% Amy 1.3769%

6 Christopher 2.1975% Angela 1.3610%

7 William 2.0424% Melissa 1.2963%

8 Brian 1.6771% Tammy 1.0699%

9 Mark 1.6529% Mary 1.0491%

10 Richard 1.6000% Tracy 1.0085%

11 Jeffrey 1.5837% Julie 0.9369%

12 Scott 1.5016% Karen 0.9125%

13 Jason 1.4316% Laura 0.9003%

14 Kevin 1.4160% Christine 0.8771%

15 Steven 1.4064% Susan 0.8598%

16 Joseph 1.4037% Dawn 0.8562%

17 Thomas 1.4007% Stephanie 0.8397%

18 Eric 1.2378% Elizabeth 0.8264%

19 Daniel 1.2350% Heather 0.8002%

20 Timothy 1.1786% Kelly 0.7978%

Note: Rank 1 is the most popular baby name, rank 2 is the next most popular baby name, and so forth.
All names are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 2000

We Try Here at Baby Names to give you a huge selection of many baby names and meanings!

Alternative, Uncommon, Unique Baby Names for Boys and Girls

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1880

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1910

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1940

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 1970

Popularity for baby names for boys and girls in 2000