US baby names · the 1880s

Most popular baby names of the 1880s

These are the most given US names of the 1880s, adding up Social Security counts for each year from 1880 to 1889. Across those years SSA recorded 1,312,690 girls and 1,095,401 boys under names given to five or more babies.

Mary led the girls with 91,668 babies, followed by Anna, Emma and Elizabeth. For boys, John came first with 89,949, ahead of William, James and George.

The 1880s is the start of SSA’s national series, so there is no earlier top 100 to compare with. Counts for these early years are low because many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so SSA’s files leave them out. Of these names, 21 of the 100 girls’ names and 24 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

A decade total favours names that were steady for ten years over a single-year spike, so a list here can differ from any one year’s top 100. The sparklines show each name before and after the 1880s.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

1890s →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1880s

Rank	Name	Girls in decade
#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
#36	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 boys’ names, 1880s

Rank	Name	Boys in decade
#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