US baby names · the 1900s

Most popular baby names of the 1900s

These are the most given US names of the 1900s, adding up Social Security counts for each year from 1900 to 1909. Across those years SSA recorded 2,927,552 girls and 1,357,571 boys under names given to five or more babies.

Mary led the girls with 161,504 babies, followed by Helen, Margaret and Anna. For boys, John came first with 84,590, ahead of William, James and George.

Against the top 100 of the 1890s, 13 girls’ names and 8 boys’ names in the 1900s are newcomers (girls: Thelma, Eleanor, Bernice; boys: Donald, Kenneth, Melvin). Of these names, 20 of the 100 girls’ names and 22 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 1900s.

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

← 1890s 1910s →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1900s

Rank	Name	Girls in decade
#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
#96	Maude	7,142
#97	Marjorie	7,025
#98	Opal	6,791
#99	Hilda	6,783
#100	Velma	6,558

Top 100 boys’ names, 1900s

Rank	Name	Boys in decade
#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
#42	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