US baby names · 1890

Most popular baby names of 1890

In 1890, Social Security card applications recorded 190,377 girls and 111,024 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 1,534 distinct girls’ names and 1,161 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (12,078 girls) and John (8,502 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 21% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 38% of boys. Compared with 1889, 12,455 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1889, 4 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1890 are newcomers (girls: Dorothy, Marguerite, Beatrice; boys: Stanley, Eddie, Leslie). Of these names, 21 of the 100 girls’ names and 24 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1890 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1889 1891 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1890

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	12,078
#2	Anna	5,233
#3	Elizabeth	3,112
#4	Margaret	3,100
#5	Emma	2,980
#6	Florence	2,744
#7	Ethel	2,718
#8	Minnie	2,650
#9	Clara	2,496
#10	Bertha	2,388
#11	Bessie	2,370
#12	Helen	2,312
#13	Grace	2,278
#14	Alice	2,271
#15	Annie	2,220
#16	Ida	2,178
#17	Mabel	2,058
#18	Edna	1,973
#19	Lillian	1,862
#20	Nellie	1,821
#21	Sarah	1,786
#22	Martha	1,784
#23	Ella	1,758
#24	Pearl	1,741
#25	Rose	1,725
#26	Gertrude	1,713
#27	Laura	1,634
#28	Marie	1,563
#29	Carrie	1,510
#30	Edith	1,493
#31	Louise	1,472
#32	Eva	1,436
#33	Frances	1,416
#34	Myrtle	1,406
#35	Lillie	1,390
#36	Cora	1,386
#37	Hazel	1,366
#38	Hattie	1,363
#39	Maude	1,359
#40	Julia	1,275
#41	Jennie	1,259
#42	Mattie	1,256
#43	Jessie	1,250
#44	Catherine	1,232
#45	Elsie	1,220
#46	Ruth	1,195
#47	Lena	1,137
#48	Lula	1,121
#49	Josephine	1,118
#50	Agnes	1,095
#51	Ada	1,074
#52	Fannie	1,005
#53	Lucy	973
#54	Mamie	967
#55	Blanche	953
#56	Stella	924
#57	Alma	922
#58	Mae	920
#59	Katherine	900
#60	Irene	893
#61	Maggie	891
#62	Dora	883
#63	Nora	835
#64	Rosa	770
#65	May	751
#66	Effie	717
#67	Nettie	707
#68	Viola	697
#69	Sadie	680
#70	Ellen	659
#71	Mildred	635
#72	Della	631
#73	Susie	630
#74	Lizzie	620
#75	Esther	619
#76	Daisy	588
#77	Willie	578
#78	Lydia	576
#79	Beulah	573
#80	Sallie	571
#81	Ruby	540
#82	Gladys	525
#83	Georgia	513
#84	Nancy	512
#85	Flora	510
#86	Emily	509
#87	Katie	509
#88	Lottie	502
#89	Olive	491
#90	Pauline	475
#91	Kathryn	474
#92	Addie	468
#93	Dorothy	458
#94	Caroline	455
#95	Etta	452
#96	Marguerite	442
#97	Maud	439
#98	Beatrice	417
#99	Charlotte	417
#100	Virginia	405

Top 100 boys’ names, 1890

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	8,502
#2	William	7,494
#3	James	5,097
#4	George	4,458
#5	Charles	4,061
#6	Frank	3,078
#7	Joseph	2,670
#8	Robert	2,541
#9	Henry	2,349
#10	Harry	2,345
#11	Edward	2,282
#12	Thomas	2,200
#13	Walter	1,905
#14	Arthur	1,610
#15	Fred	1,506
#16	Albert	1,417
#17	Clarence	1,018
#18	Roy	941
#19	Louis	860
#20	Samuel	815
#21	Charlie	797
#22	Ernest	774
#23	Willie	758
#24	Earl	744
#25	Richard	743
#26	David	731
#27	Carl	693
#28	Joe	682
#29	Oscar	628
#30	Will	613
#31	Paul	607
#32	Ralph	587
#33	Jesse	576
#34	Andrew	575
#35	Alfred	549
#36	Raymond	546
#37	Benjamin	537
#38	Elmer	528
#39	Daniel	505
#40	Howard	501
#41	Sam	489
#42	Herbert	467
#43	Frederick	410
#44	Lee	410
#45	Peter	410
#46	Eugene	408
#47	Harold	408
#48	Michael	394
#49	Leo	393
#50	Herman	382
#51	Lewis	375
#52	Lawrence	372
#53	Jack	368
#54	Ben	363
#55	Francis	363
#56	Ray	349
#57	Claude	347
#58	Martin	347
#59	Tom	347
#60	Floyd	341
#61	Edgar	338
#62	Jim	336
#63	Edwin	323
#64	Clyde	317
#65	Harvey	296
#66	Jacob	290
#67	Leonard	275
#68	Otto	267
#69	Chester	263
#70	Ed	262
#71	Luther	253
#72	Guy	249
#73	Jessie	241
#74	Leroy	236
#75	Patrick	227
#76	Lester	226
#77	Homer	223
#78	Stanley	223
#79	Archie	221
#80	Hugh	219
#81	Oliver	218
#82	Ira	209
#83	Clifford	207
#84	August	206
#85	Alexander	202
#86	Eddie	197
#87	Leon	197
#88	Philip	192
#89	Theodore	190
#90	Allen	189
#91	Anthony	189
#92	Isaac	187
#93	Charley	183
#94	Lloyd	182
#95	Russell	182
#96	Leslie	181
#97	Bert	180
#98	Bernard	178
#99	Grover	177
#100	Sidney	176