US baby names · 1905

Most popular baby names of 1905

In 1905, Social Security card applications recorded 291,617 girls and 132,306 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 2,234 distinct girls’ names and 1,421 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (16,067 girls) and John (8,059 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 20% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 32% of boys. Compared with 1904, 20,439 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1904, 2 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1905 are newcomers (girls: Velma, Emily; boys: Stephen, Otis, Marvin). Of these names, 21 of the 100 girls’ names and 21 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 1905 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1904 1906 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1905

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	16,067
#2	Helen	6,811
#3	Margaret	5,690
#4	Anna	5,424
#5	Ruth	5,068
#6	Elizabeth	4,121
#7	Dorothy	3,937
#8	Mildred	3,758
#9	Marie	3,643
#10	Alice	3,610
#11	Florence	3,478
#12	Ethel	3,401
#13	Lillian	3,185
#14	Gladys	2,996
#15	Edna	2,953
#16	Frances	2,887
#17	Annie	2,793
#18	Rose	2,724
#19	Grace	2,630
#20	Bessie	2,446
#21	Bertha	2,434
#22	Clara	2,397
#23	Louise	2,367
#24	Irene	2,357
#25	Hazel	2,351
#26	Emma	2,298
#27	Gertrude	2,276
#28	Catherine	2,198
#29	Mabel	2,178
#30	Edith	2,137
#31	Pearl	2,108
#32	Martha	2,091
#33	Myrtle	2,026
#34	Esther	1,993
#35	Minnie	1,950
#36	Thelma	1,945
#37	Josephine	1,894
#38	Ruby	1,885
#39	Eva	1,815
#40	Elsie	1,811
#41	Sarah	1,762
#42	Ida	1,757
#43	Agnes	1,718
#44	Viola	1,697
#45	Beatrice	1,661
#46	Evelyn	1,661
#47	Julia	1,642
#48	Nellie	1,626
#49	Laura	1,566
#50	Lucille	1,533
#51	Lillie	1,481
#52	Ella	1,438
#53	Virginia	1,394
#54	Pauline	1,381
#55	Mattie	1,371
#56	Alma	1,333
#57	Jessie	1,315
#58	Carrie	1,288
#59	Willie	1,285
#60	Mae	1,284
#61	Lena	1,258
#62	Hattie	1,197
#63	Blanche	1,190
#64	Katherine	1,190
#65	Marion	1,141
#66	Lucy	1,132
#67	Stella	1,097
#68	Fannie	1,085
#69	Leona	1,082
#70	Mamie	1,068
#71	Vera	1,053
#72	Cora	1,044
#73	Eleanor	1,041
#74	Bernice	1,032
#75	Ann	996
#76	Jennie	981
#77	Beulah	968
#78	Lula	963
#79	Rosa	922
#80	Ada	873
#81	Ellen	845
#82	Violet	831
#83	Doris	812
#84	Maggie	809
#85	Betty	807
#86	Kathryn	788
#87	Daisy	776
#88	Lois	763
#89	Dora	757
#90	Marguerite	753
#91	Sadie	750
#92	Nora	742
#93	Susie	739
#94	Georgia	722
#95	Velma	722
#96	Marjorie	712
#97	Maude	709
#98	Anne	708
#99	Opal	702
#100	Emily	683

Top 100 boys’ names, 1905

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	8,059
#2	William	6,495
#3	James	6,042
#4	George	4,256
#5	Charles	3,608
#6	Robert	3,410
#7	Joseph	3,302
#8	Frank	2,837
#9	Edward	2,366
#10	Thomas	2,135
#11	Henry	2,126
#12	Walter	1,902
#13	Willie	1,782
#14	Harry	1,619
#15	Albert	1,532
#16	Arthur	1,505
#17	Clarence	1,377
#18	Fred	1,284
#19	Paul	1,262
#20	Harold	1,258
#21	Raymond	1,159
#22	Richard	1,033
#23	Joe	1,024
#24	Roy	1,016
#25	Louis	981
#26	Carl	959
#27	Ralph	938
#28	Jack	907
#29	Earl	904
#30	Samuel	856
#31	Ernest	845
#32	David	838
#33	Theodore	834
#34	Charlie	801
#35	Howard	735
#36	Francis	685
#37	Herbert	681
#38	Lawrence	669
#39	Sam	620
#40	Andrew	619
#41	Elmer	602
#42	Eugene	593
#43	Alfred	591
#44	Floyd	523
#45	Michael	513
#46	Leo	512
#47	Leonard	495
#48	Anthony	490
#49	Lee	486
#50	Daniel	484
#51	Herman	475
#52	Clyde	474
#53	Kenneth	474
#54	Jesse	443
#55	Leroy	441
#56	Oscar	436
#57	Lester	432
#58	Russell	432
#59	Donald	425
#60	Ray	424
#61	Clifford	420
#62	Peter	409
#63	Claude	399
#64	Chester	388
#65	Lewis	384
#66	Stanley	384
#67	Frederick	381
#68	Benjamin	379
#69	Lloyd	369
#70	Edwin	357
#71	Norman	350
#72	Cecil	347
#73	Eddie	346
#74	Jessie	338
#75	Martin	332
#76	Homer	318
#77	Tom	317
#78	Edgar	315
#79	Luther	308
#80	Milton	299
#81	Johnnie	297
#82	Bernard	292
#83	Melvin	291
#84	Ben	290
#85	Harvey	286
#86	Will	286
#87	Leon	274
#88	Allen	272
#89	Everett	270
#90	Victor	268
#91	Roosevelt	264
#92	Alvin	258
#93	Stephen	246
#94	Leslie	237
#95	Jim	236
#96	Philip	234
#97	Virgil	226
#98	Jacob	220
#99	Otis	216
#100	Marvin	215