US baby names · 1906

Most popular baby names of 1906

In 1906, Social Security card applications recorded 295,297 girls and 133,154 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 2,220 distinct girls’ names and 1,413 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (16,370 girls) and John (8,264 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 21% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 32% of boys. Compared with 1905, 4,528 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1905, 3 girls’ names and 5 boys’ names in 1906 are newcomers (girls: Hilda, Theresa, Jean; boys: Morris, Vernon, Glenn). Of these names, 19 of the 100 girls’ names and 20 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 1906 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1905 1907 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1906

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	16,370
#2	Helen	7,176
#3	Margaret	6,096
#4	Anna	5,502
#5	Ruth	5,140
#6	Dorothy	4,326
#7	Elizabeth	4,320
#8	Alice	4,192
#9	Mildred	3,873
#10	Florence	3,691
#11	Marie	3,690
#12	Ethel	3,511
#13	Lillian	3,293
#14	Frances	3,026
#15	Edna	3,011
#16	Gladys	3,000
#17	Rose	2,901
#18	Annie	2,774
#19	Grace	2,626
#20	Irene	2,423
#21	Bessie	2,396
#22	Gertrude	2,375
#23	Hazel	2,315
#24	Louise	2,307
#25	Bertha	2,302
#26	Catherine	2,230
#27	Clara	2,228
#28	Emma	2,224
#29	Martha	2,199
#30	Edith	2,160
#31	Thelma	2,114
#32	Evelyn	2,077
#33	Esther	2,065
#34	Mabel	2,054
#35	Pearl	2,035
#36	Ruby	1,962
#37	Myrtle	1,921
#38	Josephine	1,900
#39	Minnie	1,777
#40	Elsie	1,771
#41	Agnes	1,758
#42	Eva	1,758
#43	Ida	1,753
#44	Sarah	1,697
#45	Beatrice	1,679
#46	Lucille	1,676
#47	Viola	1,675
#48	Julia	1,603
#49	Nellie	1,596
#50	Lillie	1,500
#51	Virginia	1,491
#52	Laura	1,467
#53	Pauline	1,428
#54	Ella	1,343
#55	Mattie	1,325
#56	Katherine	1,277
#57	Alma	1,266
#58	Jessie	1,247
#59	Willie	1,233
#60	Mae	1,225
#61	Lena	1,206
#62	Carrie	1,188
#63	Marion	1,183
#64	Blanche	1,173
#65	Stella	1,141
#66	Bernice	1,107
#67	Eleanor	1,088
#68	Vera	1,083
#69	Lucy	1,077
#70	Ann	1,064
#71	Hattie	1,056
#72	Leona	1,017
#73	Mamie	1,002
#74	Jennie	986
#75	Beulah	980
#76	Fannie	955
#77	Cora	952
#78	Kathryn	911
#79	Lula	911
#80	Ellen	898
#81	Betty	865
#82	Rosa	865
#83	Doris	856
#84	Maggie	839
#85	Anne	835
#86	Violet	830
#87	Ada	819
#88	Lois	799
#89	Marguerite	791
#90	Daisy	773
#91	Dora	761
#92	Sadie	748
#93	Marjorie	728
#94	Velma	721
#95	Opal	718
#96	Georgia	706
#97	Hilda	705
#98	Susie	693
#99	Theresa	669
#100	Jean	666

Top 100 boys’ names, 1906

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	8,264
#2	William	6,566
#3	James	5,908
#4	George	4,201
#5	Robert	3,635
#6	Charles	3,607
#7	Joseph	3,527
#8	Frank	2,798
#9	Edward	2,398
#10	Thomas	2,176
#11	Henry	2,112
#12	Walter	1,934
#13	Willie	1,756
#14	Harry	1,631
#15	Arthur	1,486
#16	Albert	1,469
#17	Harold	1,330
#18	Clarence	1,319
#19	Paul	1,308
#20	Fred	1,193
#21	Raymond	1,133
#22	Louis	1,101
#23	Richard	1,084
#24	Roy	1,024
#25	Joe	1,020
#26	Ralph	984
#27	Carl	951
#28	Ernest	943
#29	Earl	912
#30	Jack	880
#31	David	878
#32	Howard	803
#33	Samuel	783
#34	Charlie	744
#35	Francis	737
#36	Lawrence	717
#37	Herbert	689
#38	Theodore	688
#39	Eugene	637
#40	Alfred	632
#41	Andrew	611
#42	Elmer	598
#43	Sam	552
#44	Anthony	542
#45	Kenneth	534
#46	Michael	531
#47	Leo	508
#48	Daniel	506
#49	Herman	502
#50	Leonard	492
#51	Donald	486
#52	Lester	482
#53	Russell	459
#54	Floyd	458
#55	Clyde	457
#56	Stanley	455
#57	Jesse	436
#58	Lee	436
#59	Peter	427
#60	Ray	421
#61	Chester	420
#62	Leroy	420
#63	Clifford	413
#64	Oscar	412
#65	Edwin	390
#66	Eddie	377
#67	Frederick	377
#68	Cecil	368
#69	Lewis	365
#70	Lloyd	357
#71	Benjamin	352
#72	Harvey	351
#73	Claude	346
#74	Bernard	343
#75	Martin	334
#76	Norman	324
#77	Jessie	323
#78	Milton	303
#79	Edgar	301
#80	Tom	298
#81	Everett	291
#82	Ben	285
#83	Melvin	285
#84	Allen	282
#85	Philip	280
#86	Homer	267
#87	Leon	263
#88	Leslie	263
#89	Luther	262
#90	Jim	261
#91	Johnnie	255
#92	Will	253
#93	Victor	249
#94	Marvin	245
#95	Alvin	239
#96	Morris	226
#97	Vernon	223
#98	Glenn	217
#99	Archie	216
#100	Patrick	213