US baby names · 1908

Most popular baby names of 1908

In 1908, Social Security card applications recorded 334,312 girls and 154,336 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 2,434 distinct girls’ names and 1,584 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (18,665 girls) and John (9,343 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 1907, 23,258 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1907, 2 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1908 are newcomers (girls: Charlotte, Inez; boys: Vernon, Gerald, Julius). Of these names, 20 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 1908 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1907 1909 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1908

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	18,665
#2	Helen	8,439
#3	Margaret	6,976
#4	Ruth	6,180
#5	Anna	5,860
#6	Dorothy	5,703
#7	Elizabeth	4,904
#8	Mildred	4,624
#9	Alice	4,270
#10	Marie	4,076
#11	Florence	3,883
#12	Ethel	3,786
#13	Lillian	3,634
#14	Frances	3,593
#15	Gladys	3,580
#16	Rose	3,382
#17	Edna	3,365
#18	Louise	2,937
#19	Grace	2,901
#20	Evelyn	2,857
#21	Annie	2,820
#22	Catherine	2,750
#23	Irene	2,732
#24	Hazel	2,698
#25	Gertrude	2,562
#26	Thelma	2,526
#27	Edith	2,410
#28	Josephine	2,389
#29	Bertha	2,384
#30	Emma	2,357
#31	Clara	2,352
#32	Martha	2,324
#33	Ruby	2,229
#34	Bessie	2,201
#35	Virginia	2,195
#36	Esther	2,187
#37	Mabel	2,096
#38	Lucille	2,080
#39	Pearl	2,075
#40	Beatrice	1,997
#41	Elsie	1,983
#42	Viola	1,964
#43	Ida	1,952
#44	Myrtle	1,952
#45	Agnes	1,934
#46	Eva	1,930
#47	Minnie	1,817
#48	Sarah	1,814
#49	Nellie	1,757
#50	Julia	1,749
#51	Pauline	1,702
#52	Laura	1,558
#53	Alma	1,474
#54	Lillie	1,471
#55	Katherine	1,430
#56	Ella	1,428
#57	Mae	1,384
#58	Jessie	1,382
#59	Willie	1,371
#60	Mattie	1,364
#61	Bernice	1,363
#62	Ann	1,354
#63	Marion	1,349
#64	Lena	1,331
#65	Eleanor	1,302
#66	Carrie	1,239
#67	Stella	1,216
#68	Vera	1,204
#69	Blanche	1,162
#70	Doris	1,155
#71	Hattie	1,137
#72	Betty	1,128
#73	Leona	1,118
#74	Lucy	1,118
#75	Anne	1,088
#76	Fannie	1,085
#77	Kathryn	1,058
#78	Jennie	1,038
#79	Mamie	1,028
#80	Lois	1,023
#81	Violet	1,017
#82	Beulah	1,015
#83	Cora	962
#84	Opal	955
#85	Marjorie	942
#86	Rosa	941
#87	Ada	922
#88	Marguerite	913
#89	Lula	892
#90	Velma	860
#91	Jean	852
#92	Ellen	848
#93	Dora	806
#94	Theresa	795
#95	Maggie	772
#96	Sadie	770
#97	Georgia	768
#98	Charlotte	766
#99	Daisy	765
#100	Inez	757

Top 100 boys’ names, 1908

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	9,343
#2	William	7,529
#3	James	7,012
#4	George	4,584
#5	Robert	4,219
#6	Joseph	4,162
#7	Charles	3,929
#8	Frank	3,146
#9	Edward	2,707
#10	Thomas	2,301
#11	Henry	2,283
#12	Walter	2,192
#13	Willie	1,964
#14	Harry	1,934
#15	Albert	1,642
#16	Arthur	1,601
#17	Harold	1,542
#18	Paul	1,478
#19	Clarence	1,428
#20	Fred	1,381
#21	Raymond	1,381
#22	Louis	1,317
#23	Richard	1,244
#24	Joe	1,209
#25	Ralph	1,138
#26	Roy	1,097
#27	Jack	1,086
#28	Howard	1,078
#29	Carl	1,074
#30	David	1,015
#31	Ernest	1,000
#32	Earl	999
#33	Samuel	960
#34	Francis	853
#35	Lawrence	815
#36	Herbert	759
#37	Charlie	740
#38	Alfred	739
#39	Andrew	722
#40	Kenneth	692
#41	Anthony	690
#42	Elmer	689
#43	Eugene	689
#44	Michael	688
#45	Donald	664
#46	Sam	644
#47	Theodore	643
#48	Leonard	614
#49	Leo	584
#50	Herman	562
#51	Lee	553
#52	Stanley	547
#53	Peter	541
#54	Daniel	530
#55	Floyd	529
#56	Leroy	523
#57	Russell	523
#58	Clifford	515
#59	Clyde	511
#60	Lester	509
#61	Lewis	489
#62	Jesse	482
#63	Benjamin	480
#64	Edwin	477
#65	Oscar	476
#66	Chester	461
#67	Ray	446
#68	Frederick	438
#69	Claude	428
#70	Bernard	414
#71	Eddie	413
#72	Cecil	397
#73	Lloyd	394
#74	Norman	374
#75	Melvin	366
#76	Edgar	360
#77	Jessie	355
#78	Ben	353
#79	Milton	346
#80	Homer	340
#81	Tom	340
#82	Harvey	339
#83	Martin	331
#84	Leon	327
#85	Johnnie	321
#86	Philip	319
#87	Marvin	311
#88	Victor	308
#89	Alvin	307
#90	Everett	294
#91	Luther	292
#92	Allen	287
#93	Vernon	285
#94	Stephen	280
#95	Leslie	279
#96	Will	274
#97	Gerald	270
#98	Morris	269
#99	Julius	263
#100	Virgil	258