Most Popular Baby Names by Decade (1880 - Present)

This article sets forth the twenty-five most popular male and female baby names in the United States by decade from 1880 to the present, according to the Social Security Administration.

During the thirteen decades that have transpired since 1880, five male names and five female names have been the most popular for boys and girls respectively. Two of the five male names were the most popular for baby boys for four decades each. One of the five female names was the most popular for baby girls for eight straight decades.

Of the twenty-five most popular male baby names during the 1880s, only seven remain in the top twenty-five today; for girls, only three names from the 1880s continue to be popular.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1880s

Male Names: 1. John; 2. William; 3. James; 4. George; 5. Charles; 6. Frank; 7. Joseph; 8. Henry; 9. Robert; 10. Thomas; 11. Edward; 12. Harry; 13. Walter; 14. Arthur; 15. Fred; 16. Albert; 17. Samuel; 18. Clarence; 19. Louis; 20. David; 21. Joe; 22. Charlie; 23. Richard; 24. Ernest; 25. Andrew.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Anna; 3. Emma; 4. Elizabeth; 5. Margaret; 6. Minnie; 7. Ida; 8. Bertha; 9. Clara; 10. Alice; 11. Annie; 12. Florence; 13. Bessie; 14. Grace; 15. Ethel; 16. Sarah; 17. Ella; 18. Martha; 19. Nellie; 20. Mabel; 21. Laura; 22. Carrie; 23. Cora; 24. Helen; 25. Maude.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1890s

Male Names: 1. John; 2. William; 3. James; 4. George; 5. Charles; 6. Joseph; 7. Frank; 8. Robert; 9. Edward; 10. Henry; 11. Harry; 12. Thomas; 13. Walter; 14. Arthur; 15. Fred; 16. Albert; 17. Clarence; 18. Willie; 19. Roy; 20. Louis; 21. Earl; 22. Paul; 23. Carl; 24. Ernest; 25. Samuel.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Anna; 3. Margaret; 4. Helen; 5. Elizabeth; 6. Ruth; 7. Florence; 8. Ethel; 9. Emma; 10. Marie; 11. Clara; 12. Bertha; 13. Minnie; 14. Bessie; 15. Alice; 16. Lillian; 17. Edna; 18. Grace; 19. Annie; 20. Mabel; 21. Ida; 22. Rose; 23. Hazel; 24. Gertrude; 25. Martha.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1900s

Male Names: 1. John; 2. William; 3. James; 4. George; 5. Charles; 6. Robert; 7. Joseph; 8. Frank; 9. Edward; 10. Thomas; 11. Henry; 12. Walter; 13. Harry; 14. Willie; 15. Arthur; 16. Albert; 17. Clarence; 18. Fred; 19. Harold; 20. Paul; 21. Raymond; 22. Richard; 23. Roy; 24. Joe; 25. Louis.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Helen; 3. Margaret; 4. Anna; 5. Ruth; 6. Elizabeth; 7. Dorothy; 8. Marie; 9. Florence; 10. Mildred; 11. Alice; 12. Ethel; 13. Lillian; 14. Gladys; 15. Edna; 16. Frances; 17. Rose; 18. Annie; 19. Grace; 20. Bertha; 21. Emma; 22. Bessie; 23. Clara; 24. Hazel; 25. Irene.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1910s

Male Names: 1. John; 2. William; 3. James; 4. Robert; 5. Joseph; 6. George; 7. Charles; 8. Edward; 9. Frank; 10. Thomas; 11. Walter; 12. Harold; 13. Henry; 14. Paul; 15. Richard; 16. Raymond; 17. Albert; 18. Arthur; 19. Harry; 20. Donald; 21. Ralph; 22. Louis; 23. Jack; 24. Clarence; 25. Carl.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Helen; 3. Dorothy; 4. Margaret; 5. Ruth; 6. Mildred; 7. Anna; 8. Elizabeth; 9. Frances; 10. Virginia; 11. Marie; 12. Evelyn; 13. Alice; 14. Florence; 15. Lillian; 16. Rose; 17. Irene; 18. Louise; 19. Edna; 20. Catherine; 21. Gladys; 22. Ethel; 23. Josephine; 24. Ruby; 25. Martha.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1920s

Male Names: 1. Robert; 2. John; 3. James; 4. William; 5. Charles; 6. George; 7. Joseph; 8. Richard; 9. Edward; 10. Donald; 11. Thomas; 12. Frank; 13. Harold; 14. Paul; 15. Raymond; 16. Walter; 17. Jack; 18. Henry; 19. Kenneth; 20. Arthur; 21. Albert; 22. David; 23. Harry; 24. Eugene; 25. Ralph.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Dorothy; 3. Helen; 4. Betty; 5. Margaret; 6. Ruth; 7. Virginia; 8. Doris; 9. Mildred; 10. Frances; 11. Elizabeth; 12. Evelyn; 13. Anna; 14. Marie; 15. Alice; 16. Jean; 17. Shirley; 18. Barbara; 19. Irene; 20. Marjorie; 21. Florence; 22. Lois; 23. Martha; 24. Rose; 25. Lillian.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1930s

Male Names: 1. Robert; 2. James; 3. John; 4. William; 5. Richard; 6. Charles; 7. Donald; 8. George; 9. Thomas; 10. Joseph; 11. David; 12. Edward; 13. Ronald; 14. Paul; 15. Kenneth; 16. Frank; 17. Raymond; 18. Jack; 19. Harold; 20. Billy; 21. Gerald; 22. Walter; 23. Jerry; 24. Joe; 25. Eugene.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Betty; 3. Barbara; 4. Shirley; 5. Patricia; 6. Dorothy; 7. Joan; 8. Margaret; 9. Nancy; 10. Helen; 11. Carol; 12. Joyce; 13. Doris; 14. Ruth; 15. Virginia; 16. Marilyn; 17. Elizabeth; 18. Jean; 19. Frances; 20. Beverly; 21. Lois; 22. Alice; 23. Donna; 24. Martha; 25. Dolores.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1940s

Male Names: 1. James; 2. Robert; 3. John; 4. William; 5. Richard; 6. David; 7. Charles; 8. Thomas; 9. Michael; 10. Ronald; 11. Larry; 12. Donald; 13. Joseph; 14. Gary; 15. George; 16. Kenneth; 17. Paul; 18. Edward; 19. Jerry; 20. Dennis; 21. Frank; 22. Daniel; 23. Raymond; 24. Roger; 25. Stephen.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Linda; 3. Barbara; 4. Patricia; 5. Carol; 6. Sandra; 7. Nancy; 8. Sharon; 9. Judith; 10. Susan; 11. Betty; 12. Carolyn; 13. Margaret; 14. Shirley; 15. Judy; 16. Karen; 17. Donna; 18. Kathleen; 19. Joyce; 20. Dorothy; 21. Janet; 22. Diane; 23. Janice; 24. Joan; 25. Elizabeth.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1950s

Male Names: 1. James; 2. Michael; 3. Robert; 4. John; 5. David; 6. William; 7. Richard; 8. Thomas; 9. Mark; 10. Charles; 11. Steven; 12. Gary; 13. Joseph; 14. Donald; 15. Ronald; 16. Kenneth; 17. Paul; 18. Larry; 19. Daniel; 20. Stephen; 21. Dennis; 22. Timothy; 23. Edward; 24. Jeffrey; 25. George.

Female Names: 1. Mary; 2. Linda; 3. Patricia; 4. Susan; 5. Deborah; 6. Barbara; 7. Debra; 8. Karen; 9. Nancy; 10. Donna; 11. Cynthia; 12. Sandra; 13. Pamela; 14. Sharon; 15. Kathleen; 16. Carol; 17. Diane; 18. Brenda; 19. Cheryl; 20. Janet; 21. Elizabeth; 22. Kathy; 23. Margaret; 24. Janice; 25. Carolyn.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1960s

Male Names: 1. Michael; 2. David; 3. John; 4. James; 5. Robert; 6. Mark; 7. William; 8. Richard; 9. Thomas; 10. Jeffrey; 11. Steven; 12. Joseph; 13. Timothy; 14. Kevin; 15. Scott; 16. Brian; 17. Charles; 18. Paul; 19. Daniel; 20. Christopher; 21. Kenneth; 22. Anthony; 23. Gregory; 24. Ronald; 25. Donald.

Female Names: 1. Lisa; 2. Mary; 3. Susan; 4. Karen; 5. Kimberly; 6. Patricia; 7. Linda; 8. Donna; 9. Michelle; 10. Cynthia; 11. Sandra; 12. Deborah; 13. Tammy; 14. Pamela; 15. Lori; 16. Laura; 17. Elizabeth; 18. Julie; 19. Brenda; 20. Jennifer; 21. Barbara; 22. Angela; 23. Sharon; 24. Debra; 25. Teresa.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1970s

Male Names: 1. Michael; 2. Christopher; 3. Jason; 4. David; 5. James; 6. John; 7. Robert; 8. Brian; 9. William; 10. Matthew; 11. Joseph; 12. Daniel; 13. Kevin; 14. Eric; 15. Jeffrey; 16. Richard; 17. Scott; 18. Mark; 19. Steven; 20. Thomas; 21. Timothy; 22. Anthony; 23. Charles; 24. Joshua; 25. Ryan.

Female Names: 1. Jennifer; 2. Amy; 3. Melissa; 4. Michelle; 5. Kimberly; 6. Lisa; 7. Angela; 8. Heather; 9. Stephanie; 10. Nicole; 11. Jessica; 12. Elizabeth; 13. Rebecca; 14. Kelly; 15. Mary; 16. Christina; 17. Amanda; 18. Julie; 19. Sarah; 20. Laura; 21. Shannon; 22. Christine; 23. Tammy; 24. Tracy; 25. Karen.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1980s

Male Names: 1. Michael; 2. Christopher; 3. Matthew; 4. Joshua; 5. David; 6. James; 7. Daniel; 8. Robert; 9. John; 10. Joseph; 11. Jason; 12. Justin; 13. Andrew; 14. Ryan; 15. William; 16. Brian; 17. Brandon; 18. Jonathan; 19. Nicholas; 20. Anthony; 21. Eric; 22. Adam; 23. Kevin; 24. Thomas; 25. Steven.

Female Names: 1. Jessica; 2. Jennifer; 3. Amanda; 4. Ashley; 5. Sarah; 6. Stephanie; 7. Melissa; 8. Nicole; 9. Elizabeth; 10. Heather; 11. Tiffany; 12. Michelle; 13. Amber; 14. Megan; 15. Amy; 16. Rachel; 17. Kimberly; 18. Christina; 19. Lauren; 20. Crystal; 21. Brittany; 22. Rebecca; 23. Laura; 24. Danielle; 25. Emily.

Most Popular Baby Names: 1990s

Male Names: 1. Michael; 2. Christopher; 3. Matthew; 4. Joshua; 5. Jacob; 6. Nicholas; 7. Andrew; 8. Daniel; 9. Tyler; 10. Joseph; 11. Brandon; 12. David; 13. James; 14. Ryan; 15. John; 16. Zachary; 17. Justin; 18. William; 19. Anthony; 20. Robert; 21. Jonathan; 22. Austin; 23. Alexander; 24. Kyle; 25. Kevin.

Female Names: 1. Jessica; 2. Ashley; 3. Emily; 4. Sarah; 5. Samantha; 6. Amanda; 7. Brittany; 8. Elizabeth; 9. Taylor; 10. Megan; 11. Hannah; 12. Kayla; 13. Lauren; 14. Stephanie; 15. Rachel; 16. Jennifer; 17. Nicole; 18. Alexis; 19. Victoria; 20. Amber; 21. Alyssa; 22. Courtney; 23. Rebecca; 24. Danielle; 25. Jasmine.

Most Popular Baby Names: 2000s

Male Names: 1. Jacob; 2. Michael; 3. Joshua; 4. Matthew; 5. Daniel; 6. Christopher; 7. Andrew; 8. Ethan; 9. Joseph; 10. William; 11. Anthony; 12. David; 13. Alexander; 14. Nicholas; 15. Ryan; 16. Tyler; 17. James; 18. John; 19. Jonathan; 20. Noah; 21. Brandon; 22. Christian; 23. Dylan; 24. Samuel; 25. Benjamin.

Female Names: 1. Emily; 2. Madison; 3. Emma; 4. Olivia; 5. Hannah; 6. Abigail; 7. Isabella; 8. Samantha; 9. Elizabeth; 10. Ashley; 11. Alexis; 12. Sarah; 13. Sophia; 14. Alyssa; 15. Grace; 16. Ava; 17. Taylor; 18. Brianna; 19. Lauren; 20. Chloe; 21. Natalie; 22. Kayla; 23. Jessica; 24. Anna; 25. Victoria.

Most Popular Baby Names: 2010s (to date)

Male Names: 1. Jacob; 2. Ethan; 3. Michael; 4. Jayden; 5. William; 6. Alexander; 7. Noah; 8. Daniel; 9. Aiden; 10. Anthony 11. Joshua; 12. Mason; 13. Christopher; 14. Andrew; 15. David; 16. Matthew; 17. Logan; 18. Elijah; 19. James; 20. Joseph; 21. Gabriel; 22. Benjamin; 23. Ryan; 24. Samuel; 25. Jackson.

Female Names: 1. Isabella; 2. Sophia; 3. Emma; 4. Olivia; 5. Ava; 6. Emily; 7. Abigail; 8. Madison; 9. Chloe; 10. Mia; 11. Addison; 12. Elizabeth; 13. Ella; 14. Natalie; 15. Samantha; 16. Alexis; 17. Lily; 18. Grace; 19. Hailey; 20. Alyssa; 21. Lillian; 22. Hannah; 23. Avery; 24. Leah; 25. Nevaeh.

Source(s):

"Popular Baby Names," Social Security Administration