The Most Popular Baby Names

Popular baby names may come and go. Did you ever wonder what baby names were popular a hundred years ago? You might be surprised to learn that in the last hundred years, the top spot for girls has only been shared by eight names, and the number one name for boys has only been shared by six names. Each year, the Social Security Administration publishes an index of the most popularly picked baby names. Here is a look at what those names were for the last year published (2007), 1957, and 1907.

In 2007, the most popular baby names for girls were:

1. Emily

2. Isabella

3. Emma

4. Ava

5. Madison

6. Sophia

7. Olivia

8. Abigail

9. Hannah

10. Elizabeth

In 1957, the most popular baby names for girls were:

1. Mary

2. Susan

3. Linda

4. Debra

5. Karen

6. Deborah

7. Cynthia

8. Patricia

9. Barbara

10. Donna

And in 1907, the most popular baby names for girls were:

1. Mary

2. Helen

3. Margaret

4. Anna

5. Ruth

6. Dorothy

7. Elizabeth

8. Mildred

9. Alice

10. Marie

So, what were the most popular girl names for the past hundred years? They were Mary (1908-1946), Linda (1947-1952), back to Mary (1953-1961), Lisa (1962-1969), Jennifer (1970-1984), Jessica (1985-1990), Ashley (1991-1992), Jessica again (1993-1995), and our current favorite Emily (1996-2007).

In 2007, the most popular baby names for boys were:

1. Jacob

2. Michael

3. Ethan

4. Joshua

5. Daniel

6. Christopher

7. Anthony

8. William

9. Matthew

10. Andrew

In 1957, the most popular baby names for boys were:

1. Michael

2. James

3. David

4. Robert

5. John

6. William

7. Mark

8. Richard

9. Thomas

10. Steven

In 1907, the most popular baby names for boys were:

1. John

2. William

3. James

4. George

5. Robert

6. Charles

7. Joseph

8. Frank

9. Edward

10. Henry

The number one name on the boy's baby name list has been held by six names: John (1908-1923), Robert (1924-1939), James (1940-1952), Robert again (1953), Michael (1954-1959), David (1960), Michael again (1961-1998), and Jacob (1999-2007).

To see more popular baby names, visit the Social Security Administration's baby name index, which is available at their website. It has the ten most popular names for each year going back for more than a hundred years. There are a lot of interesting naming trends, and it leads one to wonder which names will be hitting the top of the list in the upcoming years. My guesses are Ethan for the boys team and Madison for the girls.