1890s Baby Names

1,514 names were given to children in the United States between 1890 and 1899, ranked below by how many.

A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#2
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
81,191 in the 1890s
#3
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
72,618 in the 1890s
#5
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
51,005 in the 1890s
#6
George George is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "farmer" or "worker of the earth," from ge, earth, and ergon, work.
43,703 in the 1890s
#9
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
37,084 in the 1890s
#14
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
29,187 in the 1890s
#15
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
28,939 in the 1890s
#17
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
26,319 in the 1890s
#28
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
22,134 in the 1890s
#30
Henry Henry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler," from heim, meaning home or estate, and ric, meaning ruler or power.
21,851 in the 1890s
#31
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
21,431 in the 1890s
#33
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
21,238 in the 1890s
#37
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
19,613 in the 1890s
#50
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
16,431 in the 1890s
#55
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
14,395 in the 1890s
#59
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
13,850 in the 1890s
#69
Clarence Clarence is a boy's name taken from an English dukedom, itself named for a Suffolk town.
11,949 in the 1890s
#81
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
9,859 in the 1890s
#89
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
8,544 in the 1890s
#90
Earl Earl is a boy's name taken from the English noble title, and it is the only rank in the British peerage with a native English name rather than a French one.
8,389 in the 1890s
#92
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
8,238 in the 1890s
#93
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
8,138 in the 1890s
#94
Ernest Ernest is a boy's name from a Germanic word meaning serious or resolute, and it is far stronger in Europe than in America — 252nd in England and Wales and 276th in France against 1042nd in the United States.
7,919 in the 1890s
#96
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
7,873 in the 1890s
#97
Joe Joe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," a short form of Joseph that has become the English word for an ordinary person.
7,682 in the 1890s
#98
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
7,616 in the 1890s
#99
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
7,589 in the 1890s
#104
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
7,361 in the 1890s
#105
Harold Harold is a boy's name from Norse and Old English elements meaning army ruler, and it belongs to the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, killed at Hastings in 1066.
7,052 in the 1890s
#107
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
6,984 in the 1890s
#117
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is genuinely contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
5,973 in the 1890s
#120
Elmer Elmer means noble and famous, and its American popularity is traceable to two brothers — the Ebenezer and Jonathan Elmer who signed early revolutionary documents, after whom patriotic families went on to name sons.
5,741 in the 1890s
#122
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
5,729 in the 1890s
#123
Herbert Herbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright army.
5,670 in the 1890s
#126
Oscar Oscar is a boy's name with two competing origins: the Irish os, deer, plus cara, friend, giving "deer lover," or the Old Norse Ásgeirr, meaning "god's spear."
5,629 in the 1890s
#127
Francis Francis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
5,625 in the 1890s
#130
Jesse Jesse is a name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is debated.
5,522 in the 1890s
#135
Alfred Alfred is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel."
5,386 in the 1890s
#137
Will Will means will-helmet, and the compound is stranger than it looks — the Germanic joins desire to a piece of armor, so the name reads as protection by determination.
5,243 in the 1890s
#140
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
5,185 in the 1890s
#144
Sam Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has heard," a short form of Samuel.
4,973 in the 1890s
#145
Leo Leo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "lion."
4,825 in the 1890s
#153
Jack Jack is a boy's name of English origin that began as a pet form of John, by way of the medieval nickname Jankin.
4,659 in the 1890s
#154
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
4,622 in the 1890s
#156
Benjamin Benjamin is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of the right hand," from Binyamin.
4,460 in the 1890s
#157
Eugene Eugene is a boy's name from the Greek for well-born, and it is the source of the word eugenics — a connection worth knowing, since the name long predates and has nothing to do with that movement.
4,365 in the 1890s
#159
Herman Herman means army man, and the German national hero Hermann is a Latin scribe's version of a Cheruscan name we cannot now recover — Arminius, the chief who destroyed three Roman legions in AD 9.
4,252 in the 1890s
#164
Ray Ray is a boy's name that serves as a short form of Raymond and as the English word for a beam of light.
4,127 in the 1890s

What made a 1890s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1890 and 1899, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1890s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade

A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.

Where to Go Next

Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.