1900s Baby Names

5,549 names were given to children in the United States between 1900 and 1909, 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

#1
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
162,187 in the 1900s
#2
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
85,070 in the 1900s
#3
Helen Helen is a girl's name from Greek whose meaning is not settled, though torch and shining are the usual readings.
69,675 in the 1900s
#4
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
69,646 in the 1900s
#5
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
62,527 in the 1900s
#6
Margaret Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl," from margarites.
58,137 in the 1900s
#7
Anna Anna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah.
55,099 in the 1900s
#8
Ruth Ruth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin usually given as "companion" or "friend," though the derivation is not secure.
51,177 in the 1900s
#9
George George is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "farmer" or "worker of the earth," from ge, earth, and ergon, work.
43,924 in the 1900s
#10
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
41,843 in the 1900s
#11
Dorothy Dorothy is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God."
39,248 in the 1900s
#12
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
37,227 in the 1900s
#13
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
36,428 in the 1900s
#14
Florence Florence is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "blossoming" or "flourishing."
36,368 in the 1900s
#15
Mildred Mildred is a girl's name from Old English elements meaning gentle strength, and it is among the least fashionable names of the twentieth century — yet it is reviving, ninety years after its 1920 peak.
36,325 in the 1900s
#16
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
36,046 in the 1900s
#17
Alice Alice is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," arrived at by a long contraction of Adelaide.
35,355 in the 1900s
#18
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
35,346 in the 1900s
#19
Ethel Ethel is a girl's name from an Old English word meaning noble, and it is not a name in its own right in that language — it is the first half of longer names like Ethelred, cut off and used alone.
35,049 in the 1900s
#20
Lillian Lillian is a girl's name usually explained as an elaboration of Lily, from the Latin lilium, and sometimes as a variant of Elizabeth by way of the medieval pet form Lilian.
32,646 in the 1900s
#21
Gladys Gladys is a girl's name from Welsh, usually taken as a form of Claudia — which would give it the meaning lame.
30,417 in the 1900s
#22
Willie Willie is a pet form of William meaning resolute protector, and one of the more mixed names on record — a quarter of the births we hold are female, which is unusual for a name read today as male.
30,103 in the 1900s
#23
Edna Edna is a girl's name from a Hebrew word meaning delight, and it shares its root with Eden.
29,957 in the 1900s
#24
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
29,240 in the 1900s
#25
Frances Frances is a girl's name meaning a Frank, or a free one, and the feminine of Francis.
28,721 in the 1900s
#26
Rose Rose is a girl's name of Latin origin naming the flower, from rosa.
28,263 in the 1900s
#27
Annie Annie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor."
27,894 in the 1900s
#28
Grace Grace is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "favor" or "blessing," from gratia.
27,030 in the 1900s
#29
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
24,601 in the 1900s
#30
Bertha Bertha is a girl's name from a Germanic word meaning bright, and it was Charlemagne's mother's name.
24,363 in the 1900s
#31
Emma Emma is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "whole" or "universal," from the element ermen, found in older names such as Ermintrude.
24,268 in the 1900s
#32
Bessie Bessie is a girl's name meaning God is my oath, a pet form of Elizabeth.
24,077 in the 1900s
#33
Clara Clara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright" or "clear," from clarus.
24,013 in the 1900s
#34
Hazel Hazel is a girl's name of English origin naming the hazel tree, from the Old English hæsel.
23,991 in the 1900s
#35
Irene Irene is a girl's name from the Greek word for peace, and the name of the goddess who personified it.
23,752 in the 1900s
#36
Gertrude Gertrude is a girl's name from Germanic elements meaning spear-strength, and its saint is patron of cats — a modern attribution that no medieval source supports.
23,683 in the 1900s
#37
Louise Louise is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," the French feminine form of Louis.
22,970 in the 1900s
#38
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
22,056 in the 1900s
#39
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.
21,970 in the 1900s
#40
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
21,929 in the 1900s
#41
Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."
21,816 in the 1900s
#42
Mabel Mabel is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "lovable."
21,728 in the 1900s
#43
Pearl Pearl is a girl's name taken from the gem, and it charts in all seven markets.
21,270 in the 1900s
#44
Edith Edith is a girl's name of Old English origin meaning "prosperous in war."
20,945 in the 1900s
#45
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
20,126 in the 1900s
#46
Esther Esther is a girl's name usually connected to the Persian word for star, and possibly to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.
20,097 in the 1900s
#47
Minnie Minnie Mouse did not make Minnie popular.
19,806 in the 1900s
#48
Myrtle Myrtle means the evergreen shrub, and it was the plant of Aphrodite — carried by Greek and Roman brides long before the Victorians made it a name.
19,755 in the 1900s

What Made a 1900s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1900 and 1909. A name's position here is how many of them were.

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.