1900s Baby Names

1,819 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

#2
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
85,070 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
#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
#13
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
36,428 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
#18
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
35,346 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
#24
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
29,240 in the 1900s
#29
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
24,601 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
#45
Walter Walter is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning ruler of the army.
20,126 in the 1900s
#56
Harry Harry is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "home ruler."
18,003 in the 1900s
#65
Arthur Arthur is a boy's name of disputed origin.
15,505 in the 1900s
#67
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
15,402 in the 1900s
#73
Clarence Clarence is a boy's name taken from an English dukedom, itself named for a Suffolk town.
13,651 in the 1900s
#77
Fred Fred is a boy's name, the short form of Frederick meaning peaceful ruler.
13,169 in the 1900s
#78
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.
12,849 in the 1900s
#80
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
12,729 in the 1900s
#85
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
11,688 in the 1900s
#88
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.
10,759 in the 1900s
#89
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
10,734 in the 1900s
#90
Roy Roy is a boy's name with two independent sources — the Gaelic ruadh, meaning red-haired, and the French roi, meaning king.
10,714 in the 1900s
#92
Louis Louis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior."
10,498 in the 1900s
#100
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
9,951 in the 1900s
#104
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.
9,387 in the 1900s
#105
Ralph Ralph is a boy's name of Norse origin meaning "wolf counsel."
9,331 in the 1900s
#107
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.
9,269 in the 1900s
#109
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 1,042nd in the United States.
8,715 in the 1900s
#110
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
8,661 in the 1900s
#117
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
8,173 in the 1900s
#118
Howard Howard is a boy's name whose origin is contested — high guardian, brave heart and even a keeper of pigs have all been proposed.
8,061 in the 1900s
#132
Herbert Herbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright army.
6,975 in the 1900s
#133
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
6,895 in the 1900s
#136
Lee Lee is a name from the Old English word for a woodland clearing, and it is one of the most productive elements in English place names — the ending of Ashley, Bradley, Shirley and Beverly.
6,674 in the 1900s
#138
Theodore Theodore is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God," formed from theos, meaning god, and doron, meaning gift.
6,519 in the 1900s
#141
Alfred Alfred is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel."
6,380 in the 1900s
#142
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.
6,309 in the 1900s
#143
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
6,277 in the 1900s
#144
Sam Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has heard," a short form of Samuel.
6,226 in the 1900s
#150
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.
6,002 in the 1900s
#154
Leo Leo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "lion."
5,784 in the 1900s
#168
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
5,232 in the 1900s
#171
Clyde Clyde took nothing from Bonnie and Clyde.
5,093 in the 1900s
#172
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.
5,081 in the 1900s
#173
Floyd Floyd is the same name as Lloyd, and the F is a mistake that stuck — English had no way to say the Welsh double L, so it substituted the closest sound it had, and the substitution became a separate name.
5,055 in the 1900s
#174
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
5,048 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.