These Were The Most Popular Baby Names In The 1890s

How times have changed.
Mary and John dominated the popularity charts in the 1890s.
andipantz via Getty Images
Mary and John dominated the popularity charts in the 1890s.

Baby name trends come and go, but many choices remain popular for decades and even centuries. Luckily, if you’re interested in examining historical patterns, the Social Security Administration offers lists of the top baby names of every decade going back to the 1880s.

Looking back to the 1890s, there are many timeless names on the top 20 lists, like Emma and Elizabeth for girls and William and James for boys. However, it’s also clear that tastes have changed, as once-popular names like Bertha, Clarence, Earl and Bessie are scarcely seen on birth certificates today.

See for yourself! Below, find the 50 most popular names for boys and girls born in the U.S. from 1890 to 1899.

Girls

  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

  26. Pearl

  27. Frances

  28. Myrtle

  29. Edith

  30. Nellie

  31. Sarah

  32. Ella

  33. Eva

  34. Laura

  35. Elsie

  36. Louise

  37. Esther

  38. Catherine

  39. Agnes

  40. Carrie

  41. Lillie

  42. Mildred

  43. Gladys

  44. Irene

  45. Julia

  46. Hattie

  47. Cora

  48. Lena

  49. Josephine

  50. Mattie

Boys

  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

  26. Richard

  27. Raymond

  28. Joe

  29. David

  30. Charlie

  31. Harold

  32. Ralph

  33. Howard

  34. Andrew

  35. Herbert

  36. Elmer

  37. Oscar

  38. Jesse

  39. Alfred

  40. Will

  41. Daniel

  42. Sam

  43. Leo

  44. Jack

  45. Lawrence

  46. Francis

  47. Benjamin

  48. Lee

  49. Eugene

  50. Herman

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