Most Popular First Names by Decade

How have naming trends shifted over 140 years? Browse the most popular male and female first names for each decade from the 1880s through the 2020s. Each decade page shows the top 50 names ranked by SSA birth registrations.

1880s

#1 Male: John 89,949

#1 Female: Mary 91,668

1890s

#1 Male: John 80,664

#1 Female: Mary 131,138

1900s

#1 Male: John 84,590

#1 Female: Mary 161,504

1910s

#1 Male: John 376,312

#1 Female: Mary 478,636

1920s

#1 Male: Robert 576,375

#1 Female: Mary 701,756

1930s

#1 Male: Robert 590,799

#1 Female: Mary 572,997

1940s

#1 Male: James 795,767

#1 Female: Mary 640,070

1950s

#1 Male: James 843,776

#1 Female: Mary 625,609

1960s

#1 Male: Michael 833,070

#1 Female: Lisa 496,983

1970s

#1 Male: Michael 707,368

#1 Female: Jennifer 581,733

1980s

#1 Male: Michael 663,824

#1 Female: Jessica 469,518

1990s

#1 Male: Michael 462,451

#1 Female: Jessica 303,129

2000s

#1 Male: Jacob 274,064

#1 Female: Emily 223,755

2010s

#1 Male: Noah 183,330

#1 Female: Emma 195,028

2020s

#1 Male: Liam 103,878

#1 Female: Olivia 82,208