How Many of Me

Most Popular First Names of the 1900s

The top first names registered in the United States between 1900 and 1909, ranked by total births recorded with the Social Security Administration. The sparkline for each name shows how it trended across the 10 years of the decade.

During this decade, the SSA recorded 829,596 male and 1,476,585 female births across the top 50 names shown below. Click any name for a full statistical profile.

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

How to read this table

Each name is ranked by total birth registrations across all 10 years of the 1900s. The Trend column shows a sparkline of annual births within the decade. Hover over any sparkline to see the exact count for each year.

The Change column compares the first year (1900) to the last year (1909). A positive percentage means the name was gaining popularity by the end of the decade. A negative one means it was on the decline.

Top Male Names

829,596 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 John 84,590 -2.4%
2 William 69,320 -7.8%
3 James 62,170 +4.8%
4 George 43,589 -13.2%
5 Charles 36,184 -1.7%
6 Robert 35,849 +19.4%
7 Joseph 35,173 +17.1%
8 Frank 29,046 -6.7%
9 Edward 24,516 +7.9%
10 Thomas 21,783 -3.4%
11 Henry 21,772 -7.5%
12 Walter 19,997 -0.5%
13 Harry 17,906 -15.3%
14 Willie 17,746 +2.9%
15 Arthur 15,409 -10.1%
16 Albert 15,318 +4.3%
17 Clarence 13,573 +2.4%
18 Fred 13,076 -17.7%
19 Harold 12,795 +38.6%
20 Paul 12,636 +30.1%
21 Raymond 11,650 +25.3%
22 Richard 10,675 +25.1%
23 Roy 10,632 -6.6%
24 Joe 10,466 +9.6%
25 Louis 10,372 +12.2%
26 Carl 9,865 +19.6%
27 Ralph 9,298 +21.8%
28 Earl 9,251 -2.9%
29 Jack 9,222 +9.2%
30 Ernest 8,657 -12.5%
31 David 8,619 +23.9%
32 Samuel 8,149 +12.1%
33 Howard 8,014 +49.7%
34 Charlie 7,928 -25.9%
35 Francis 7,021 +35.9%
36 Herbert 6,957 +10.7%
37 Lawrence 6,846 +29.6%
38 Theodore 6,490 +38.7%
39 Alfred 6,356 +19.2%
40 Andrew 6,277 +6.7%
41 Sam 6,161 -14.7%
42 Elmer 6,161 -1.7%
43 Eugene 5,909 +23.3%
44 Leo 5,629 +6.8%
45 Michael 5,220 +28.3%
46 Lee 5,158 -13.5%
47 Herman 5,064 +12.4%
48 Anthony 5,043 +86.7%
49 Daniel 5,036 -4.8%
50 Leonard 5,022 +43%

Top Female Names

1,476,585 births across top 50

# Name Births Trend Change
1 Mary 161,504 +15.3%
2 Helen 69,428 +45.9%
3 Margaret 57,919 +38.7%
4 Anna 54,918 -5.1%
5 Ruth 51,010 +36.6%
6 Elizabeth 41,708 +26.4%
7 Dorothy 39,112 +151%
8 Marie 37,091 +11.5%
9 Florence 36,191 -3.3%
10 Mildred 36,173 +80.5%
11 Alice 35,232 +36.3%
12 Ethel 34,868 -6%
13 Lillian 32,519 +5.3%
14 Gladys 30,285 +29.5%
15 Edna 29,832 +10.5%
16 Frances 28,499 +51.5%
17 Rose 28,106 +18.6%
18 Annie 27,748 -12.6%
19 Grace 26,927 -1%
20 Bertha 24,247 -19%
21 Emma 24,176 -24.5%
22 Bessie 23,984 -25.2%
23 Clara 23,899 -15%
24 Hazel 23,802 +11.7%
25 Irene 23,656 +30.8%
26 Gertrude 23,607 +1.6%
27 Louise 22,862 +45.8%
28 Catherine 22,007 +39.2%
29 Martha 21,750 +3%
30 Mabel 21,625 -20%
31 Pearl 20,913 -18.5%
32 Edith 20,884 +14.7%
33 Esther 20,026 +8.3%
34 Minnie 19,715 -33.4%
35 Myrtle 19,691 -13.4%
36 Ida 18,866 -15%
37 Josephine 18,785 +38.6%
38 Evelyn 18,603 +182.9%
39 Elsie 18,452 +0.9%
40 Eva 18,357 -9.2%
41 Thelma 18,265 +138.8%
42 Ruby 18,175 +63.9%
43 Agnes 17,616 +3.1%
44 Sarah 17,342 -10.2%
45 Viola 16,559 +15.1%
46 Nellie 16,339 -4.4%
47 Beatrice 16,282 +52.3%
48 Julia 16,107 +9.3%
49 Laura 15,532 -16.4%
50 Lillie 15,391 -18.4%
1890s 1910s