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Most popular baby names of the 1910s

In the 1910s, the most popular name for girls born in the U.S. was Mary, given to 478,636 girls, about 1 in 17 girls born that decade. For boys it was John, given to 376,311, about 1 in 18 boys.

Together, the top 20 girls’ names went to 32% of girls born in the 1910s, and the top 20 boys’ names to 42% of boys.

Top girls’ names

Top girls’ names of the 1910s
RankNameBabiesShare
#1Mary478,6361 in 17
#2Helen248,1541 in 33
#3Dorothy207,4751 in 39
#4Margaret189,2341 in 43
#5Ruth173,6751 in 47
#6Mildred123,9981 in 66
#7Anna118,9981 in 69
#8Elizabeth116,8111 in 70
#9Frances105,5991 in 77
#10Virginia94,3221 in 86
#11Marie92,0861 in 89
#12Evelyn91,4921 in 89
#13Alice85,8661 in 95
#14Florence81,4651 in 100
#15Lillian75,9141 in 110
#16Rose74,6901 in 110
#17Irene68,9681 in 120
#18Louise67,9731 in 120
#19Edna66,8971 in 120
#20Catherine65,8231 in 120

Top boys’ names

Top boys’ names of the 1910s
RankNameBabiesShare
#1John376,3111 in 18
#2William303,0171 in 22
#3James275,0701 in 24
#4Robert239,1851 in 28
#5Joseph179,3001 in 37
#6George176,6091 in 38
#7Charles173,5351 in 38
#8Edward125,7201 in 53
#9Frank116,0171 in 58
#10Thomas91,6191 in 73
#11Walter89,1451 in 75
#12Harold79,7211 in 84
#13Henry79,6671 in 84
#14Paul78,2161 in 85
#15Richard74,6031 in 89
#16Raymond71,8201 in 93
#17Albert68,2071 in 98
#18Arthur67,4781 in 99
#19Harry65,8741 in 100
#20Donald57,0011 in 120

What changed

5 of the decade’s top 20 girls’ names were not in the top 20 of the 1900s: Virginia, Evelyn, Irene, Louise and Catherine. 3 of the decade’s top 20 boys’ names were not in the top 20 of the 1900s: Richard, Raymond and Donald.

Each table ranks names by how many babies of that sex got the name across the decade’s years in Social Security’s data, with the share of all babies of that sex it went to. A name links to its own page when it has one, with its births and rank in every year since 1880.

Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.