| The World's Largest Baby Name Factory | | | | 1939); Thomas from 9th to 51st; Richard from 25th to |
| The U.S. Federal government's Social Security | | | | 99th (but had a strong mid-century surge peaking at |
| Administration (SSA) has kept careful records of all | | | | #5 in 1940s). |
| new baby names in the U.S. from the 1880's to the | | | | Girl names that have fallen out of favor include Mary, |
| present. This database is available online for free for | | | | which was the #1 baby girl name in the 1880s but is |
| anyone to look at (you can find it at We've gone | | | | only 55th in the 2000s. The most dramatic fall of any |
| through the records and studied them can now share | | | | name is Minnie (yes, of Minnie Mouse fame), which |
| with you the fun and sometimes surprising results! | | | | was 6th most popular in the 1880s but has not even |
| I studied the data at the SSA site, looking at the name | | | | ranked anywhere in the top 1000 since 1971 when it |
| popularity for the last 120 years: from 1887 through | | | | was 951st. Apparently no one wants to be named |
| 2006. | | | | after a mouse! |
| Most Popular Names of All Time | | | | Nouveau Top Names |
| When you look at baby name popularity over time you | | | | Lastly there are the names that are all the rage today |
| see that all names go through cycles, gradually | | | | but that are unique and strange and new to our ear - |
| increasing and decreasing over time. | | | | because they were not at all common in the past. |
| To determine the most popular of all time, I decided | | | | Heading the list is Jacob, today's #1 most popular boy |
| that we should see which names have consistently | | | | name but it was only 56th in 1887 and hit a real low |
| been in the top 20, decade after decade. Which baby | | | | spot of 367th in 1962. |
| names were in the top 20 for the entire time from | | | | The name Michael has had real legs for over half a |
| 1887 to the present? | | | | centruy now. It was 48th a 120 years ago but then |
| Among boys the most popular are John (1st in 1887 | | | | climbed steadily and enjoyed an unprecedented streak |
| and 20th today); William (2nd to 10th); James (3rd to | | | | as the #1 boy name from 1954 to 1998 (except for |
| 16th); and Joseph (7th to 11th). | | | | one year when it was #2 in 1960). Think of that - 43 |
| There are fewer girls name that have stayed | | | | years as the #1 boys name! Today Michael is #2. |
| consistently popular across the decades. The best | | | | A couple more new top boys names are Joshua: |
| candidate I could find was Elizabeth, which ranked 4th, | | | | 247th to 3rd (but a low spot at 730th in 1929!), and |
| 21st and 11th in the 1880s, 1950s and 2000s. Its quite | | | | Matthew which has gone from 123rd to 5th. |
| noticeable how girls names change more than boys | | | | Emily from 98th to 1st with a mid-century low of 272nd |
| names. Here are just some of the most popular baby | | | | in 1962. |
| girl names from the 1880s that are no where to be | | | | Greatest Comeback Awards |
| seen today: Minnie, Ida, Bertha, Clara, Florence, Bessie | | | | No name better demonstrates the power of fashion |
| and Ethel. Of these only Clara appears in the top 1000 | | | | cycles than the girls name Emma - it was 4th most |
| these days (position 260), and I personally think it a | | | | popular in 1887, declined in popularity steadily until it was |
| beautiful name deserving of more use. I don't miss the | | | | quite rare from the 1940s to the 1980s (e.g., it was |
| other names much besides Florence, which has | | | | 463rd most popular in 1963), and gained rapidly starting |
| wonderful connotations. | | | | in the late 1980s, moving from 211th in 1986 to 2nd in |
| Fallen Stars | | | | 2006. Emma deserves a close second as it was 3rd |
| Then there are the names that were very popular in | | | | in the 1880s and is 11th in the 200s but descended to |
| the past but are used much less often today. These | | | | 213th in the 1950s. |
| can be a good source of unique names for your child | | | | Most Improved Award |
| today but where the unique name will have a good | | | | The girl baby name Madison gets the prize for most |
| dose of nostalgia. I call these the fallen stars. | | | | improved ranking in the shortest time. In 1985 it ranked |
| Among boy names the stand out fallen star is George, | | | | a very low 625th, and in 2006 it was the 2nd most |
| which was #4 in 1887 but only 153rd most popular | | | | popular name - it moved up an impressive 623 |
| today. Charles went from 5th to 60th; Robert from 11th | | | | positions in just 21 years. |
| to 47th (but enjoyed a great run as #1 from 1924 to | | | | |