Have you ever wondered what the most popular names were over the last 100 years? Well, wonder no more! In this article, we will explore the top names for both males and females over the last 100 years.
Let's start with the boys. The most popular male name over the last 100 years is James, with over 4.6 million occurrences. Robert and John follow closely behind, with 4.3 million and 4.3 million occurrences, respectively. Rounding out the top five is Michael with 4.3 million occurrences.
Now, let's move on to the girls. The most popular female name over the last 100 years is Mary, with over 3.1 million occurrences. Patricia and Jennifer follow closely behind, with 1.6 million and 1.5 million occurrences, respectively. Rounding out the top five is Linda with 1.4 million occurrences.
As you can see, the most popular names change over time, but there are a few names that consistently rank high on the list. So, if you're expecting a baby and are looking for some inspiration, be sure to check out these popular names!
Popular names for births in 1923-2022
| Rank | Males | Number | Females | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♂️ James | 4,625,363 | ♀️ Mary | 3,054,624 |
| 2 | ♂️ Robert | 4,357,620 | ♀️ Patricia | 1,551,159 |
| 3 | ♂️ John | 4,354,502 | ♀️ Jennifer | 1,469,664 |
| 4 | ♂️ Michael | 4,345,849 | ♀️ Linda | 1,448,284 |
| 5 | ♂️ David | 3,564,272 | ♀️ Elizabeth | 1,403,790 |
| 6 | ♂️ William | 3,484,904 | ♀️ Barbara | 1,385,994 |
| 7 | ♂️ Richard | 2,423,956 | ♀️ Susan | 1,102,248 |
| 8 | ♂️ Joseph | 2,300,049 | ♀️ Jessica | 1,047,635 |
| 9 | ♂️ Thomas | 2,134,536 | ♀️ Sarah | 987,732 |
| 10 | ♂️ Christopher | 2,049,683 | ♀️ Karen | 986,072 |
| 11 | ♂️ Charles | 2,037,956 | ♀️ Lisa | 965,306 |
| 12 | ♂️ Daniel | 1,905,388 | ♀️ Nancy | 960,589 |
| 13 | ♂️ Matthew | 1,620,154 | ♀️ Betty | 886,110 |
| 14 | ♂️ Anthony | 1,409,172 | ♀️ Sandra | 873,576 |
| 15 | ♂️ Mark | 1,349,030 | ♀️ Margaret | 867,664 |
| 16 | ♂️ Donald | 1,308,961 | ♀️ Ashley | 852,892 |
| 17 | ♂️ Steven | 1,284,623 | ♀️ Kimberly | 842,541 |
| 18 | ♂️ Andrew | 1,257,112 | ♀️ Emily | 839,846 |
| 19 | ♂️ Paul | 1,252,337 | ♀️ Donna | 819,879 |
| 20 | ♂️ Joshua | 1,231,302 | ♀️ Michelle | 813,985 |
| 21 | ♂️ Kenneth | 1,204,693 | ♀️ Carol | 803,285 |
| 22 | ♂️ Kevin | 1,178,755 | ♀️ Amanda | 773,876 |
| 23 | ♂️ Brian | 1,170,328 | ♀️ Melissa | 755,534 |
| 24 | ♂️ George | 1,085,858 | ♀️ Deborah | 740,449 |
| 25 | ♂️ Timothy | 1,074,172 | ♀️ Stephanie | 739,354 |
| 26 | ♂️ Ronald | 1,071,731 | ♀️ Dorothy | 735,900 |
| 27 | ♂️ Jason | 1,043,551 | ♀️ Rebecca | 729,249 |
| 28 | ♂️ Edward | 1,041,890 | ♀️ Sharon | 720,831 |
| 29 | ♂️ Jeffrey | 977,308 | ♀️ Laura | 711,837 |
| 30 | ♂️ Ryan | 952,133 | ♀️ Cynthia | 705,803 |
| 31 | ♂️ Jacob | 947,952 | ♀️ Amy | 683,154 |
| 32 | ♂️ Gary | 900,434 | ♀️ Kathleen | 679,592 |
| 33 | ♂️ Nicholas | 899,086 | ♀️ Angela | 660,294 |
| 34 | ♂️ Eric | 882,217 | ♀️ Shirley | 651,356 |
| 35 | ♂️ Jonathan | 857,270 | ♀️ Brenda | 606,300 |
| 36 | ♂️ Stephen | 837,588 | ♀️ Emma | 600,812 |
| 37 | ♂️ Larry | 801,849 | ♀️ Anna | 596,649 |
| 38 | ♂️ Justin | 783,529 | ♀️ Pamela | 592,701 |
| 39 | ♂️ Scott | 770,424 | ♀️ Nicole | 591,425 |
| 40 | ♂️ Brandon | 765,418 | ♀️ Samantha | 584,239 |
| 41 | ♂️ Benjamin | 758,472 | ♀️ Katherine | 565,185 |
| 42 | ♂️ Samuel | 721,821 | ♀️ Christine | 556,599 |
| 43 | ♂️ Gregory | 708,305 | ♀️ Helen | 552,703 |
| 44 | ♂️ Alexander | 691,200 | ♀️ Debra | 548,274 |
| 45 | ♂️ Patrick | 666,181 | ♀️ Rachel | 545,644 |
| 46 | ♂️ Frank | 660,209 | ♀️ Carolyn | 537,523 |
| 47 | ♂️ Raymond | 646,002 | ♀️ Janet | 535,102 |
| 48 | ♂️ Jack | 633,602 | ♀️ Maria | 530,981 |
| 49 | ♂️ Dennis | 610,563 | ♀️ Catherine | 527,338 |
| 50 | ♂️ Jerry | 600,515 | ♀️ Heather | 524,158 |
| 51 | ♂️ Tyler | 597,268 | ♀️ Diane | 515,002 |
| 52 | ♂️ Aaron | 592,045 | ♀️ Olivia | 514,993 |
| 53 | ♂️ Jose | 568,068 | ♀️ Julie | 507,070 |
| 54 | ♂️ Adam | 560,808 | ♀️ Joyce | 496,038 |
| 55 | ♂️ Nathan | 558,970 | ♀️ Victoria | 492,988 |
| 56 | ♂️ Henry | 552,968 | ♀️ Ruth | 492,514 |
| 57 | ♂️ Zachary | 545,562 | ♀️ Virginia | 478,066 |
| 58 | ♂️ Douglas | 545,422 | ♀️ Lauren | 472,870 |
| 59 | ♂️ Peter | 535,380 | ♀️ Kelly | 472,293 |
| 60 | ♂️ Kyle | 482,820 | ♀️ Christina | 471,271 |
| 61 | ♂️ Noah | 464,528 | ♀️ Joan | 463,668 |
| 62 | ♂️ Ethan | 462,185 | ♀️ Evelyn | 453,238 |
| 63 | ♂️ Jeremy | 442,079 | ♀️ Judith | 449,653 |
| 64 | ♂️ Walter | 441,463 | ♀️ Andrea | 439,496 |
| 65 | ♂️ Christian | 438,912 | ♀️ Hannah | 439,385 |
| 66 | ♂️ Keith | 430,292 | ♀️ Megan | 438,548 |
| 67 | ♂️ Roger | 425,514 | ♀️ Cheryl | 436,892 |
| 68 | ♂️ Terry | 422,214 | ♀️ Jacqueline | 420,029 |
| 69 | ♂️ Austin | 421,556 | ♀️ Martha | 408,819 |
| 70 | ♂️ Sean | 421,344 | ♀️ Madison | 404,874 |
| 71 | ♂️ Gerald | 418,373 | ♀️ Teresa | 403,495 |
| 72 | ♂️ Carl | 411,580 | ♀️ Gloria | 402,354 |
| 73 | ♂️ Harold | 408,283 | ♀️ Beverly | 400,057 |
| 74 | ♂️ Keith | 405,420 | ♀️ Theresa | 394,342 |
| 75 | ♂️ Douglas | 402,035 | ♀️ Jean | 392,212 |
| 76 | ♂️ Aaron | 392,484 | ♀️ Cheryl | 391,289 |
| 77 | ♂️ Arthur | 390,799 | ♀️ Alice | 390,340 |
| 78 | ♂️ Peter | 389,166 | ♀️ Sara | 388,274 |
| 79 | ♂️ Lawrence | 388,287 | ♀️ Jacqueline | 387,110 |
| 80 | ♂️ Sean | 387,734 | ♀️ Tammy | 385,848 |
| 81 | ♂️ Joe | 383,683 | ♀️ Marie | 383,694 |
| 82 | ♂️ Willie | 376,453 | ♀️ Joy | 381,024 |
| 83 | ♂️ Gabriel | 370,619 | ♀️ Bonnie | 378,262 |
| 84 | ♂️ Louis | 370,500 | ♀️ Julia | 378,238 |
| 85 | ♂️ Jesse | 366,668 | ♀️ Paula | 375,724 |
| 86 | ♂️ Justin | 366,573 | ♀️ Doris | 374,611 |
| 87 | ♂️ Terry | 360,726 | ♀️ Ann | 372,555 |
| 88 | ♂️ Alex | 356,832 | ♀️ Rose | 370,635 |
| 89 | ♂️ Billy | 354,988 | ♀️ Tiffany | 369,696 |
| 90 | ♂️ Bruce | 350,317 | ♀️ Emma | 365,015 |
| 91 | ♂️ Russell | 345,670 | ♀️ Carolyn | 364,730 |
| 92 | ♂️ Bobby | 343,890 | ♀️ Michele | 364,424 |
| 93 | ♂️ Victor | 343,057 | ♀️ Victoria | 362,972 |
| 94 | ♂️ Johnny | 340,256 | ♀️ Robin | 361,059 |
| 95 | ♂️ Phillip | 337,857 | ♀️ Janice | 360,782 |
| 96 | ♂️ Earl | 335,744 | ♀️ Kristen | 357,179 |
| 97 | ♂️ Jeremy | 330,900 | ♀️ Bonnie | 356,273 |
| 98 | ♂️ Austin | 327,702 | ♀️ Diana | 355,228 |
| 99 | ♂️ Billy | 327,288 | ♀️ Leah | 353,774 |
| 100 | ♂️ Bruce | 326,935 | ♀️ Thelma | 353,519 |
Source: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames
