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John and Mary? Not anymore

January 13, 2022 namerology 2 Comments

John and Mary? Not anymore

January 13, 2022 Namerology 2 Comments

The most popular baby names of the past century

What baby names have been most popular over the past century? If you asked that question in the US or England 40 years ago, or 100, or indeed at almost any time during the era of the Modern English language, the answer would have been easy. The top two were almost certainly Mary and John. But we’re now two generations into the modern naming era. John and Mary have yielded the top spots and have nowhere to go but down.

Overall, the century list still skews old because name popularity was so much more concentrated in the past. Yet there are clear signs of change. If you compare today’ 100-year leaders to the same list from 40 years earlier, some of the changes are predictable. Names like Gertrude, Clarence, Bessie and Gladys have plummeted; names like Ryan, Ashley, Justin and Brandon have soared. Out with the 1890s, in with the 1980s.

But some of the developments are less obvious. For instance, you wouldn’t be surprised to meet kids named Emma, Henry, Alice, or Anna today. The names all sound fashionable and popular, and Emma in particular is the #1 girl’s name of the 21st Century so far. So you might expect those names to be climbing on the century list. In fact, the opposite is true. Today’s notion of “popular” can’t compare to the level of usage the names enjoyed in the 1800s.

Bar chart showing that Emma was far more popular in 1880 than 2020

The gender balance of the list has also shifted. In the past, male names made up two-thirds of the top 100. While the very top names are still overwhelmingly male, the total top hundred is now nearly 50-50. A group of baby boom and Gen X girls’ favorites like Janet, Cynthia and Christine have squeezed out heaver male classics like Arthur and Harold.

Even biblical names show a mixed trajectory. While core New Testament names like John and Mary fell, the number of Old Testament names in the top 100 doubled. The rise in the Old Testament J trio Jacob, Jonathan and Joshua offset much of the John drop.

Moving forward, the names of the baby boom will start to dominate the list as they represent the last era of true naming consensus. The challenge for today’s hot names will be sticking around long enough to make their mark before the next trend overtakes them.

The full top 100 names of the past 100 years:

100-Year RankNameSexChange in Rank since 1980
1JamesM+2
2RobertM+3
3JohnM-1
4MichaelM+4
5WilliamM-1
6MaryF-5
7DavidM0
8RichardM+3
9JosephM+1
10CharlesM-4
11ThomasM+1
12ChristopherM+50
13DanielM+22
14PatriciaF+9
15BarbaraF+6
16DonaldM+6
17MatthewM+121
18ElizabethF-3
19LindaF+7
20JenniferF+45
21PaulM+3
22GeorgeM-13
23AnthonyM+40
24KennethM+8
25BettyF0
26MarkM+20
27EdwardM-10
28StevenM+36
29AndrewM+73
30RonaldM+12
31DorothyF-13
32MargaretF-19
33JoshuaM+311
34BrianM+52
35KevinM+74
36NancyF-2
37SusanF0
38JasonM+89
39TimothyM+52
40SarahF+14
41JessicaF+299
42KarenF+24
43JeffreyM+53
44LisaF+33
45CarolF+13
46GaryM+23
47SandraF+23
48ShirleyF+11
49RyanM+319
50DonnaF+17
51LarryM+24
52JacobM+313
53EricM+111
54HelenF-40
55NicholasM+253
56FrankM-37
57StephenM+40
58KimberlyF+79
59JonathanM+268
60MichelleF+81
61RaymondM-14
62EmilyF+162
63AshleyF+977
64SharonF+31
65MelissaF+108
66ScottM+62
67AmandaF+176
68JackM+13
69JustinM+396
70LauraF-19
71RebeccaF+62
72RuthF-52
73BenjaminM+122
74KathleenF+14
75SamuelM+35
76StephanieF+147
77BrandonM+519
78AnnaF-62
79DeborahF+29
80AmyF+55
81JerryM+23
82GregoryM+65
83CynthiaF+40
84VirginiaF-36
85AngelaF+65
86PatrickM+72
87HenryM-59
88DennisM+36
89AlexanderM+286
90JoanF+23
91CarolynF+24
92JoyceF+28
93JanetF+26
94CatherineF-50
95BrendaF+48
96KatherineF+7
97EmmaF-52
98WalterM-69
99ChristineF+32
100NicoleF+262
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2 Comments

  • Anchors_and_Whales January 16, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    +977 for Ashley: Whoa!

  • HungarianNameGeek
    HungarianNameGeek January 19, 2022 at 1:28 pm

    I’m surprised that none of the Juli- names make the list.

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