Popular Names of 1900

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1900, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Sam peaked among human males this year, at 34th.

Table 1. Female names, 1900
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Mary	16,705	125
2	Helen	6,342	462
3	Anna	6,114	107
4	Margaret	5,304	112
5	Ruth	4,765	173
6	Elizabeth	4,096	17
7	Florence	3,920	391
8	Ethel	3,896	4,211
9	Marie	3,856	618
10	Lillian	3,414	57
11	Annie	3,324	182
12	Edna	3,102	2,463
13	Emma	3,095	3
14	Alice	3,059	65
15	Bessie	3,044	6,889
16	Bertha	3,019	4,569
17	Grace	2,942	38
18	Rose	2,844	114
19	Clara	2,826	63
20	Mildred	2,800	1,973

Table 2. Male names, 1900
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	John	9,828	23
2	William	8,579	9
3	James	7,245	6
4	George	5,403	126
5	Charles	4,098	48
6	Robert	3,821	92
7	Joseph	3,714	29
8	Frank	3,477	514
9	Edward	2,720	224
10	Henry	2,606	5
11	Thomas	2,556	34
12	Walter	2,298	252
13	Harry	2,272	775
14	Willie	2,113	1,322
15	Arthur	1,853	87
16	Albert	1,741	614
17	Fred	1,646	1,936
18	Clarence	1,483	1,500
19	Paul	1,288	262
20	Harold	1,245	993

Select another year

As recorded on the Social Security card application. Names given to fewer than five babies of a sex in a year are not published, so the file is a floor.