Top Baby Names of the Last 100 Years: The Most Popular Names From 1926 to 2025
Posted by Andreea
Which baby names have been the most popular over the last 100 years? The answer comes from one of the largest name datasets in the world: the U.S. Social Security Administration's records of every boy and girl born between 1926 and 2025. That covers more than 180 million boys and 174 million girls, and it shows which names have truly stood the test of time.
Some of the winners will not surprise you. James, Michael, Mary and Elizabeth are names almost everyone has in their family tree. Others tell the story of a single generation, like Linda in the 1940s, Jennifer in the 1970s or Ashley in the early 1990s. And a few of today's favourites, such as Olivia, Emma and Liam, have already climbed into the all-time top 100.
Below you will find the top 10 boy and girl names of the century with their meanings, the #1 name in every era, the full top 100 lists with real birth numbers, and what all of it means if you are choosing a name today.
Contents
- Key facts from 100 years of data
- Top 10 names of the last 100 years
- The 10 most popular boy names and their meanings
- The 10 most popular girl names and their meanings
- Every #1 name since 1926
- Top 100 boy names of the century
- Top 100 girl names of the century
- What 100 years of names teach us
- Frequently asked questions
Key Facts From 100 Years of Baby Names
- James is the most popular boy name of the last century, given to 4,505,076 boys. That is about 1 in every 40 boys born since 1926.
- Mary is the most popular girl name, with 2,845,637 girls. It is almost twice as common as Patricia in second place.
- Michael held #1 for 44 years, from 1954 to 1998 with a single break in 1960, when David took the top spot. No other name comes close.
- Mary was #1 for 30 years, from 1926 to 1946 and again from 1953 to 1961.
- Boys' names are far more traditional. The top 10 boy names account for about 18% of all boys born in the last century. The top 10 girl names account for only about 8% of girls.
- Modern favourites are already on the list. Emma (#33), Olivia (#41), Noah (#60), Sophia (#68) and Liam (#85) have all reached the all-time top 100.
Top 10 Names of the Last 100 Years (1926–2025)
| Rank | Boy name | Number of boys | Girl name | Number of girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 4,505,076 | Mary | 2,845,637 |
| 2 | Michael | 4,359,450 | Patricia | 1,531,355 |
| 3 | John | 4,204,996 | Jennifer | 1,471,356 |
| 4 | Robert | 4,191,413 | Linda | 1,447,992 |
| 5 | David | 3,560,303 | Elizabeth | 1,380,056 |
| 6 | William | 3,358,163 | Barbara | 1,362,329 |
| 7 | Richard | 2,365,369 | Susan | 1,099,802 |
| 8 | Joseph | 2,246,662 | Jessica | 1,049,169 |
| 9 | Thomas | 2,105,675 | Karen | 986,098 |
| 10 | Christopher | 2,063,964 | Sarah | 981,437 |
The 10 Most Popular Boy Names of the Century and Their Meanings
1. James
Origin: Hebrew, via the Latin Iacomus, from the same root as Jacob. Meaning: "supplanter" or "one who follows." James was #1 from 1940 to 1952 and has never really gone away. In 2025 it still ranked #6, which is why it edges out Michael for the all-time title.
2. Michael
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "who is like God?" Michael is the great champion of the list, holding #1 for 44 years. Millions of people born from the 1950s to the 1990s share this name, and it was still in the top 25 in 2025.
3. John
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "God is gracious." John never held #1 in this period, but it was a constant top name for decades. It is also the root of Jack, Ian, Sean, Juan, Giovanni and Hans.
4. Robert
Origin: Germanic. Meaning: "bright fame." Robert was the #1 boy name from 1926 to 1939 and again in 1953. It gave us Bob, Bobby, Rob and Bert.
5. David
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "beloved." David is the only name to interrupt Michael's long reign, taking #1 in 1960.
6. William
Origin: Germanic. Meaning: "resolute protector." William has stayed popular in every decade and is still in the top 10 today, along with its spin-off Liam.
7. Richard
Origin: Germanic. Meaning: "brave ruler." Richard was a huge name in the 1930s to 1950s and is much rarer for babies today.
8. Joseph
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "he will add." A steady favourite across the whole century, and still in the top 30 in 2025.
9. Thomas
Origin: Aramaic. Meaning: "twin." Thomas has never dropped out of fashion and is climbing again thanks to the vintage revival.
10. Christopher
Origin: Greek. Meaning: "bearer of Christ." Christopher peaked from the 1970s to the 1990s, when it was regularly the #2 boy name.
The 10 Most Popular Girl Names of the Century and Their Meanings
1. Mary
Origin: Hebrew, from Miriam. Meaning: debated, often given as "beloved" or "bitter." Mary dominated American naming for decades and is the only girl name with more than two million births in this period.
2. Patricia
Origin: Latin. Meaning: "noble" or "patrician." A defining name of the 1930s to 1950s, with Pat, Patty and Trish as nicknames.
3. Jennifer
Origin: Cornish, a form of Guinevere. Meaning: "fair one" or "white wave." Jennifer was #1 from 1970 to 1984 and reached third place on the all-time list in just a few decades.
4. Linda
Origin: Spanish and Germanic. Meaning: "pretty" in Spanish. Linda was #1 from 1947 to 1952, briefly knocking Mary off the top.
5. Elizabeth
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "God is my oath." The most timeless name on the girls' list. It never held #1 but has never been out of style, and it still ranked #17 in 2025.
6. Barbara
Origin: Greek. Meaning: "foreign woman." A top name of the 1930s and 1940s.
7. Susan
Origin: Hebrew, from Shoshana. Meaning: "lily." Susan peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.
8. Jessica
Origin: Hebrew, popularised by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Meaning: often linked to "God beholds." Jessica was #1 for nine years between 1985 and 1995.
9. Karen
Origin: Danish, a form of Katherine. Meaning: "pure." Karen was a top name of the 1950s and 1960s.
10. Sarah
Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: "princess." Sarah has been popular in almost every decade and is still in the top 100 today.
Every #1 Baby Name Since 1926
Looking at the #1 names year by year shows how naming fashions have sped up. For the first half of the century a handful of names ruled for decades. Since the 1990s, the top spot changes hands much more often.
#1 boy names
| Name | Years at #1 | Total years |
|---|---|---|
| Robert | 1926–1939, 1953 | 15 |
| James | 1940–1952 | 13 |
| Michael | 1954–1959, 1961–1998 | 44 |
| David | 1960 | 1 |
| Jacob | 1999–2012 | 14 |
| Noah | 2013–2016 | 4 |
| Liam | 2017–2025 | 9 |
#1 girl names
| Name | Years at #1 | Total years |
|---|---|---|
| Mary | 1926–1946, 1953–1961 | 30 |
| Linda | 1947–1952 | 6 |
| Lisa | 1962–1969 | 8 |
| Jennifer | 1970–1984 | 15 |
| Jessica | 1985–1990, 1993–1995 | 9 |
| Ashley | 1991–1992 | 2 |
| Emily | 1996–2007 | 12 |
| Emma | 2008, 2014–2018 | 6 |
| Isabella | 2009–2010 | 2 |
| Sophia | 2011–2013 | 3 |
| Olivia | 2019–2025 | 7 |
Only seven names have been #1 for boys in a century, compared with eleven for girls. Parents have always been more willing to experiment with girls' names.
Top 100 Boy Names of the Last 100 Years
| Rank | Name | Births | Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 4,505,076 | 51 | Tyler | 602,997 |
| 2 | Michael | 4,359,450 | 52 | Jerry | 597,013 |
| 3 | John | 4,204,996 | 53 | Jose | 575,254 |
| 4 | Robert | 4,191,413 | 54 | Nathan | 572,114 |
| 5 | David | 3,560,303 | 55 | Adam | 570,018 |
| 6 | William | 3,358,163 | 56 | Henry | 554,900 |
| 7 | Richard | 2,365,369 | 57 | Zachary | 551,240 |
| 8 | Joseph | 2,246,662 | 58 | Douglas | 541,411 |
| 9 | Thomas | 2,105,675 | 59 | Peter | 530,702 |
| 10 | Christopher | 2,063,964 | 60 | Noah | 524,223 |
| 11 | Charles | 1,966,040 | 61 | Ethan | 486,261 |
| 12 | Daniel | 1,917,450 | 62 | Kyle | 484,705 |
| 13 | Matthew | 1,638,971 | 63 | Christian | 450,857 |
| 14 | Anthony | 1,412,681 | 64 | Jeremy | 445,962 |
| 15 | Mark | 1,351,326 | 65 | Austin | 430,280 |
| 16 | Steven | 1,287,583 | 66 | Keith | 428,003 |
| 17 | Andrew | 1,260,300 | 67 | Sean | 423,411 |
| 18 | Donald | 1,256,672 | 68 | Terry | 421,765 |
| 19 | Joshua | 1,246,279 | 69 | Roger | 420,474 |
| 20 | Paul | 1,215,528 | 70 | Dylan | 418,372 |
| 21 | Kevin | 1,184,001 | 71 | Walter | 408,162 |
| 22 | Kenneth | 1,178,195 | 72 | Gerald | 406,038 |
| 23 | Brian | 1,173,339 | 73 | Jordan | 399,914 |
| 24 | Timothy | 1,078,512 | 74 | Gabriel | 392,658 |
| 25 | Ronald | 1,069,010 | 75 | Carl | 390,817 |
| 26 | Jason | 1,050,360 | 76 | Bryan | 387,846 |
| 27 | George | 1,013,415 | 77 | Jesse | 385,824 |
| 28 | Edward | 985,046 | 78 | Logan | 385,411 |
| 29 | Jeffrey | 979,063 | 79 | Lawrence | 375,643 |
| 30 | Jacob | 965,218 | 80 | Elijah | 374,672 |
| 31 | Ryan | 963,664 | 81 | Arthur | 372,354 |
| 32 | Nicholas | 904,284 | 82 | Bruce | 372,289 |
| 33 | Gary | 900,184 | 83 | Harold | 367,395 |
| 34 | Eric | 885,813 | 84 | Billy | 364,986 |
| 35 | Jonathan | 869,088 | 85 | Liam | 357,841 |
| 36 | Stephen | 835,490 | 86 | Alan | 357,501 |
| 37 | Larry | 800,069 | 87 | Juan | 356,618 |
| 38 | Justin | 788,421 | 88 | Joe | 353,441 |
| 39 | Benjamin | 781,939 | 89 | Mason | 340,383 |
| 40 | Scott | 771,306 | 90 | Lucas | 329,453 |
| 41 | Brandon | 770,032 | 91 | Randy | 328,842 |
| 42 | Samuel | 733,313 | 92 | Willie | 327,252 |
| 43 | Alexander | 710,242 | 93 | Wayne | 326,183 |
| 44 | Gregory | 709,291 | 94 | Vincent | 325,266 |
| 45 | Patrick | 667,585 | 95 | Caleb | 321,937 |
| 46 | Jack | 624,551 | 96 | Albert | 320,941 |
| 47 | Frank | 614,806 | 97 | Luke | 319,258 |
| 48 | Raymond | 610,876 | 98 | Isaac | 316,718 |
| 49 | Dennis | 609,386 | 99 | Bradley | 311,760 |
| 50 | Aaron | 603,094 | 100 | Cameron | 311,567 |
Top 100 Girl Names of the Last 100 Years
| Rank | Name | Births | Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 2,845,637 | 51 | Julie | 507,527 |
| 2 | Patricia | 1,531,355 | 52 | Catherine | 505,574 |
| 3 | Jennifer | 1,471,356 | 53 | Victoria | 502,571 |
| 4 | Linda | 1,447,992 | 54 | Joyce | 485,486 |
| 5 | Elizabeth | 1,380,056 | 55 | Lauren | 475,459 |
| 6 | Barbara | 1,362,329 | 56 | Kelly | 473,271 |
| 7 | Susan | 1,099,802 | 57 | Christina | 471,354 |
| 8 | Jessica | 1,049,169 | 58 | Helen | 463,040 |
| 9 | Karen | 986,098 | 59 | Joan | 454,322 |
| 10 | Sarah | 981,437 | 60 | Hannah | 450,539 |
| 11 | Lisa | 966,170 | 61 | Judith | 449,174 |
| 12 | Nancy | 949,484 | 62 | Andrea | 443,783 |
| 13 | Sandra | 873,171 | 63 | Evelyn | 441,724 |
| 14 | Ashley | 859,199 | 64 | Megan | 439,641 |
| 15 | Emily | 851,785 | 65 | Cheryl | 436,896 |
| 16 | Kimberly | 846,214 | 66 | Ruth | 428,269 |
| 17 | Michelle | 816,217 | 67 | Virginia | 425,361 |
| 18 | Donna | 813,753 | 68 | Sophia | 424,585 |
| 19 | Margaret | 797,417 | 69 | Madison | 419,742 |
| 20 | Carol | 797,048 | 70 | Jacqueline | 416,513 |
| 21 | Betty | 796,719 | 71 | Abigail | 411,567 |
| 22 | Amanda | 774,796 | 72 | Isabella | 409,068 |
| 23 | Melissa | 757,851 | 73 | Teresa | 401,981 |
| 24 | Deborah | 741,045 | 74 | Sara | 397,864 |
| 25 | Stephanie | 740,538 | 75 | Charlotte | 395,057 |
| 26 | Rebecca | 728,285 | 76 | Janice | 394,606 |
| 27 | Sharon | 720,759 | 77 | Kathryn | 386,277 |
| 28 | Cynthia | 705,440 | 78 | Martha | 383,120 |
| 29 | Laura | 703,293 | 79 | Gloria | 382,482 |
| 30 | Amy | 685,447 | 80 | Ann | 382,288 |
| 31 | Kathleen | 668,682 | 81 | Judy | 376,572 |
| 32 | Angela | 661,633 | 82 | Amber | 373,414 |
| 33 | Emma | 626,477 | 83 | Danielle | 371,699 |
| 34 | Shirley | 623,449 | 84 | Denise | 371,279 |
| 35 | Dorothy | 620,441 | 85 | Grace | 371,233 |
| 36 | Brenda | 606,261 | 86 | Julia | 370,735 |
| 37 | Nicole | 594,156 | 87 | Natalie | 370,302 |
| 38 | Pamela | 592,635 | 88 | Diana | 364,848 |
| 39 | Samantha | 590,871 | 89 | Marilyn | 360,867 |
| 40 | Anna | 566,867 | 90 | Brittany | 360,449 |
| 41 | Olivia | 557,391 | 91 | Beverly | 360,419 |
| 42 | Katherine | 556,834 | 92 | Alice | 356,220 |
| 43 | Christine | 549,791 | 93 | Theresa | 353,127 |
| 44 | Debra | 548,286 | 94 | Jean | 349,887 |
| 45 | Rachel | 544,964 | 95 | Kayla | 345,674 |
| 46 | Maria | 533,465 | 96 | Alexis | 344,407 |
| 47 | Carolyn | 531,103 | 97 | Frances | 343,509 |
| 48 | Janet | 528,177 | 98 | Ava | 339,233 |
| 49 | Heather | 524,154 | 99 | Tiffany | 338,602 |
| 50 | Diane | 514,649 | 100 | Lori | 337,992 |
What 100 Years of Baby Names Teach Us
Classic boy names last for generations
Nine of the top 10 boy names of the century are biblical or royal classics, and most of them are still popular today. James, William and Henry are all in the 2025 top 10, while Thomas, Joseph and Charles are climbing back. If you want a name that will never feel dated, the boys' list is full of safe choices.
Girl names follow the fashion of each generation
The girls' list reads like a timeline. Dorothy, Betty and Shirley belong to the 1920s and 1930s. Linda, Barbara and Patricia point to the post-war years. Lisa, Karen and Susan are 1960s names, Jennifer and Amy are 1970s, and Jessica, Ashley, Brittany and Tiffany sum up the 1980s and early 1990s. This is why a girl's name often hints at the decade she was born in.
Old names always come back
Evelyn, Charlotte, Alice, Grace and Henry were popular a century ago, faded, and are now back at the top. Many parents choose names that sound fresh to them precisely because they skipped a generation or two.
Today's favourites are rising fast
Liam, Noah, Olivia, Emma, Sophia, Isabella, Charlotte and Ava all made the all-time top 100 within roughly 30 years of real popularity. Liam alone has more than 357,000 boys, even though it was rare before the 1990s. If current trends continue, these names will keep climbing the century list for years to come.
Choosing a name with history
A name from this list connects your child to millions of people across generations, from great-grandparents to classmates. A vintage pick like Margaret, Arthur or Frances can feel both meaningful and unexpected today, while a modern favourite like Olivia or Liam places your child firmly in their own generation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular boy name of the last 100 years?
James. More than 4.5 million American boys born between 1926 and 2025 were named James, narrowly ahead of Michael with about 4.36 million.
What is the most popular girl name of the last 100 years?
Mary, with more than 2.8 million girls. It was the #1 girl name for 30 of the last 100 years.
Which name was #1 for the longest time?
Michael. It was the top boy name for 44 years between 1954 and 1998. For girls, Mary holds the record with 30 years at #1.
Which modern names are in the all-time top 100?
For girls, Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Madison, Abigail, Isabella, Charlotte and Ava. For boys, Noah, Ethan, Logan, Elijah, Liam, Mason and Lucas.
Where does this data come from?
All figures come from the U.S. Social Security Administration's "Top Names Over the Last 100 Years" list, which covers every birth with a Social Security card application from 1926 to 2025.
Celebrate the Name You Choose
Whether you pick a name that has been loved for a century or one that is just making its mark, it will soon appear on a birth announcement, a baby shower card or a christening invitation. However you share the news, let your little one's name take centre stage.