Updated June 16, 2014.
When the most popular names for any given year are published, honestly from year to year there is not a great difference. Sure, certain names fall or rise a few points, but I really cannot recall being surprised by popular baby name lists that come out.
(Before reading on, post your guesses of the most common baby names of the century.)
However, recently when I started investigating the history of popularity of names, I was very surprised to learn what the most popular baby names of the past 100 years have been.
While I certainly was not surprised to see names like Mary, Elizabeth and Jennifer top popularity lists for girls and John, William, and Michael on the boys' names list, I was caught a little off guard with the appearance of Linda, Patricia, Charles and Donald to the party.
As you compare the most popular names from the past 100 years with the most current top baby names list, you'll notice some differences as well as similarities.
Comparing the Most Popular Names of the Century With Current Lists
Let's just take a peak at the top 10 names of the past century. The only names to stake a claim on last year's top ten list are Michael, William, and Elizabeth. What I find interesting is to look at which names on the top 10 of the century fall somewhere in last year's top 100 ranking. You'll notice a big difference in similarity between this list and the girl's and boy's lists.
On the girl's list, Jessica is the only name in the top 10 for the century that makes the cut. However, on the boy's list every name in the top 10 of the century save one (Poor Richard!) managed to secure a spot on the top 100 list.
This list might make you reconsider what makes a name "popular." Certainly, names that are currently popular may not mean that they have longevity of use. And without further ado, here is the list of the top 100 names from the past 100 years.
Related Reading: The Top 50 Most Popular Names for Dogs and Their Relationship To Popular Baby Names
Most Popular Names 1911-2010
Rank | Boy Name | Number of Births | Girl Name | Number of Births |
1 | James | 4,873,581 | Mary | 3,696,779 |
2 | John | 4,773,654 | Patricia | 1,566,692 |
3 | Robert | 4,676,298 | Elizabeth | 1,455,480 |
4 | Michael | 4,230,343 | Jennifer | 1,455,078 |
5 | William | 3,751,295 | Linda | 1,446,268 |
6 | David | 3,501,167 | Barbara | 1,422,096 |
7 | Richard | 2,515,816 | Susan | 1,108,242 |
8 | Joseph | 2,423,585 | Margaret | 1,106,767 |
9 | Charles | 2,210,908 | Dorothy | 1,044,917 |
10 | Thomas | 2,185,231 | Jessica | 1,031,222 |
11 | Christopher | 1,946,004 | Sarah | 988,669 |
12 | Daniel | 1,793,531 | Betty | 984,037 |
13 | Matthew | 1,494,614 | Nancy | 982,348 |
14 | Donald | 1,397,722 | Karen | 980,080 |
15 | Paul | 1,345,491 | Lisa | 962,245 |
16 | Anthony | 1,341,265 | Helen | 883,512 |
17 | Mark | 1,331,387 | Sandra | 870,657 |
18 | George | 1,303,831 | Donna | 827,850 |
19 | Steven | 1,259,886 | Ashley | 816,948 |
20 | Kenneth | 1,250,601 | Kimberly | 814,903 |
21 | Edward | 1,197,200 | Carol | 813,369 |
22 | Andrew | 1,187,710 | Michelle | 796,579 |
23 | Brian | 1,146,407 | Amanda | 766,459 |
24 | Kevin | 1,128,247 | Melissa | 741,545 |
25 | Joshua | 1,124,192 | Laura | 740,473 |
26 | Ronald | 1,071,178 | Emily | 738,856 |
27 | Timothy | 1,045,799 | Deborah | 737,223 |
28 | Jason | 991,081 | Stephanie | 727,129 |
29 | Jeffrey | 964,267 | Rebecca | 723,053 |
30 | Gary | 895,899 | Ruth | 719,666 |
31 | Ryan | 858,592 | Sharon | 719,184 |
32 | Eric | 851,085 | Cynthia | 702,255 |
33 | Nicholas | 844,211 | Kathleen | 701,888 |
34 | Stephen | 840,064 | Anna | 696,383 |
35 | Frank | 810,597 | Shirley | 681,086 |
36 | Larry | 799,807 | Amy | 667,618 |
37 | Jacob | 791,826 | Angela | 649,890 |
38 | Jonathan | 775,454 | Virginia | 618,173 |
39 | Scott | 764,709 | Brenda | 603,767 |
40 | Justin | 740,098 | Catherine | 597,385 |
41 | Raymond | 737,690 | Pamela | 592,687 |
42 | Brandon | 713,673 | Katherine | 579,521 |
43 | Gregory | 698,624 | Christine | 573,292 |
44 | Patrick | 647,021 | Nicole | 568,611 |
45 | Samuel | 646,277 | Janet | 551,295 |
46 | Benjamin | 624,654 | Debra | 549,898 |
47 | Dennis | 609,661 | Carolyn | 547,616 |
48 | Jack | 607,881 | Rachel | 537,802 |
49 | Jerry | 603,351 | Samantha | 528,753 |
50 | Walter | 553,062 | Frances | 525,337 |
51 | Alexander | 552,356 | Heather | 522,278 |
52 | Douglas | 551,905 | Diane | 516,995 |
53 | Peter | 547,837 | Maria | 513,074 |
54 | Henry | 543,592 | Joyce | 503,645 |
55 | Tyler | 541,340 | Julie | 501,504 |
56 | Harold | 523,743 | Martha | 487,579 |
57 | Aaron | 520,581 | Joan | 477,768 |
58 | Jose | 517,534 | Evelyn | 472,812 |
59 | Adam | 509,780 | Kelly | 465,714 |
60 | Zachary | 494,181 | Christina | 465,094 |
61 | Carl | 474,929 | Alice | 456,880 |
62 | Nathan | 474,420 | Marie | 456,178 |
63 | Arthur | 469,212 | Judith | 449,030 |
64 | Kyle | 459,956 | Doris | 448,637 |
65 | Gerald | 441,535 | Ann | 447,794 |
66 | Lawrence | 437,050 | Jean | 446,652 |
67 | Albert | 436,830 | Lauren | 445,128 |
68 | Roger | 433,743 | Cheryl | 438,696 |
69 | Keith | 428,854 | Emma | 431,294 |
70 | Joe | 420,736 | Megan | 428,400 |
71 | Terry | 418,988 | Victoria | 427,002 |
72 | Jeremy | 417,112 | Kathryn | 425,157 |
73 | Willie | 409,787 | Jacqueline | 411,346 |
74 | Sean | 400,964 | Andrea | 411,170 |
75 | Ralph | 389,101 | Gloria | 406,609 |
76 | Jesse | 382,299 | Teresa | 405,678 |
77 | Billy | 379,610 | Rose | 405,511 |
78 | Bruce | 375,108 | Janice | 403,723 |
79 | Roy | 372,318 | Sara | 398,100 |
80 | Austin | 362,392 | Mildred | 391,435 |
81 | Eugene | 361,842 | Julia | 388,987 |
82 | Bryan | 360,132 | Theresa | 387,174 |
83 | Louis | 358,101 | Judy | 380,600 |
84 | Harry | 354,509 | Beverly | 375,590 |
85 | Christian | 352,661 | Hannah | 372,959 |
86 | Wayne | 347,505 | Denise | 369,519 |
87 | Russell | 338,664 | Grace | 368,520 |
88 | Alan | 328,702 | Marilyn | 365,212 |
89 | Philip | 326,516 | Amber | 362,137 |
90 | Howard | 323,690 | Danielle | 357,831 |
91 | Randy | 323,134 | Brittany | 353,486 |
92 | Jordan | 322,088 | Jane | 351,181 |
93 | Juan | 315,869 | Diana | 347,984 |
94 | Bobby | 310,698 | Lori | 339,910 |
95 | Vincent | 307,334 | Kathy | 332,472 |
96 | Ethan | 305,144 | Tammy | 331,317 |
97 | Johnny | 301,711 | Tiffany | 331,101 |
98 | Phillip | 298,532 | Crystal | 324,482 |
99 | Fred | 297,481 | Lillian | 319,832 |
100 | Craig | 296,607 | Phyllis | 318,976 |