Popular Baby Names: Most Common Names From The Past 500 Years Revealed

Findings were based on more than 34 million birth records.

An extensive study of birth records has revealed the most common names from the past 500 years.

Family history website Ancestry.co.uk based the findings on more than 34 million records of christenings and births from 1530 to 2005.

Mary and John came out on top as the names that have been given to the most children in the past 500 years. 

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More than 5.8 million children have been called John since 1530 and more than 4.5 million were named Mary during the same period. 

However these two names have now fallen out of the current top 10 names altogether, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures

10 most popular girls' names over the past 500 years:

1. Mary

2. Elizabeth

3. Sarah

4. Margaret

5. Ann

6. Jane

7. Alice

8. Ellen

9. Annie

10. Florence

10 most popular boy's names over the past 500 years:

1. John

2. William

3. Thomas

4. George

5. James

6. Robert

7. Charles

8. Henry

9. Joseph

10. David

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