Baby name trends come and go, but many choices remain popular for decades and even centuries. Luckily, if you’re interested in examining historical patterns, the Social Security Administration in the US offers lists of the top baby names of every decade going back to the 1880s.
Looking back to the 1890s, there are many timeless names on the top 20 lists, like Emma and Elizabeth for girls and William and James for boys. However, it’s also clear that tastes have changed, as once-popular names like Bertha, Clarence, Earl and Bessie are scarcely seen on birth certificates today.
See for yourself! Below, find the 50 most popular names for boys and girls born in the U.S. from 1890 to 1899.
Girls
Mary
Anna
Margaret
Helen
Elizabeth
Ruth
Florence
Ethel
Emma
Marie
Clara
Bertha
Minnie
Bessie
Alice
Lillian
Edna
Grace
Annie
Mabel
Ida
Rose
Hazel
Gertrude
Martha
Pearl
Frances
Myrtle
Edith
Nellie
Sarah
Ella
Eva
Laura
Elsie
Louise
Esther
Catherine
Agnes
Carrie
Lillie
Mildred
Gladys
Irene
Julia
Hattie
Cora
Lena
Josephine
Mattie
Boys
John
William
James
George
Charles
Joseph
Frank
Robert
Edward
Henry
Harry
Thomas
Walter
Arthur
Fred
Albert
Clarence
Willie
Roy
Louis
Earl
Paul
Carl
Ernest
Samuel
Richard
Raymond
Joe
David
Charlie
Harold
Ralph
Howard
Andrew
Herbert
Elmer
Oscar
Jesse
Alfred
Will
Daniel
Sam
Leo
Jack
Lawrence
Francis
Benjamin
Lee
Eugene
Herman