{"id":27731,"date":"2024-07-29T10:23:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T18:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=27731"},"modified":"2024-07-29T10:23:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T18:23:47","slug":"which-baby-names-have-remained-popular-for-the-past-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/which-baby-names-have-remained-popular-for-the-past-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing the Test of Time: Most Popular Baby Names Over the Past Century"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Browsing baby names is one of those rite-of-passage moments in life, right up there with shopping for an engagement ring or your first house.  In fact, baby names hold a certain fascination for many of us, even when we aren\u2019t expecting a baby ourselves (enough of a fascination that a simple Google search of \u201cbaby names\u201d brings back 2.8 million results). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When viewed over the longer term, the rising and falling popularity of individual baby names can be mined for insights into popular culture.\u00a0 Spokeo is uniquely positioned to delve into this kind of project \u2014 because of our extensive population data, culled from public sources like the SSA and others \u2014 and we\u2019ve done some digging into the relative popularity of baby names<\/a> over the past century or so.\u00a0 Today, let\u2019s take a look at the 10 most popular baby names over that time period.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Top 10 Baby Names, 1919-2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our researchers drew on data from the Social Security Administration to count how many times a given name was \u2026 well, given \u2026 in the years from 1919 to 2021, or just over a century.\u00a0 It\u2019s a cumulative total for the entire period, so despite their high rank some of these names are not among the most popular choices anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top 10 names, in order, are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. James.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. John.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Robert.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Michael.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. William.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. David.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Mary.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Richard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Joseph.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Thomas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Unsurprisingly, four of the first five, and six of the first seven have all had a turn<\/a> at being the most popular baby name for at least a year of that period; only two \u2014 Joseph and Thomas \u2014 have never cracked the top five names in any<\/em> given year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aside from that, there are a few obvious things about the list that strike the eye immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Taking a Closer Look at the List<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The first, really obvious thing about this list is that it\u2019s overwhelmingly male: Mary is the only girl\u2019s name to make the cut.  There are a couple of possible reasons for this, but the most obvious is that female names are more influenced by passing fashions in pop culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consider the period from 1961 through 1998, for example. During that time \u2014 37 years! \u2014 Michael remained the top name for boys.\u00a0 During that same interval, Emily, Jessica, Ashley, Jennifer, Lisa, and Mary all held the top spot at least once for girls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A second point is that all of the names on this list are very small-c conservative.  They\u2019re unremarkable, low-risk names, not at all the kind of name that would make anyone\u2019s child stand out on the playground or at roll call in the classroom each morning.  Put another way, they\u2019re very traditional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why Some Names Enjoy Enduring Popularity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    And that brings us to our next question: Why do some names enjoy the kind of enduring popularity that makes<\/em> them traditional?  There are several potential answers to that question.  Some are pure speculation, while others have demonstrable roots in human behavior or cultural tradition.  A few notable factors include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Bible<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you look at the top 10 names of the century, seven of the 10\u00a0 all except William, Richard, and Robert can be found in the Bible<\/a> (and even those three names are well-represented among the saints).\u00a0 For churchgoing families or those with a churchgoing tradition, that\u2019s a reason to keep those names in circulation within the family.\u00a0 They still represent a nod to tradition, but they\u2019re common enough not to feel dated or obscure in the way that, say, Jedidiah or Keturah might.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The \u201cfamily name\u201d factor<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The tendency to name a new baby after an existing family member is another factor that can keep a name popular for long stretches.  Whether currying favor with a living family member or memorializing one who\u2019s recently passed, it\u2019s something that a lot of families do.  Men seem especially keen to have a \u201cmini-me\u201d with their own name attached, which is why so many sons are \u201cJunior.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This might also partially explain why the top 10 list skews more toward male names than female ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The absence of negative connotations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s also the question of specific names acquiring negative connotations.  Karen has been a common name over the years, for example, but will likely experience a few years of low popularity now that it has become a synonym for someone who\u2019s oblivious and entitled.  The Depression-fueled unpopularity of former president Herbert Hoover made that name an unpopular choice for years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some names eventually just come to feel \u201cold,\u201d for lack of a better term.  We\u2019re unlikely to name our sons Horace or our daughters Mildred, these days, just because they feel like the kind of names that belong to an older person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The impact of pop culture (and its heroes)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The flip side to that is positive influences from pop culture. This can include popular politicians and civic leaders, sports and military heroes, performers such as actors and musicians, or even fictional characters from popular movies and books.\u00a0 Would the name James have stayed as popular without the fictional James Bond?\u00a0 Would Michael have faded from the top 5 by the 1980s if not for the popularity of Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, and Michael Jackson?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s not necessarily a slam-dunk when it comes to picking a name for your own baby, but at the very least it may be an unspoken reason behind a few of your suggestions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Play the \u201cName Game\u201d Your Way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Knowing which names are popular and which are not provides useful context when you\u2019re choosing a name for your own baby.\u00a0 Do you opt for something safe, popular, and mainstream?\u00a0 Or is it more your style to pick something unique and unusual?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Either way, knowing which names are currently fashionable can help guide your choices.\u00a0 You can glean a lot of that information from lists like this one, of course.\u00a0 You can also use Spokeo\u2019s own Name Search<\/a> to your advantage.\u00a0 Searching your shortlist of potential baby names, and then winnowing down the results by location and birth date, will tell you how popular a specific name is in each age group, in your own specific area.\u00a0 You can try searching without a surname, or by swapping in a handful of common surnames like Smith, Jones, or Rodriguez.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whether you want to play it safe with your baby\u2019s name or just \u2026 play, that little extra bit of research may help confirm that you\u2019re going in the right direction. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Fashions come and go, but some things (like the classic little black dress) are forever. Learn which baby names have proven impervious to changes in fashion and pop culture, and held their popularity continuously over the past century. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":27732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[610],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fun"],"yoast_head":"\nMost Popular Baby Names Over the Past Century | Spokeo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fashions come and go, but some things (like the classic little black dress) are forever. 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