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Popular Names in the Century
Seeing how America’s popular names have changed through the decades provides an interesting window into the culture of our past. In some cases, popular names have lost some of their allure while other names have shot up from obscurity. It may surprise you that Mildred, Bertha and Harry were all the rave in early 1900s. Now they have been trumped by names such as Chloe, Ashley, Tyler and Ethan. Many times names go through cycles, losing popularity, and then gaining traction again later on. And some names such as Michael, Robert, John, Mary and Patricia always seem to be somewhere near the top of the list. Here are some of the most popular names through recent decades, compliments of the Social Security administration website.
Popularity in 1940
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
James |
Mary |
| 2 |
Robert |
Barbara |
| 3 |
John |
Patricia |
| 4 |
William |
Judith |
| 5 |
Richard |
Betty |
| 6 |
Charles |
Carol |
| 7 |
David |
Nancy |
| 8 |
Thomas |
Linda |
| 9 |
Donald |
Shirley |
| 10 |
Ronald |
Sandra |
| 11 |
George |
Margaret |
| 12 |
Joseph |
Dorothy |
| 13 |
Larry |
Joyce |
| 14 |
Jerry |
Joan |
| 15 |
Kenneth |
Carolyn |
| 16 |
Edward |
Judy |
| 17 |
Paul |
Sharon |
| 18 |
Michael |
Helen |
| 19 |
Gary |
Janet |
| 20 |
Frank |
Elizabeth |
Popularity in 1950
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
James |
Linda |
| 2 |
Robert |
Mary |
| 3 |
John |
Patricia |
| 4 |
Michael |
Barbara |
| 5 |
David |
Susan |
| 6 |
William |
Nancy |
| 7 |
Richard |
Deborah |
| 8 |
Thomas |
Sandra |
| 9 |
Charles |
Carol |
| 10 |
Gary |
Kathleen |
| 11 |
Larry |
Sharon |
| 12 |
Ronald |
Karen |
| 13 |
Joseph |
Donna |
| 14 |
Donald |
Brenda |
| 15 |
Kenneth |
Margaret |
| 16 |
Steven |
Diane |
| 17 |
Dennis |
Pamela |
| 18 |
Paul |
Janet |
| 19 |
Stephen |
Shirley |
| 20 |
George |
Carolyn |
Popularity in 1960
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
David |
Mary |
| 2 |
Michael |
Susan |
| 3 |
James |
Linda |
| 4 |
John |
Karen |
| 5 |
Robert |
Donna |
| 6 |
Mark |
Lisa |
| 7 |
William |
Patricia |
| 8 |
Richard |
Debra |
| 9 |
Thomas |
Cynthia |
| 10 |
Steven |
Deborah |
| 11 |
Timothy |
Sandra |
| 12 |
Joseph |
Barbara |
| 13 |
Charles |
Brenda |
| 14 |
Jeffrey |
Pamela |
| 15 |
Kevin |
Nancy |
| 16 |
Kenneth |
Sharon |
| 17 |
Daniel |
Cheryl |
| 18 |
Paul |
Elizabeth |
| 19 |
Donald |
Teresa |
| 20 |
Brian |
Lori |
Popularity in 1970
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
Michael |
Jennifer |
| 2 |
James |
Lisa |
| 3 |
David |
Kimberly |
| 4 |
John |
Michelle |
| 5 |
Robert |
Amy |
| 6 |
Christopher |
Angela |
| 7 |
William |
Melissa |
| 8 |
Brian |
Tammy |
| 9 |
Mark |
Mary |
| 10 |
Richard |
Tracy |
| 11 |
Jeffrey |
Julie |
| 12 |
Scott |
Karen |
| 13 |
Jason |
Laura |
| 14 |
Kevin |
Christine |
| 15 |
Steven |
Susan |
| 16 |
Joseph |
Dawn |
| 17 |
Thomas |
Stephanie |
| 18 |
Eric |
Elizabeth |
| 19 |
Daniel |
Heather |
| 20 |
Timothy |
Kelly |
Popularity in 1980
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
Michael |
Jennifer |
| 2 |
Christopher |
Amanda |
| 3 |
Jason |
Jessica |
| 4 |
David |
Melissa |
| 5 |
James |
Sarah |
| 6 |
Matthew |
Heather |
| 7 |
Joshua |
Nicole |
| 8 |
John |
Amy |
| 9 |
Robert |
Elizabeth |
| 10 |
Joseph |
Michelle |
| 11 |
Daniel |
Kimberly |
| 12 |
Brian |
Angela |
| 13 |
Justin |
Stephanie |
| 14 |
William |
Tiffany |
| 15 |
Ryan |
Christina |
| 16 |
Eric |
Lisa |
| 17 |
Nicholas |
Rebecca |
| 18 |
Jeremy |
Crystal |
| 19 |
Andrew |
Kelly |
| 20 |
Timothy |
Erin |
Popularity in 1990
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
Michael |
Jessica |
| 2 |
Christopher |
Ashley |
| 3 |
Matthew |
Brittany |
| 4 |
Joshua |
Amanda |
| 5 |
Daniel |
Samantha |
| 6 |
David |
Sarah |
| 7 |
Andrew |
Stephanie |
| 8 |
James |
Jennifer |
| 9 |
Justin |
Elizabeth |
| 10 |
Joseph |
Lauren |
| 11 |
Ryan |
Megan |
| 12 |
John |
Emily |
| 13 |
Robert |
Nicole |
| 14 |
Nicholas |
Kayla |
| 15 |
Anthony |
Amber |
| 16 |
William |
Rachel |
| 17 |
Jonathan |
Courtney |
| 18 |
Kyle |
Danielle |
| 19 |
Brandon |
Heather |
| 20 |
Jacob |
Melissa |
Popularity in 2000
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
Jacob |
Emily |
| 2 |
Michael |
Hannah |
| 3 |
Matthew |
Madison |
| 4 |
Joshua |
Ashley |
| 5 |
Christopher |
Sarah |
| 6 |
Nicholas |
Alexis |
| 7 |
Andrew |
Samantha |
| 8 |
Joseph |
Jessica |
| 9 |
Daniel |
Taylor |
| 10 |
Tyler |
Elizabeth |
| 11 |
William |
Lauren |
| 12 |
Brandon |
Alyssa |
| 13 |
Ryan |
Kayla |
| 14 |
John |
Abigail |
| 15 |
Zachary |
Brianna |
| 16 |
David |
Olivia |
| 17 |
Anthony |
Emma |
| 18 |
James |
Megan |
| 19 |
Justin |
Grace |
| 20 |
Alexander |
Victoria |
Popularity in 2005
Rank |
Male name |
Female name |
| 1 |
Jacob |
Emily |
| 2 |
Michael |
Emma |
| 3 |
Joshua |
Madison |
| 4 |
Matthew |
Abigail |
| 5 |
Ethan |
Olivia |
| 6 |
Andrew |
Isabella |
| 7 |
Daniel |
Hannah |
| 8 |
Anthony |
Samantha |
| 9 |
Christopher |
Ava |
| 10 |
Joseph |
Ashley |
| 11 |
William |
Sophia |
| 12 |
Alexander |
Elizabeth |
| 13 |
Ryan |
Alexis |
| 14 |
David |
Grace |
| 15 |
Nicholas |
Sarah |
| 16 |
Tyler |
Alyssa |
| 17 |
James |
Mia |
| 18 |
John |
Natalie |
| 19 |
Jonathan |
Chloe |
| 20 |
Nathan |
Brianna |
From SSA website (www.ssa.gov).
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