Popular baby names of 1897

In 1897, the most popular baby names in the United States were Mary for girls (13,413 babies) and John for boys (7,550). Social Security records show 346,957 babies with a name given to at least five children of the same sex that year, sharing 1,799 girls' names and 1,229 boys' names.

1897 at a glance

The top 10 girls' names went to 20.1% of girls recorded.
The top 10 boys' names went to 35.2% of boys recorded.
New in the girls' top 100: Eleanor, Ann, Sallie, Theresa.
New in the boys' top 100: Norman, Stephen, Alvin, Percy, Ira.

Top 100 girls' and boys' names, 1897

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1896
1	Mary	13,413	–
2	Anna	5,429	–
3	Helen	4,519	–
4	Margaret	4,146	–
5	Ruth	3,878	–
6	Elizabeth	3,442	↑1
7	Florence	3,369	↑1
8	Ethel	3,182	↓2
9	Marie	3,078	–
10	Emma	2,698	–
11	Lillian	2,683	–
12	Edna	2,567	↑1
13	Bertha	2,502	↑2
14	Grace	2,458	↑3
15	Clara	2,454	↓1
16	Alice	2,431	↓4
17	Bessie	2,407	↑1
18	Hazel	2,339	↑4
19	Rose	2,316	↑1
20	Annie	2,307	↓1
21	Minnie	2,284	↓5
22	Mabel	2,222	↓1
23	Gertrude	2,135	–
24	Ida	2,108	–
25	Pearl	2,076	–
26	Martha	1,990	–
27	Frances	1,975	↑1
28	Esther	1,911	↓1
29	Myrtle	1,833	↑1
30	Edith	1,823	↓1
31	Elsie	1,763	–
32	Gladys	1,737	↑1
33	Mildred	1,723	↑6
34	Sarah	1,713	↑1
35	Eva	1,709	↓3
36	Ella	1,708	–
37	Nellie	1,693	↓3
38	Irene	1,587	↑3
39	Laura	1,585	↓2
40	Agnes	1,579	↓2
41	Louise	1,563	↑1
42	Catherine	1,511	↓2
43	Dorothy	1,472	↑3
44	Lillie	1,401	↓1
45	Julia	1,380	↓1
46	Carrie	1,365	↓1
47	Josephine	1,267	↑3
48	Hattie	1,251	↓1
49	Cora	1,246	↑3
50	Lena	1,239	↓2
51	Alma	1,213	–
52	Jessie	1,191	↑5
53	Mattie	1,181	↓4
54	Mae	1,144	↑1
55	Blanche	1,092	↓1
56	Jennie	1,074	↓3
57	Ruby	1,025	↑9
58	Viola	1,017	↑4
59	Mamie	1,006	↓1
60	Marion	994	↑7
61	Lucy	984	↓2
62	Maude	984	↓6
63	Lula	971	↑1
64	Stella	966	↓4
65	Katherine	962	↓4
66	Ada	956	↓3
67	Fannie	956	↓2
68	Beatrice	942	↑2
69	Dora	862	↓1
70	Willie	818	↑6
71	Nora	812	–
72	Pauline	777	↑3
73	Vera	776	↑8
74	Rosa	770	–
75	Maggie	760	↓6
76	Sadie	757	↓4
77	Ellen	733	↓4
78	Marguerite	728	–
79	Effie	698	↑1
80	Evelyn	690	↑4
81	Beulah	688	↓4
82	Lucille	648	↑4
83	Lydia	642	↑8
84	Virginia	638	↑5
85	Susie	626	↓6
86	Daisy	624	↓3
87	Della	624	↓2
88	Emily	619	↑8
89	Leona	619	↑5
90	Nettie	614	↓3
91	May	595	↓9
92	Olive	583	↓2
93	Kathryn	570	↓5
94	Hilda	561	↑1
95	Eleanor	559	new
96	Nancy	553	↑2
97	Ann	545	new
98	Sallie	545	new
99	Lizzie	543	↑1
100	Theresa	533	new

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1896
1	John	7,550	–
2	William	7,198	–
3	James	5,113	–
4	George	4,078	–
5	Charles	3,341	–
6	Joseph	2,827	–
7	Frank	2,726	–
8	Robert	2,701	–
9	Edward	2,121	–
10	Henry	1,994	–
11	Thomas	1,980	↑1
12	Walter	1,895	↑1
13	Harry	1,879	↓2
14	Arthur	1,647	–
15	Albert	1,377	–
16	Fred	1,301	–
17	Clarence	1,201	–
18	Willie	1,151	–
19	Roy	999	–
20	Paul	923	–
21	Harold	860	↑2
22	Raymond	837	↑2
23	Louis	831	↓1
24	Earl	829	↓3
25	Carl	828	–
26	Joe	798	↑1
27	Ernest	785	↑2
28	Samuel	759	↑3
29	David	730	↓1
30	Charlie	714	↑2
31	Richard	702	↓5
32	Ralph	697	↓2
33	Howard	634	–
34	Elmer	587	↑2
35	Herbert	565	↓1
36	Andrew	555	↑1
37	Oscar	543	↑4
38	Jesse	529	↓3
39	Daniel	520	↓1
40	Alfred	513	↑2
41	Lawrence	505	↑5
42	Jack	497	↓2
43	Francis	496	↓4
44	Will	491	–
45	Sam	478	↓2
46	Leo	462	↑1
47	Lee	453	↑1
48	Floyd	451	↑7
49	Eugene	447	↓4
50	Herman	412	↓1
51	Peter	397	↑1
52	Ray	397	↓2
53	Edwin	380	↑6
54	Benjamin	378	↓3
55	Lewis	378	↑1
56	Frederick	369	↑1
57	Michael	368	↓4
58	Clyde	359	–
59	Claude	345	↓5
60	Martin	312	↑1
61	Leonard	310	↓1
62	Lester	310	↑3
63	Tom	298	↓1
64	Russell	295	–
65	Ben	291	↑4
66	Leroy	291	↑6
67	Chester	290	↓4
68	Clifford	285	↓2
69	Edgar	278	↓1
70	Homer	278	↑9
71	Luther	271	↑3
72	Harvey	268	↓2
73	Eddie	263	↑3
74	Lloyd	258	↓7
75	Jim	252	↓4
76	Anthony	249	↓3
77	Stanley	240	↑1
78	Bernard	234	↑4
79	Jessie	234	↑10
80	Otto	234	–
81	Leon	229	↑5
82	Allen	226	↑9
83	Leslie	222	↑2
84	Cecil	216	↑13
85	Theodore	215	↓1
86	Hugh	213	↓11
87	Patrick	210	↑6
88	Jacob	204	↓5
89	Philip	200	↑3
90	Ed	198	↓9
91	Norman	197	new
92	Donald	195	↑2
93	Guy	195	↓16
94	Stephen	194	new
95	Archie	190	↓7
96	Victor	190	–
97	Alvin	186	new
98	Percy	183	new
99	Ira	180	new
100	Everett	179	↓10

Every name given in 1897

All 3,028 names Social Security recorded for 1897, with their rank and count. Type to filter.

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