Most Popular Baby Names of 1887

In 1887, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 9,888 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 8,110. Mary held on to number one for a eighth year in a row, and John held on to number one for a eighth year in a row.

Social Security counted 145,981 girls and 101,410 boys born in 1887 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 1,306 different girls' names and 1,067 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1887

Top girls' names, 1887
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1886
1	Mary	9,888	same
2	Anna	4,227	same
3	Elizabeth	2,681	up 1
4	Emma	2,647	down 1
5	Margaret	2,419	up 1
6	Minnie	2,215	down 1
7	Bertha	2,037	up 1
8	Clara	1,984	up 1
9	Florence	1,964	up 1
10	Ida	1,929	down 3
11	Ethel	1,907	up 4
12	Annie	1,844	up 1
13	Bessie	1,838	down 1
14	Alice	1,819	down 3
15	Grace	1,692	down 1
16	Ella	1,521	up 3
17	Martha	1,504	up 1
18	Mabel	1,494	up 2
19	Nellie	1,457	down 2
20	Sarah	1,436	down 4
21	Helen	1,405	up 4
22	Laura	1,364	same
23	Carrie	1,344	down 2
24	Edna	1,339	down 1
25	Pearl	1,316	up 4
26	Lillian	1,308	down 2
27	Cora	1,257	up 1
28	Gertrude	1,251	down 1
29	Edith	1,243	up 2
30	Rose	1,242	down 4
31	Maude	1,162	down 1
32	Hattie	1,135	up 1
33	Eva	1,125	down 1
34	Frances	1,105	up 4
35	Louise	1,088	up 2
36	Myrtle	1,087	down 1
37	Lillie	1,072	up 5
38	Jennie	1,047	down 4
39	Julia	1,043	down 3
40	Mattie	1,031	down 1
41	Jessie	1,012	same
42	Lena	1,004	up 1
43	Marie	994	up 1
44	Catherine	967	up 1
45	Ada	910	up 1
46	Agnes	896	up 6
47	Lula	891	down 7
48	Dora	842	up 1
49	Elsie	833	up 9
50	Josephine	815	down 3
51	Lucy	811	down 1
52	Fannie	798	down 4
53	Katherine	794	up 1
54	Blanche	763	down 3
55	Maggie	740	down 2
56	Nora	735	same
57	Mamie	716	down 2
58	Mae	680	up 3
59	Stella	664	down 2
60	Rosa	659	down 1
61	May	648	up 3
62	Ruth	627	up 4
63	Alma	623	down 1
64	Effie	615	down 4
65	Nettie	595	same
66	Ellen	579	up 4
67	Daisy	532	down 4
68	Lizzie	525	up 3
69	Sallie	525	up 4
70	Sadie	519	down 2
71	Nancy	511	up 1
72	Hazel	504	up 9
73	Irene	504	up 5
74	Della	496	down 7
75	Susie	485	down 6
76	Lydia	448	up 11
77	Katie	440	up 3
78	Etta	437	up 1
79	Esther	431	up 6
80	Viola	420	down 3
81	Lottie	414	down 6
82	Flora	408	down 6
83	Maud	402	down 9
84	Caroline	398	up 8
85	Olive	394	down 1
86	Addie	393	down 3
87	Kathryn	384	up 2
88	Willie	379	same
89	Mildred	373	up 18
90	Beulah	355	up 8
91	Charlotte	351	up 3
92	Georgia	351	down 6
93	Amelia	344	up 8
94	Harriet	342	up 5
95	Nannie	340	up 2
96	Amanda	338	down 5
97	Ollie	338	up 6
98	Emily	335	down 5
99	Susan	335	up 3
100	Mollie	333	down 18

Top boys' names, 1887
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1886
1	John	8,110	same
2	William	7,470	same
3	James	4,767	same
4	George	4,284	same
5	Charles	4,031	same
6	Frank	2,883	same
7	Joseph	2,456	same
8	Henry	2,228	up 1
9	Thomas	2,151	up 1
10	Edward	2,125	up 1
11	Robert	2,125	down 3
12	Harry	2,057	same
13	Walter	1,704	same
14	Arthur	1,489	same
15	Fred	1,454	same
16	Albert	1,294	same
17	Clarence	892	same
18	Samuel	802	same
19	Louis	791	same
20	Roy	726	same
21	Joe	685	same
22	David	673	up 2
23	Ernest	653	up 2
24	Charlie	642	down 2
25	Richard	622	down 2
26	Jesse	601	up 4
27	Willie	590	up 1
28	Carl	588	up 4
29	Oscar	574	down 3
30	Will	561	down 3
31	Daniel	556	up 2
32	Earl	537	down 1
33	Andrew	520	down 4
34	Benjamin	473	up 5
35	Alfred	468	up 1
36	Elmer	467	down 1
37	Frederick	464	up 3
38	Ralph	463	up 3
39	Sam	463	down 5
40	Paul	449	down 2
41	Herbert	445	up 5
42	Howard	429	down 5
43	Peter	421	down 1
44	Lee	400	up 3
45	Herman	394	down 1
46	Claude	375	up 2
47	Raymond	372	up 5
48	Michael	344	up 5
49	Lewis	343	down 6
50	Jim	339	down 1
51	Martin	331	up 7
52	Tom	329	down 2
53	Eugene	327	down 2
54	Francis	327	up 1
55	Clyde	320	up 7
56	Jacob	317	down 2
57	Edwin	310	up 2
58	Ben	305	down 2
59	Grover	290	down 14
60	Lawrence	283	down 3
61	Harold	279	up 17
62	Ed	275	up 1
63	Luther	267	up 8
64	Edgar	266	down 3
65	Harvey	262	down 5
66	Ray	258	up 1
67	Otto	253	up 1
68	Jack	251	down 4
69	Hugh	250	up 8
70	Homer	248	up 9
71	Guy	238	down 1
72	Bert	237	up 4
73	Floyd	232	down 7
74	Leo	232	down 1
75	Charley	221	up 6
76	Patrick	218	down 4
77	Ira	215	up 8
78	Chester	207	down 13
79	Leonard	207	down 5
80	Oliver	203	down 5
81	Allen	202	up 1
82	Theodore	201	down 13
83	August	194	up 1
84	Isaac	194	down 4
85	Archie	184	up 7
86	Jessie	182	up 3
87	Alexander	180	down 4
88	Leroy	177	up 12
89	Lester	168	up 9
90	Leslie	166	up 24
91	Clifford	165	up 4
92	Stephen	165	down 2
93	Julius	164	up 1
94	Warren	163	up 14
95	Philip	161	down 8
96	Horace	160	up 3
97	Bernard	159	down 6
98	Anthony	153	down 5
99	Leon	147	up 10
100	Emil	146	up 16

Biggest climbers in 1887

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1886.

Girls

Zola: up 426 places, from 896th to 470th
Magdalen: up 364 places, from 870th to 506th
Anabel: up 361 places, from 997th to 636th
Sabra: up 326 places, from 983rd to 657th
Sadye: up 325 places, from 883rd to 558th
Kattie: up 323 places, from 945th to 622nd
Ivah: up 318 places, from 939th to 621st
Lennie: up 315 places, from 680th to 365th
Alvena: up 314 places, from 901st to 587th
Nita: up 312 places, from 965th to 653rd

Boys

Carey: up 565 places, from 989th to 424th
Morton: up 527 places, from 928th to 401st
Annie: up 482 places, from 972nd to 490th
Bruno: up 464 places, from 985th to 521st
Bennett: up 444 places, from 853rd to 409th
Vivian: up 443 places, from 956th to 513th
Avery: up 390 places, from 851st to 461st
Bernhard: up 388 places, from 979th to 591st
Alma: up 383 places, from 967th to 584th
Aubrey: up 334 places, from 610th to 276th

New to the top 1,000 in 1887

Girls

Ossie, 553rd (back after dropping out)
Mammie, 579th (back after dropping out)
Albertine, 586th (back after dropping out)
Evalena, 644th (back after dropping out)
Grayce, 646th (back after dropping out)
Icie, 648th (back after dropping out)
Verlie, 659th (its first time ever)
Berenice, 663rd (back after dropping out)
Elfrieda, 671st (back after dropping out)
Flo, 672nd (back after dropping out)

Boys

Santiago, 454th (back after dropping out)
Benjaman, 492nd (back after dropping out)
Roderick, 511th (back after dropping out)
Louise, 533rd (back after dropping out)
Merrill, 534th (back after dropping out)
Bonnie, 550th (back after dropping out)
Brown, 551st (back after dropping out)
Cyril, 554th (back after dropping out)
Jonah, 567th (back after dropping out)
Myles, 573rd (its first time ever)

How spread out were names in 1887?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 21.9% of the girls counted in 1887, and the top ten boys' names to 39.9% of the boys. In 2025, those shares were 7% for girls and 8% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.