Most Popular Baby Names of 1905

In 1905, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 16,067 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 8,059. Mary held on to number one for a 26th year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 26th year in a row.

Social Security counted 291,617 girls and 132,306 boys born in 1905 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 2,234 different girls' names and 1,421 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1905

Top girls' names, 1905
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1904
1	Mary	16,067	same
2	Helen	6,811	same
3	Margaret	5,690	up 1
4	Anna	5,424	down 1
5	Ruth	5,068	same
6	Elizabeth	4,121	same
7	Dorothy	3,937	up 3
8	Mildred	3,758	up 1
9	Marie	3,643	down 2
10	Alice	3,610	up 3
11	Florence	3,478	down 3
12	Ethel	3,401	down 1
13	Lillian	3,185	down 1
14	Gladys	2,996	same
15	Edna	2,953	same
16	Frances	2,887	same
17	Annie	2,793	same
18	Rose	2,724	same
19	Grace	2,630	same
20	Bessie	2,446	up 1
21	Bertha	2,434	down 1
22	Clara	2,397	up 2
23	Louise	2,367	up 5
24	Irene	2,357	up 2
25	Hazel	2,351	down 2
26	Emma	2,298	down 4
27	Gertrude	2,276	down 2
28	Catherine	2,198	up 3
29	Mabel	2,178	down 2
30	Edith	2,137	up 3
31	Pearl	2,108	down 1
32	Martha	2,091	down 3
33	Myrtle	2,026	up 1
34	Esther	1,993	down 2
35	Minnie	1,950	same
36	Thelma	1,945	up 1
37	Josephine	1,894	up 3
38	Ruby	1,885	up 3
39	Eva	1,815	down 3
40	Elsie	1,811	down 1
41	Sarah	1,762	up 2
42	Ida	1,757	down 4
43	Agnes	1,718	down 1
44	Viola	1,697	up 2
45	Beatrice	1,661	same
46	Evelyn	1,661	up 4
47	Julia	1,642	up 2
48	Nellie	1,626	down 4
49	Laura	1,566	down 2
50	Lucille	1,533	up 3
51	Lillie	1,481	same
52	Ella	1,438	down 4
53	Virginia	1,394	up 6
54	Pauline	1,381	up 2
55	Mattie	1,371	down 3
56	Alma	1,333	down 1
57	Jessie	1,315	up 3
58	Carrie	1,288	down 4
59	Willie	1,285	up 2
60	Mae	1,284	down 2
61	Lena	1,258	down 4
62	Hattie	1,197	up 2
63	Blanche	1,190	down 1
64	Katherine	1,190	down 1
65	Marion	1,141	same
66	Lucy	1,132	same
67	Stella	1,097	up 1
68	Fannie	1,085	up 5
69	Leona	1,082	same
70	Mamie	1,068	down 3
71	Vera	1,053	same
72	Cora	1,044	down 2
73	Eleanor	1,041	up 7
74	Bernice	1,032	up 1
75	Ann	996	up 3
76	Jennie	981	down 2
77	Beulah	968	down 5
78	Lula	963	down 1
79	Rosa	922	down 3
80	Ada	873	down 1
81	Ellen	845	up 3
82	Violet	831	up 5
83	Doris	812	up 5
84	Maggie	809	down 3
85	Betty	807	up 6
86	Kathryn	788	down 3
87	Daisy	776	down 2
88	Lois	763	up 2
89	Dora	757	down 7
90	Marguerite	753	up 4
91	Sadie	750	up 1
92	Nora	742	up 1
93	Susie	739	up 2
94	Georgia	722	down 5
95	Velma	722	up 6
96	Marjorie	712	same
97	Maude	709	down 11
98	Anne	708	down 1
99	Opal	702	up 1
100	Emily	683	up 3

Top boys' names, 1905
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1904
1	John	8,059	same
2	William	6,495	same
3	James	6,042	same
4	George	4,256	same
5	Charles	3,608	up 1
6	Robert	3,410	down 1
7	Joseph	3,302	same
8	Frank	2,837	same
9	Edward	2,366	same
10	Thomas	2,135	up 1
11	Henry	2,126	down 1
12	Walter	1,902	same
13	Willie	1,782	up 1
14	Harry	1,619	down 1
15	Albert	1,532	up 1
16	Arthur	1,505	down 1
17	Clarence	1,377	same
18	Fred	1,284	same
19	Paul	1,262	same
20	Harold	1,258	same
21	Raymond	1,159	up 1
22	Richard	1,033	up 2
23	Joe	1,024	same
24	Roy	1,016	down 3
25	Louis	981	up 1
26	Carl	959	down 1
27	Ralph	938	up 1
28	Jack	907	down 1
29	Earl	904	same
30	Samuel	856	up 4
31	Ernest	845	up 1
32	David	838	down 1
33	Theodore	834	down 3
34	Charlie	801	down 1
35	Howard	735	same
36	Francis	685	same
37	Herbert	681	same
38	Lawrence	669	same
39	Sam	620	up 1
40	Andrew	619	up 3
41	Elmer	602	down 2
42	Eugene	593	up 2
43	Alfred	591	down 2
44	Floyd	523	up 8
45	Michael	513	up 5
46	Leo	512	down 4
47	Leonard	495	down 1
48	Anthony	490	up 8
49	Lee	486	down 4
50	Daniel	484	down 1
51	Herman	475	down 4
52	Clyde	474	down 1
53	Kenneth	474	up 4
54	Jesse	443	down 1
55	Leroy	441	up 5
56	Oscar	436	down 2
57	Lester	432	up 4
58	Russell	432	down 10
59	Donald	425	down 1
60	Ray	424	down 5
61	Clifford	420	up 5
62	Peter	409	same
63	Claude	399	up 7
64	Chester	388	up 5
65	Lewis	384	down 6
66	Stanley	384	down 1
67	Frederick	381	down 4
68	Benjamin	379	same
69	Lloyd	369	up 4
70	Edwin	357	down 6
71	Norman	350	up 6
72	Cecil	347	down 5
73	Eddie	346	up 2
74	Jessie	338	up 2
75	Martin	332	down 4
76	Homer	318	up 11
77	Tom	317	down 3
78	Edgar	315	up 2
79	Luther	308	up 3
80	Milton	299	up 13
81	Johnnie	297	up 3
82	Bernard	292	down 10
83	Melvin	291	up 9
84	Ben	290	down 1
85	Harvey	286	down 6
86	Will	286	down 5
87	Leon	274	up 3
88	Allen	272	up 8
89	Everett	270	up 6
90	Victor	268	up 8
91	Roosevelt	264	up 3
92	Alvin	258	down 4
93	Stephen	246	up 24
94	Leslie	237	down 3
95	Jim	236	down 10
96	Philip	234	down 10
97	Virgil	226	up 3
98	Jacob	220	down 9
99	Otis	216	up 16
100	Marvin	215	up 4

Biggest climbers in 1905

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1904.

Girls

Verona: up 334 places, from 772nd to 438th
Lonnie: up 306 places, from 898th to 592nd
Willia: up 287 places, from 999th to 712th
Queenie: up 285 places, from 830th to 545th
Cathrine: up 281 places, from 883rd to 602nd
Myrl: up 265 places, from 958th to 693rd
Vertie: up 241 places, from 998th to 757th
Bobbie: up 227 places, from 685th to 458th
Ottie: up 223 places, from 929th to 706th
Kattie: up 220 places, from 742nd to 522nd

Boys

Claire: up 453 places, from 984th to 531st
Armand: up 422 places, from 815th to 393rd
Harland: up 355 places, from 838th to 483rd
Eldridge: up 352 places, from 994th to 642nd
Wylie: up 351 places, from 965th to 614th
Hilton: up 345 places, from 843rd to 498th
Price: up 334 places, from 944th to 610th
Omar: up 333 places, from 941st to 608th
Hermon: up 327 places, from 841st to 514th
Burl: up 326 places, from 819th to 493rd

New to the top 1,000 in 1905

Girls

Dottie, 609th (back after dropping out)
Edrie, 634th (its first time ever)
Ana, 700th (back after dropping out)
Ozella, 707th (back after dropping out)
Vincenza, 711th (its first time ever)
Yolanda, 733rd (its first time ever)
Meda, 753rd (back after dropping out)
Birtie, 761st (back after dropping out)
Jamie, 768th (back after dropping out)
Jesse, 769th (back after dropping out)

Boys

Hayes, 513th (back after dropping out)
Rollie, 587th (back after dropping out)
Bishop, 618th (back after dropping out)
Cicero, 619th (back after dropping out)
Ludwig, 627th (back after dropping out)
Quincy, 630th (back after dropping out)
Foy, 646th (back after dropping out)
Howell, 649th (back after dropping out)
Nels, 657th (back after dropping out)
Anson, 666th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1905?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 19.9% of the girls counted in 1905, and the top ten boys' names to 32.1% of the boys. In 1885, those shares were 22.7% for girls and 40.7% 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.