Names That Peaked In 1916

These names hit their all-time highest U.S. ranking in 1916 and have never ranked as high since — the sound of that moment, frozen in the data. (The #1 names that year were Mary and John — reigning champions usually peak in a different year than they reign.)

Peaked in 1915 Peaked in 1917 Full 1916 top 100 The 1910s as a whole

Name & meaning	Babies 2025 · rank	5-year rank movement	Peak year
Paul	1,316#262	Down 10 rank positions in five years	1957
Josephine	4,126#53	Up 34 rank positions in five years	1918
Arnold	120#1,477	Up 267 rank positions in five years	1924
Jeannette	24#5,308	Down 624 rank positions in five years	1917
Olga	50#3,201	Down 201 rank positions in five years	1918
Fern	186#1,220	Up 345 rank positions in five years	1918
Helene	42#3,601	Up 353 rank positions in five years	1918
Elinor	142#1,502	Down 15 rank positions in five years	1920
Eleanore	156#1,398	Up 436 rank positions in five years	1921
Rosella	78#2,347	Up 306 rank positions in five years	1924
Merrill	14#6,329	Up 5,190 rank positions in five years	1926
Ione	15#7,263	Down 1,322 rank positions in five years	1920
Eleanora	313#865	Up 203 rank positions in five years	2025
Olen	33#3,488	Down 372 rank positions in five years	1922
Ines	213#1,111	Up 662 rank positions in five years	2025
Dorotha	—Unranked	—	1921
Ferne	—Unranked	—	1916
Isobel	79#2,307	Down 311 rank positions in five years	2016
Stephania	14#7,849	Down 965 rank positions in five years	1916
Mozell	—Unranked	—	1925
Arne	7#9,790	Down 150 rank positions in five years	1916
Rosaria	16#7,074	Down 1,451 rank positions in five years	1923
Stasia	7#13,023	Down 1,015 rank positions in five years	1916
Vernal	—Unranked	—	1916
Berlin	19#5,060	Down 1,479 rank positions in five years	1916
Hughes	24#4,308	Up 613 rank positions in five years	1916
Gerhardt	—Unranked	—	1916
Reino	—Unranked	—	1916

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How this list is built

A name “peaked” in 1916 when that year holds its best-ever position in the national rankings — rank, not raw count, because raw counts track how many babies were born and would pile every “peak” into the boom years. To qualify, a name must have reached the top 1,000 at its height and have at least 500 all-time applications. Lists are ordered by that peak rank.

Ranks come from U.S. births, counted separately for girls and boys. “Unranked” today means fewer than 5 applications in the latest year — uncommon, never invalid.