Names That Peaked In 1917

These names hit their all-time highest U.S. ranking in 1917 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 1916 Peaked in 1918 Full 1917 top 100 The 1910s as a whole

Name & meaning	Babies 2025 · rank	5-year rank movement	Peak year
Miriam	1,262#246	Up 22 rank positions in five years	1924
Winifred	284#923	Up 181 rank positions in five years	1918
Wilfred	29#3,843	Up 68 rank positions in five years	1920
Edison	276#870	Down 271 rank positions in five years	2018
Winfred	—Unranked	—	1922
Tessie	8#11,831	Down 2,350 rank positions in five years	1917
Rosario	19#5,160	Down 768 rank positions in five years	1917
Casimir	73#2,039	Up 1,620 rank positions in five years	1919
Afton	43#3,518	Down 1,403 rank positions in five years	1983
Bethel	45#3,405	Down 429 rank positions in five years	1922
Regis	8#9,505	Down 3,293 rank positions in five years	1917
Elna	9#10,333	Down 2,236 rank positions in five years	1917
Eldred	—Unranked	—	1921
Florian	54#2,495	Up 2,255 rank positions in five years	1921
Olympia	84#2,210	Up 281 rank positions in five years	1981
Silvio	45#2,829	Up 3,412 rank positions in five years	1922
Americo	8#8,951	Up 667 rank positions in five years	1922
Delora	—Unranked	—	1917
Alvera	—Unranked	—	1918
Michelina	17#6,741	Up 1,086 rank positions in five years	1922
Casimer	—Unranked	—	1918
Lavelle	—Unranked	—	1917
Gasper	—Unranked	—	1917
Olene	—Unranked	—	1922
Orvin	—Unranked	—	1917
Helyn	—Unranked	—	1917
Idamae	6#13,845	Down 3,261 rank positions in five years	1917
Zigmund	10#8,235	new	1917

Page 1 of 1

How this list is built

A name “peaked” in 1917 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.