Name Awesome

Most Popular Baby Names Of 1885

The 100 most-used girls’ and boys’ names among U.S. births in 1885 — 240,847 recorded births in total that year.

18841886 The 1880s as a wholeNames that peaked in 1885

Girls’ names

  1. 1Mary9,1286.9%
  2. 2Anna3,9943.0%
  3. 3Emma2,7282.1%
  4. 4Elizabeth2,5821.9%
  5. 5Margaret2,2041.7%
  6. 6Minnie2,1781.6%
  7. 7Clara1,9101.4%
  8. 8Bertha1,8601.4%
  9. 9Ida1,8541.4%
  10. 10Annie1,7031.3%
  11. 11Alice1,6811.3%
  12. 12Florence1,6671.3%
  13. 13Bessie1,5881.2%
  14. 14Grace1,5751.2%
  15. 15Ethel1,4951.1%
  16. 16Nellie1,4321.1%
  17. 17Martha1,4251.1%
  18. 18Sarah1,4241.1%
  19. 19Ella1,3951.0%
  20. 20Mabel1,3491.0%
  21. 21Laura1,3251.0%
  22. 22Carrie1,2831.0%
  23. 23Cora1,2530.9%
  24. 24Maude1,2220.9%
  25. 25Rose1,1640.9%
  26. 26Pearl1,1460.9%
  27. 27Lillian1,1430.9%
  28. 28Helen1,1340.9%
  29. 29Gertrude1,0860.8%
  30. 30Edna1,0770.8%
  31. 31Edith1,0710.8%
  32. 32Julia1,0620.8%
  33. 33Jennie1,0450.8%
  34. 34Myrtle1,0260.8%
  35. 35Mattie1,0140.8%
  36. 36Hattie1,0080.8%
  37. 37Lillie9790.7%
  38. 38Eva9710.7%
  39. 39Louise9560.7%
  40. 40Jessie9520.7%
  41. 41Lula9490.7%
  42. 42Marie8850.7%
  43. 43Ada8760.7%
  44. 44Lena8760.7%
  45. 45Catherine8460.6%
  46. 46Frances8440.6%
  47. 47Fannie7830.6%
  48. 48Josephine7830.6%
  49. 49Dora7760.6%
  50. 50Katherine7510.6%
  51. 51Maggie7160.5%
  52. 52Lucy7110.5%
  53. 53Blanche7100.5%
  54. 54Agnes6950.5%
  55. 55Elsie6850.5%
  56. 56Nora6700.5%
  57. 57Stella6490.5%
  58. 58Rosa6230.5%
  59. 59Effie6130.5%
  60. 60Daisy6070.5%
  61. 61May6070.5%
  62. 62Mamie6060.5%
  63. 63Mae5780.4%
  64. 64Ellen5550.4%
  65. 65Lizzie5370.4%
  66. 66Nettie5360.4%
  67. 67Nancy5270.4%
  68. 68Alma5150.4%
  69. 69Sadie5140.4%
  70. 70Ruth5060.4%
  71. 71Della5000.4%
  72. 72Susie4770.4%
  73. 73Sallie4570.3%
  74. 74Flora4450.3%
  75. 75Maud4290.3%
  76. 76Addie4060.3%
  77. 77Lydia4040.3%
  78. 78Caroline3990.3%
  79. 79Mollie3960.3%
  80. 80Lottie3930.3%
  81. 81Katie3880.3%
  82. 82Irene3760.3%
  83. 83Etta3720.3%
  84. 84Georgia3710.3%
  85. 85Lulu3600.3%
  86. 86Olive3490.3%
  87. 87Emily3460.3%
  88. 88Viola3450.3%
  89. 89Harriet3420.3%
  90. 90Amanda3390.3%
  91. 91Jane3300.2%
  92. 92Esther3200.2%
  93. 93Kathryn3200.2%
  94. 94Charlotte3170.2%
  95. 95Willie3120.2%
  96. 96Beulah3090.2%
  97. 97Kate3090.2%
  98. 98Ollie3050.2%
  99. 99Rebecca3020.2%
  100. 100Susan3020.2%

Boys’ names

  1. 1John8,7568.1%
  2. 2William8,0447.5%
  3. 3James5,1754.8%
  4. 4George4,6744.3%
  5. 5Charles4,5994.3%
  6. 6Frank3,0672.8%
  7. 7Joseph2,5402.4%
  8. 8Henry2,4062.2%
  9. 9Robert2,3222.2%
  10. 10Thomas2,2662.1%
  11. 11Edward2,2202.1%
  12. 12Harry2,1982.0%
  13. 13Walter1,8081.7%
  14. 14Fred1,5621.4%
  15. 15Arthur1,5161.4%
  16. 16Albert1,4291.3%
  17. 17Clarence9060.8%
  18. 18Samuel8880.8%
  19. 19Louis8090.8%
  20. 20Grover7680.7%
  21. 21Ernest7180.7%
  22. 22David7120.7%
  23. 23Charlie7050.7%
  24. 24Roy6910.6%
  25. 25Joe6810.6%
  26. 26Richard6720.6%
  27. 27Will6250.6%
  28. 28Oscar6230.6%
  29. 29Willie6140.6%
  30. 30Andrew5990.6%
  31. 31Jesse5560.5%
  32. 32Daniel5350.5%
  33. 33Peter5160.5%
  34. 34Carl4940.5%
  35. 35Sam4920.5%
  36. 36Earl4810.4%
  37. 37Frederick4660.4%
  38. 38Benjamin4640.4%
  39. 39Alfred4460.4%
  40. 40Elmer4430.4%
  41. 41Howard4380.4%
  42. 42Lewis4370.4%
  43. 43Paul4280.4%
  44. 44Ralph4220.4%
  45. 45Herbert3880.4%
  46. 46Jim3700.3%
  47. 47Michael3700.3%
  48. 48Tom3610.3%
  49. 49Martin3570.3%
  50. 50Lee3480.3%
  51. 51Eugene3450.3%
  52. 52Claude3430.3%
  53. 53Jacob3430.3%
  54. 54Ed3280.3%
  55. 55Herman3260.3%
  56. 56Francis3190.3%
  57. 57Clyde3180.3%
  58. 58Raymond3080.3%
  59. 59Harvey3040.3%
  60. 60Edgar3030.3%
  61. 61Jack2950.3%
  62. 62Ben2920.3%
  63. 63Edwin2890.3%
  64. 64Lawrence2880.3%
  65. 65Charley2850.3%
  66. 66Bert2760.3%
  67. 67Chester2730.3%
  68. 68Guy2660.2%
  69. 69Otto2630.2%
  70. 70Floyd2590.2%
  71. 71Luther2590.2%
  72. 72Oliver2580.2%
  73. 73Hugh2570.2%
  74. 74Ray2370.2%
  75. 75Ira2350.2%
  76. 76Homer2280.2%
  77. 77Patrick2170.2%
  78. 78Alexander2050.2%
  79. 79Isaac2040.2%
  80. 80Leonard2040.2%
  81. 81Jessie2020.2%
  82. 82Harold2010.2%
  83. 83Leo1990.2%
  84. 84Theodore1990.2%
  85. 85Archie1960.2%
  86. 86August1930.2%
  87. 87Allen1840.2%
  88. 88Sidney1700.2%
  89. 89Philip1630.2%
  90. 90Leroy1620.2%
  91. 91Bernard1600.1%
  92. 92Alex1590.1%
  93. 93Stephen1580.1%
  94. 94Horace1550.1%
  95. 95Anthony1530.1%
  96. 96Warren1510.1%
  97. 97Julius1500.1%
  98. 98Cleveland1470.1%
  99. 99Leon1460.1%
  100. 100Victor1430.1%

Percentages are each name’s share of all 1885 applications for that sex — a useful reminder of how much more concentrated naming used to be. In 1880 the top girls’ name alone accounted for several percent of all girls; today the #1 name is well under one percent.

Counts are based on U.S. births and are tracked separately for girls and boys. Names used fewer than 5 times in a year aren’t published for that year, so totals here are a floor — the shortfall is largest in the sparse early years.