- We compiled a list of the most popular baby name for every year.
- Mary, Michael, James, and Jennifer have been among the most popular names in US history.
The most popular baby name the year you were born
Baby names go in and out of style like fashion trends — what's popular one year may not be so hip a few years down the road. We compiled the most popular name for each year since 1920.
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Baby names go in and out of style like fashion trends — what's popular one year may not be so hip a few years down the road.
Take Mary, for example.
Mary was once the most popular girl's name in America for more than 60 years, but today it isn't even among the 100 most common names for girls, according to the Social Security Administration, which has tracked the popularity of baby names dating back to 1880. At its peak in the early 1920s, there were more than 70,000 girls born with the name Mary each year, but in 2016, that number had plummeted to just over 2,000.
We looked at the data and found the most popular baby name for boys and girls born in the US. Take a look at the graphic below and see which names have entered and left the spotlight, and find out which name was most popular the year you were born.
"Mary" was the clear winner for all of the 1920s.
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Mary kept its spot throughout the next decade, joined by "Robert."
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At the end of the 1940s, Mary gave way to "Linda."
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But in the 1950s, back to Mary — and "Michael."
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Michael held out for most of the 1960s.
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And all through the 1970s, along with "Jennifer."
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Things stayed the same until 1985, when "Jessica" took over.
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In the 1990s, there started to be some variations in girls' names — but not as much among boys.
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In the 2000s, "Jacob" led the pack for 10 straight years.
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Until Jacob gave way to "Noah" in 2013, and "Sophia" and "Emma" took over.
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