Most popular baby names of 1880

In 1880, the most popular names for US babies were John for boys (9,655 babies, 8.7% of boys) and Mary for girls (7,065 babies, 7.8% of girls). The rest of the top five were William, James, Charles and George for boys and Anna, Emma, Elizabeth and Minnie for girls. SSA recorded 1,058 different boy names and 942 different girl names that year.

Top 100 boy names, 1880
Rank	Name	Babies
1	John	9,655
2	William	9,532
3	James	5,927
4	Charles	5,348
5	George	5,126
6	Frank	3,242
7	Joseph	2,632
8	Thomas	2,534
9	Henry	2,444
10	Robert	2,415
11	Edward	2,364
12	Harry	2,152
13	Walter	1,755
14	Arthur	1,599
15	Fred	1,569
16	Albert	1,493
17	Samuel	1,024
18	David	869
19	Louis	828
20	Joe	731
21	Charlie	730
22	Clarence	730
23	Richard	728
24	Andrew	644
25	Daniel	643
26	Ernest	615
27	Will	588
28	Jesse	569
29	Oscar	544
30	Lewis	517
31	Peter	496
32	Benjamin	490
33	Frederick	483
34	Willie	476
35	Alfred	469
36	Sam	457
37	Roy	440
38	Herbert	424
39	Jacob	404
40	Tom	399
41	Elmer	373
42	Carl	372
43	Lee	361
44	Howard	357
45	Martin	357
46	Michael	354
47	Bert	348
48	Herman	347
49	Jim	345
50	Francis	344
51	Harvey	344
52	Earl	335
53	Eugene	328
54	Ralph	317
55	Ed	310
56	Claude	309
57	Edwin	309
58	Ben	305
59	Charley	305
60	Paul	301
61	Edgar	283
62	Isaac	274
63	Otto	271
64	Luther	260
65	Lawrence	257
66	Ira	249
67	Patrick	248
68	Guy	239
69	Oliver	234
70	Theodore	232
71	Hugh	224
72	Clyde	221
73	Alexander	211
74	August	210
75	Floyd	206
76	Homer	205
77	Jack	204
78	Leonard	200
79	Horace	199
80	Marion	189
81	Philip	186
82	Allen	184
83	Archie	183
84	Stephen	176
85	Chester	168
86	Willis	166
87	Raymond	165
88	Rufus	163
89	Warren	158
90	Jessie	154
91	Milton	149
92	Alex	147
93	Leo	147
94	Julius	143
95	Ray	142
96	Sidney	142
97	Bernard	140
98	Dan	140
99	Jerry	136
100	Calvin	134

Top 100 girl names, 1880
Rank	Name	Babies
1	Mary	7,065
2	Anna	2,604
3	Emma	2,003
4	Elizabeth	1,939
5	Minnie	1,746
6	Margaret	1,578
7	Ida	1,472
8	Alice	1,414
9	Bertha	1,320
10	Sarah	1,288
11	Annie	1,258
12	Clara	1,226
13	Ella	1,156
14	Florence	1,063
15	Cora	1,045
16	Martha	1,040
17	Laura	1,012
18	Nellie	995
19	Grace	982
20	Carrie	949
21	Maude	859
22	Mabel	808
23	Bessie	796
24	Jennie	793
25	Gertrude	787
26	Julia	783
27	Hattie	769
28	Edith	768
29	Mattie	704
30	Rose	700
31	Catherine	688
32	Lillian	672
33	Ada	652
34	Lillie	647
35	Helen	636
36	Jessie	635
37	Louise	635
38	Ethel	633
39	Lula	621
40	Myrtle	615
41	Eva	614
42	Frances	605
43	Lena	603
44	Lucy	590
45	Edna	588
46	Maggie	582
47	Pearl	569
48	Daisy	564
49	Fannie	560
50	Josephine	544
51	Dora	524
52	Rosa	507
53	Katherine	502
54	Agnes	473
55	Marie	471
56	Nora	471
57	May	462
58	Mamie	436
59	Blanche	427
60	Stella	414
61	Ellen	411
62	Nancy	410
63	Effie	406
64	Sallie	404
65	Nettie	403
66	Della	391
67	Lizzie	388
68	Flora	365
69	Susie	361
70	Maud	345
71	Mae	344
72	Etta	323
73	Harriet	319
74	Sadie	317
75	Caroline	306
76	Katie	303
77	Lydia	302
78	Elsie	301
79	Kate	299
80	Susan	286
81	Mollie	283
82	Alma	277
83	Addie	274
84	Georgia	259
85	Eliza	252
86	Lulu	249
87	Nannie	248
88	Lottie	245
89	Amanda	241
90	Belle	238
91	Charlotte	237
92	Rebecca	236
93	Ruth	234
94	Viola	229
95	Olive	224
96	Amelia	221
97	Hannah	221
98	Jane	215
99	Virginia	213
100	Emily	210

Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880. Counts are Social Security card applications for US births; SSA leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year. Updated 2026-10-05. How these numbers are made.