The Rest of the Name Game

Let's Make it Easy for Parents to Choose

This post includes (1) rankings of the top boys' and girls' name by their number of appearances on the annual top 20 and (2) rankings of the top boys' and girls' names by total points. (1=20, 2=19, etc.)

A few observations:

Four boys' names appear on the top 20 all 100 years: James, William, John, and Joseph.

No girl's name was able to accomplish a similar feat. The closest competitor is not Mary, but Elizabeth, which had a 82-year run (1990-1940, 1954, 1960-1999). Mary fell off the top 20 in 1976.

65 boys' names reached the top 20 vs. 119 girls' names. (I suppose I could make a fashion analogy here.)

Top Boys’ Name (by appearance on annual top 20 lists; minimum of 20 years)

Name (range of years; total years)
1. James (1900-1999; 100)
2. John (1900-1999; 100)
3. William (1900-1999; 100)
4. Joseph (1900-1999; 100)
5. Robert (1900-1993; 94)
6. Thomas (1900-1975; 76)
7. David (1928-1999; 72)
8. Charles (1900-1969; 70)
9. Paul (1900-1968; 69)
10. Richard (1911-1977; 67)
11. Michael (1939-1999; 61)
12. George (1900-1950; 51)
13. Edward (1900-1948; 49)
14. Daniel (1952-1999; 48)
15. Donald (1915-1960; 46)
16. Frank (1900-1940; 41)
17. Kenneth (1924-1964; 41)
18. Christopher (1965-1999; 35)
19. Harold (1900, 1902-1935; 35)
20. Walter (1900-1931; 32)
21. Raymond (1909-1938; 30)
22. Matthew (1971-1999; 29)
23. Brian (1960-1987; 28)
24. Henry (1900-1927; 28)
25. Steven (1949-1976; 28)
26. Ronald (1932-1958; 27)
27. Arthur (1900-1911, 1912-1926; 26)
28. Mark (1951-1975; 25)
29. Joshua (1976-1999; 24)
30. Ryan (1976-1999; 24)
31. Albert (1900-1923; 24)
32. Kevin (1957-1979; 23)
33. Andrew (1979-1999; 21)
34. Gary (1940-1959; 20)
35. Justin (1980-1999; 20)
36. Harry (1900-1919; 20)

Top Boys’ Name (by total points)
1. James (1669)
2. John (1637)
3. Robert (1533)
4. William (1387)
5. Michael (1099)
6. Joseph (1068)
7. David (1063)
8. Charles (867)
9. Thomas (806)
10. Richard (803)
11. George (651)
12. Christopher (596)
13. Edward (479)
14. Matthew (461)
15. Donald (414)
16. Frank (398)
17. Daniel (391)
18. Joshua (359)
19. Paul (336)
20. Mark (276)
21. Jason (252)
22. Walter (239)
23. Ronald (235)
24. Andrew (219)
25. Kenneth (216)
26. Brian (213)
27. Henry (209)
28. Steven (201)
29. Harold (187)
30. Ryan (176)
31. Brandon (162)
32. Nicholas (161)
33. Jeffrey (156)
34. Larry (148)
35. Gary (145)
36. Kevin (141)
37. Jacob (127)
38. Justin (126)
39. Raymond (125)
40. Tyler (114)
41. Harry (109)
42. Timothy (106)
43. Albert (104)
44. Scott (100)
45. Arthur (97)
46. Willie (96)
47. Jack (72)
48. Eric (69)
49. Austin (58)
50. Zachary (52)

Top Girls’ Name (by appearance on annual top 20 lists; minimum of 20 years)

Name (range of years; total years)
1. Elizabeth (1900-1940, 1954, 1960-1999; 82)
2. Mary (1900-1975; 76)
3. Margaret (1900-1951, 1953; 53)
4. Dorothy (1902-1944; 43)
5. Patricia (1927-1969; 43)
6. Helen (1900-1940; 41)
7. Barbara (1926-1964: 39)
8. Ruth (1900-1937; 38)
9. Frances (1903-1937; 35)
10. Jennifer (1965-1998; 34)
11. Nancy (1931-1962; 32)
12. Karen (1941-1971; 31)
13. Betty (1919-1948; 30)
14. Anna (1900-1929; 30)
15. Mildred (1900-1929; 30)
16. Sandra (1938-1967; 30)
17. Donna (1938-1939, 1941-1967; 30)
18. Alice (1900-1928, 1930; 30)
19. Susan (1943-1971; 29)
20. Linda (1939-1966; 28)
21. Stephanie (1969-1996; 28)
22. Marie (1900-1927; 28)
23. Shirley (1924-1950; 27)
24. Jessica (1974-1999; 26)
25. Sarah (1974-1999; 26)
26. Carol (1933-1958; 26)
27. Virginia (1912-1937; 26)
28. Melissa (1967-1991; 25)
29. Florence (1900-1924; 25)
30. Sharon (1940-1964; 25)
31. Lisa (1958-1981; 24)
32. Amanda (1975-1998; 24)
33. Kimberly (1962-1983, 1985-1986; 24)
34. Nicole (1972-1995; 24)
35. Evelyn (1907-1930; 24)
36. Lillian (1900-1919, 1921-1923; 24)
37. Rose (1900-1921; 22)
38. Heather (1970-1991; 22)
39. Michelle (1965-1984; 20)

Top Girls’ Name (by total points)
1. Mary (1422)
2. Elizabeth (753)
3. Margaret (721)
4. Helen (671)
5. Dorothy (646)
6. Patricia (643)
7. Barbara (572)
8. Ruth (537)
9. Jennifer (495)
10. Linda (469)
11. Jessica (452)
12. Betty (436)
13. Susan (417)
14. Sarah (375)
15. Anna (370)
16. Mildred (361)
17. Karen (361)
18. Carol (360)
19. Lisa (350)
20. Amanda (346)
21. Nancy (343)
22. Melissa (320)
23. Ashley (317)
24. Sandra (312)
25. Kimberly (298)
26. Stephanie (292)
27. Frances (277)
28. Michelle (277)
29. Marie (271)
30. Shirley (264)
31. Virginia (260)
32. Amy (256)
33. Donna (255)
34. Nicole (253)
35. Heather (241)
36. Alice (240)
37. Angela (234)
38. Deborah (232)
39. Florence (213)
40. Samantha (201)
41. Joan (193)
42. Doris (191)
43. Sharon (186)
44. Emily (179)
45. Cynthia (175)
46. Evelyn (169)
47. Brittany (167)
48. Debra (153)
49. Megan (152)
50. Lillian (152)