The most popular baby names in the U.S. tend to remain the same from one year to the next, but interesting trends emerge over longer periods of time.
On May 12, the Social Security Administration released the official list of the most popular baby names of 2016. Names like Emma, Noah and Liam continue to dominate the charts, with only a few notable changes from the 2015 list.
In light of this news, we decided to look back at the most popular names 100 years ago to see how parents’ choices of the past compare to today’s trends. While some names remain popular (you’ve got your Johns, Williams and Elizabeths), others have rather fallen into obscurity these days (shout-out to Gladys, Edna and Ralph).
Without further ado, here are the 25 most popular baby names for boys and girls in 1917:
Girls
- Mary
- Helen
- Dorothy
- Margaret
- Ruth
- Mildred
- Anna
- Elizabeth
- Frances
- Virginia
- Evelyn
- Marie
- Alice
- Florence
- Lillian
- Rose
- Irene
- Catherine
- Louise
- Edna
- Josephine
- Martha
- Gladys
- Ethel
- Doris
Boys
- John
- William
- James
- Robert
- Joseph
- George
- Charles
- Edward
- Frank
- Thomas
- Walter
- Harold
- Paul
- Richard
- Henry
- Raymond
- Arthur
- Albert
- Harry
- Donald
- Ralph
- Jack
- Louis
- Carl
- Clarence
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