Popular baby names from the past

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by Emma Woolfenden |
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Babies' names are constantly changing in popularity. To find out if your baby's name, or one you have in mind, was popular 100, 70, 40 or 10 years ago, have a look at the table below. (These are from the U.K.)

Top 5 baby names in 1904

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Mary
  2. Florence
  3. Doris
  4. Edith
  5. Dorothy
  1. William
  2. John
  3. George
  4. Thomas
  5. Arthur

Top 5 baby names in 1914

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Mary
  2. Margaret
  3. Doris
  4. Dorothy
  5. Kathleen
  1. John
  2. William
  3. George
  4. Thomas
  5. James

Top 5 baby names in 1924

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Margaret
  2. Mary
  3. Joan
  4. Joyce
  5. Dorothy
  1. John
  2. William
  3. George
  4. James
  5. Thomas

Top 5 baby names in 1934

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Margaret
  2. Jean
  3. Mary
  4. Joan
  5. Patricia
  1. John
  2. Peter
  3. William
  4. Brian
  5. David

Top 5 baby names in 1944

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Margaret
  2. Patricia
  3. Christine
  4. Mary
  5. Jean
  1. John
  2. David
  3. Michael
  4. Peter
  5. Robert

Top 5 baby names in 1954

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Susan
  2. Linda
  3. Christine
  4. Margaret
  5. Janet
  1. David
  2. John
  3. Stephen
  4. Michael
  5. Peter

Top 5 baby names in 1964

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Susan
  2. Julie
  3. Karen
  4. Jacqueline
  5. Deborah
  1. David
  2. Paul
  3. Andrew
  4. Mark
  5. John

Top 5 baby names in 1974

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Sarah
  2. Claire
  3. Nicola
  4. Emma
  5. Lisa
  1. Paul
  2. Mark
  3. David
  4. Andrew
  5. Richard

Top 5 baby names in 1984

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Sarah
  2. Laura
  3. Gemma
  4. Emma
  5. Rebecca
  1. Christopher
  2. James
  3. David
  4. Daniel
  5. Michael

Top 5 baby names in 1994

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Rebecca
  2. Lauren
  3. Jessica
  4. Charlotte
  5. Hannah
  1. Thomas
  2. James
  3. Jack
  4. Daniel
  5. Matthew

Top 5 baby names in 2004

Girls' namesBoys' name
  1. Emily
  2. Ellie
  3. Jessica
  4. Sophie
  5. Chloe
  1. Jack
  2. Joshua
  3. Thomas
  4. James
  5. Daniel

Source: Office for National Statistics (figures for England and Wales only).

Still stuck for a name? Read our article for ideas or try our Baby Names Finder, where you can search by origin or meaning as well as alphabetically.
Emma Woolfenden
Emma Woolfenden
Emma Woolfenden is a freelance copywriter and editor who creates parenting, health and lifestyle content.

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