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Top 1900s Baby Names

The top baby names of the 1900s include some choices back in style (or even past their most recent peak), such as Lillian and Leo, Josephine and Jack. Others are still moored in that long-ago era, including Ethel and Elmer.

Along with Josephine and Leo, other 1900s baby names that are currently in the US Top 1000 include Elsie, George, Hazel, Leonard, Nellie, Oscar, Virginia, and Walter. In addition to Ethel, the names with the steepest drops in popularity include Bessie, Myrtle, Thelma, and Bertha.

While we may not be hearing many babies named Gertrude and Clarence soon, names such as Mabel and Florence, Henry and Arthur are very much back in style. Sourced from the Top 100 of the decade from 1900 to 1910, here is a list of popular baby names which are relatively rare today.

Joseph

Meaning: Jehovah increases

Origin:Hebrew
436
Lawrence

Meaning: from Laurentium or bay laurel

Origin:Latin
164
Robert

Meaning: bright fame

Origin:English from German
542
Herbert

Meaning: bright army

Origin:German
1020
Joe

Meaning: Jehovah increases

Origin:Diminutive of Joseph
1371
Albert

Meaning: noble, bright

Origin:German
218
Clarence

Meaning: bright

Origin:Latin
842
Walter

Meaning: army ruler

Origin:German
332
Carl

Meaning: free man

Origin:German variation of Charles
757
Donald

Meaning: proud chief

Origin:Scottish
1105
Willie The name Willie is of German origins and it ...
Origin:Diminutive of William
5757
Charles

Meaning: man, free man

Origin:French from German
290
Howard

Meaning: high guardian or brave heart

Origin:German or English
715
Roy

Meaning: king or red-haired

Origin:French or Celtic
720
Floyd

Meaning: gray-haired

Origin:Welsh
1708
Eugene

Meaning: wellborn, noble

Origin:Greek
360
Edna

Meaning: rejuvenation, delight

Origin:Hebrew
705
Ethel

Meaning: noble maiden

Origin:English
577
Lee

Meaning: pasture, meadow

Origin:English
636
Harold

Meaning: army ruler

Origin:Scandinavian
610