Baby Boy Names 1906 & 2006
Popular American Male Names 100 Years Ago and Today
Here's a list of the top 20 American boys names in 1906 and 2006. Some name trends have changed drastically, but some names have endured throughout the century.
Ever wonder how baby names have changed over the last century? If you look at the top 20 American baby boy names from 1906 and compare them to the top 20 names from 2006, you'll see some major differences. However, boy name trends don't change as quickly as girl name trends, so you'll also find some striking similarities. One big difference in boy's names now and then: there's just more common names around. A much higher percentage of boys 100 years ago had a name from the top 20 than they do today.
1906 Top 20 Baby Boy's Names
- John
- William
- James
- George
- Robert
- Charles
- Joseph
- Frank
- Edward
- Thomas
- Henry
- Walter
- Willie
- Harry
- Arthur
- Albert
- Harold
- Clarence
- Paul
- Fred
2006 Top 20 Baby Boy Names
- Jacob
- Michael
- Joshua
- Ethan
- Matthew
- Daniel
- Christopher
- Andrew
- Anthony
- William
- Joseph
- Alexander
- David
- Ryan
- Noah
- James
- Nicholas
- Tyler
- Logan
- John
(Source: U.S. Social Security Baby Name Index)
At first glance, the lists look pretty different. Only four names are on both lists: John (#1 in 1906 and #20 in 2006), William (#2, #10), James (#3, #16), and Joseph (#7, #11). William was the only name to make the top 10 in both 1906 and 2006. As you can see, the classics aren't as popular as they used to be-- but many parents are still choosing these names.
A few other names were fairly close to making both lists. Robert, ranked at #5 in 1906, remained fairly popular at #47 in 2006. Wildly popular throughout most of the twentieth century, Robert only recently fell from the top 20 in 1994. Thomas, #10 in 1906, was also ranked highly in 2006 at #57. And at #95 in 2006, Henry (which was #11 in 1906) isn't exactly trendy, but it's climbing the charts quickly and coming back into vogue.
There also were a number of 2006 top 20 names that didn't quite make the top 20 in 1906, but that came fairly close: David (#13 in 2006, #31 in 1906), Daniel (#6 in 2006, #48 in 1906), Michael (#2 in 2006, #46 in 1906), Andrew ( #8 in 2006, #41 in 1906), and Anthony (#9 in 2006, #44 in 1906). These names all became very popular throughout the twentieth century, especially Michael and David.
Other names that were popular in both 1906 and 2006: Jack (#20 in 1906, #35 in 2006), Samuel (#33 in 1906, #25 in 2006), Benjamin (#71 in 1906, #24 in 2006), and Richard (#23 in 1906, #99 in 2006).
Some of the oldest names around-- Biblical names --are actually much more popular today than they were in 1906. Jacob, the most popular male in the United States in 2006, was only ranked at #114 in 1906. Other top 20 Biblical names of today were ranked similarly, including Joshua (#3 in 2006, #426 in 1906), Noah (#15 in 2006, #254 in 1906), and Matthew (#5 in 2006, #150 in 1906). Trendy Ethan, which ranked at #4 in 2006, wasn't even on the top 1000 list in 1906.
One of today's hottest trends, the last-name-turned-first-name, was not common at all 100 years ago. The most common of the last-name-turned-first-names of today were rarely used back then, including Ryan (#14 in 2006, #845 in 1906), Logan (#19 in 2006, #787 in 1906), and Tyler (#18 in 2006, not ranked in the top 1000 in 1906).
Today's other hot trend, the "aden" names (Aiden, Caden, Braden, Jayden, Hayden, and so forth) would have seemed bizarre to people's ears in 1906. The only "aden" name that was on the top 1000 charts at all back then was Hayden.
Of course, yesterday's trends sound odd today too. One common practice was to give children nicknames as stand-alone names-- a trend that became even more popular during the Baby Boom. Thus, Harry, Willie, and Fred were all in the top 20 back in 1906. Other popular nicknames that were used as stand-alone names at the time were Joe (#25), Charlie (#34), Sam (#43), Eddie (#66), Tom (#80), Ben (#82), Jim (#90), Johnnie (#91), Will (#92), and Ed (#138).
And although many old-fashioned names are in vogue these days, some of them just aren't coming back any time soon. It's hard to imagine a cute little baby boy named Clarence today, and yet that name was #18 in 1906. Other 1906 favorites sound even more outdated: Ralph (#26 in 1906), Herbert (#37), Eugene (#39), Elmer (#42), Herman (#49), Leonard (#50), Lester (#52), Chester (#60), Melvin (#83), and, of course, Homer (#86).
As you can see, popular name trends change radically over time. A little boy named Willie or Homer today is as odd as a Jayden or Logan would have been back then. At the same time, classics like John, William, and James have been around for a long time and aren't going to disappear anytime soon.
