Most popular baby names of 1913

In the transition from 1912 to 1913, American parents showed remarkable consistency in their top name choices. John, William, and James held their ground as the top three boys' names for both years, demonstrating their enduring appeal with American families. Similarly, Mary, Helen, and Dorothy maintained their exact positions as the three most popular girls' names. This stability at the very top suggests these classic names had established a strong cultural foothold in the early 20th century.

Looking at the broader top 10 girls' names in 1913, traditional choices continued to dominate American nurseries. While the ranking order remained largely unchanged, Marie showed impressive staying power at the tenth position. Elizabeth moved up to eighth place from 1912's ranking, suggesting a slight increase in popularity for this timeless royal name. Names with softer sounds and ending in vowels were particularly prevalent, with Mary, Dorothy, Anna, and Marie all featuring these characteristics that gave them a gentle, feminine quality.

For boys, the top 10 names in 1913 reflected America's preference for strong, traditional masculine names. The top five remained completely unchanged from 1912, with John, William, James, Robert, and Joseph dominating American birth certificates. Thomas held steady at tenth place, while Edward and Frank maintained their positions at eighth and ninth respectively. Charles and George swapped positions slightly but remained firmly in the top ten. These enduring classics—many with biblical or royal connections—suggest parents were choosing established, respected names for their sons.

Broader naming patterns reveal interesting cultural preferences of early 1900s America. Short, biblical names were especially popular for boys—John, James, and Thomas all appear in the top 10. For girls, names ending in the feminine '-a' sound (Anna) or '-ie' sound (Marie) were fashionable choices. Both genders show a strong preference for traditional English and Christian names, reflecting the dominant cultural influences of the era. Interestingly, many names popular in 1912-1913 that subsequently fell out of fashion—like Mildred, Gladys, Clarence and Harold—have yet to make their nostalgic comeback in modern naming trends.

Top baby names of 1913