It’s strange to imagine that the new ’20s are just around the corner; I’m pretty sure we were supposed to have flying cars by this point. Every generation has a wave of popular baby names and the new decade will be no different. Let’s look at some of the most popular names of the last one hundred years and then take a moment to see what’s on the horizon.

1920’s 

  • Girls Names:
    • Mary, Dorothy, Helen, Margaret, Ruth
  • Boys Names:
    • John, William, Robert, James, Charles
  • Editor’s Note:
    • These pretty much remained the most popular every year of the 1920s

1930’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Mary, Betty, Shirley, Patricia, Joan
  • Boys Names:
    • Robert, James, John, William, Richard
  • Editor’s Note:
    • The name Mary pretty much held the top most popular name for girls for decades.

1940’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Mary (again!), Barbara, Linda, Susan, Carol
  • Boys Names:
    • James, Robert, John, William, Richard
  • Editor’s Note:
    • You would think I would know a lot more people named James.

1950’s 

  • Girls Names:
    •  Linda (take that Mary!), Mary (okay fine), Patricia (making a comeback!), Susan, Karen
  • Boys Names:
    • Michael, David, James, Robert, John

1960’s 

  • Girls Names:
    • Lisa, Michelle, Kimberly, Melissa, Amy
  • Boys Names:
    • Michael, David, James, Robert, John
  • Editor’s Notes:
    • It would seem that in the 1960s parents decided to mix it up when it came to girls names, boy names… not so much.
    • Yes, Mary was still a popular name but I refuse to keep talking about her.

1970’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Jennifer, Amy, Jessica, Heather, Angela
  • Boys Names:
    • Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, James
  • Editor’s Note:
    • Michael will now take the place of Mary as the name that keeps the top spot for several decades as well as provoking my ire for what is clearly only competition to me.

1980’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Jessica, Ashley, Brittany, Amanda, Samantha
  • Boys Names:
    • Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, Andrew
  • Editor’s Note:
    • Considering I had the same name as at least 5 people in every class I am shocked that Katherine is not on this list. I blame Mary.

1990’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Emily, Hannah, Alexis. Jessica, Ashley
  • Boys Names:
    • Michael, Matthew, Christoper, Jacob, Tyler
  • Editor’s Note:
    • I’m starting to feel bad for teasing to Mary.

2000’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Madison, Emma, Sophia, Olivia, Ava
  • Boys Names:
    • Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Michael, Matthew
  • Editor’s Notes:
    • I refuse to believe that the popularity of the names Madison and Sophia aren’t directly linked to the movie “Splash” and the television show “The Golden Girls”

2010’s

  • Girls Names:
    • Emma, Olivia, Ava, Sophia, Isabella
  • Boys Names:
    • Liam, Noah, Mason, Jacob, Logan
  • Editor’s Notes:
    • The 2010s were a great year for girls names ending with the letter a.
    • The collection of boy’s names 100% sound like a mid-90’s British alt-rock supergroup

What’s Next?

Well, there’s no perfect science but there are a lot of names on the rise. Some follow the lead of popular celebrities (you’ll be meeting a lot of Luna’s in the near future, for example), some parents are choosing more gender-neutral names, and some taking their cues from popular movies and video games. Check out the list below:

  • Girls Names:
    • Carson, Selene, Yara, Willow, Fawn, Maisie, Aurora, Louise, True
  • Boys Names:
    • Carson, Lincoln, Winslow, Finley, Onyx, Hank, Frederick, Hugo, True
  • Editor’s Notes: If you see Mary, tell her I was just joking.