Screenwriting guide
Victorian Names for Ladies and Men
These are the most common names for people born in the US in the 1880s and 1890s, the late Victorian years, from Social Security records. Mary and John were #1 every single year. Other leading ladies’ names: Anna, Emma, Minnie and Bertha. For men: William, James, George and Frank.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
What the records show
Mary
#1 for girls every year from 1880 to 1899, all 20 years.
John
#1 for boys every year from 1880 to 1899, all 20 years.
21
Girls’ names from the 1880s top 100 are in the top 100 again in the 2020s.
22
Boys’ names from the 1880s top 100 are in the top 100 again in the 2020s.
37
Girls’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1880s to the 1890s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
31
Boys’ names that reached the top 100 in the 1880s to the 1890s and sit outside the top 1000 in both the 2010s and 2020s.
The top 100 names of the 1880s
Women
| Mary | #1 | 91,668 | #1 | #133 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | #2 | 38,159 | #2 | #78 |
| Emma | #3 | 25,404 | #9 | #2 |
| Elizabeth | #4 | 25,006 | #5 | #14 |
| Margaret | #5 | 21,799 | #3 | #128 |
| Minnie | #6 | 21,724 | #13 | #2,797 |
| Ida | #7 | 18,283 | #21 | #1,147 |
| Bertha | #8 | 18,264 | #12 | #4,710 |
| Clara | #9 | 17,717 | #11 | #100 |
| Alice | #10 | 17,142 | #15 | #65 |
| Annie | #11 | 17,027 | #19 | #213 |
| Florence | #12 | 16,699 | #7 | #589 |
| Bessie | #13 | 15,373 | #14 | #7,595 |
| Grace | #14 | 15,227 | #18 | #35 |
| Ethel | #15 | 14,866 | #8 | #4,977 |
| Sarah | #16 | 14,715 | #31 | #91 |
| Ella | #17 | 13,936 | #32 | #20 |
| Martha | #18 | 13,911 | #25 | #715 |
| Nellie | #19 | 13,761 | #30 | #660 |
| Mabel | #20 | 13,096 | #20 | #312 |
| Laura | #21 | 12,806 | #34 | #366 |
| Carrie | #22 | 12,514 | #40 | #2,525 |
| Cora | #23 | 11,954 | #47 | #86 |
| Helen | #24 | 11,496 | #4 | #421 |
| Maude | #25 | 11,454 | #53 | #4,682 |
Men
| John | #1 | 89,949 | #1 | #24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William | #2 | 84,881 | #2 | #6 |
| James | #3 | 54,056 | #3 | #5 |
| George | #4 | 47,651 | #4 | #137 |
| Charles | #5 | 46,656 | #5 | #50 |
| Frank | #6 | 30,967 | #7 | #454 |
| Joseph | #7 | 26,292 | #6 | #27 |
| Henry | #8 | 24,139 | #10 | #7 |
| Robert | #9 | 24,074 | #8 | #81 |
| Thomas | #10 | 23,750 | #12 | #46 |
| Edward | #11 | 23,133 | #9 | #215 |
| Harry | #12 | 22,649 | #11 | #739 |
| Walter | #13 | 18,185 | #13 | #269 |
| Arthur | #14 | 16,180 | #14 | #139 |
| Fred | #15 | 15,602 | #15 | #1,762 |
| Albert | #16 | 14,375 | #16 | #585 |
| Samuel | #17 | 9,129 | #25 | #19 |
| Clarence | #18 | 8,760 | #17 | #1,450 |
| Louis | #19 | 8,275 | #20 | #244 |
| David | #20 | 7,569 | #29 | #29 |
| Joe | #21 | 7,098 | #28 | #844 |
| Charlie | #22 | 7,091 | #30 | #184 |
| Richard | #23 | 7,010 | #27 | #219 |
| Ernest | #24 | 6,700 | #24 | #1,076 |
| Roy | #25 | 6,565 | #19 | #562 |
Generate a full name for a character born in the 1880s to the 1890s
Surnames are common US Census surnames. Tap a name to keep it, then reroll the other half.
- peak 1900s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1880s
- peak 2020s
- peak 1890s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1890s
- peak 1880s
- peak 1940s
- peak 1880s
For writers: names that date a character
Time markers reached the top 100 in the 1880s to the 1890s, had their best decade ever there, and rank below #300 today. Traps are today’s top 100 names that were outside the top 1000, or missing from the records, throughout the 1880s to the 1890s.
Women
Names that place a character in time
- Minnie
- Ida
- Florence
- Bertha
- Ethel
- Bessie
- Martha
- Nellie
- Mabel
- Carrie
- Gertrude
- Maude
Anachronism traps
- Mia #6 nownot recorded then
- Harper #10 nownot recorded then
- Camila #12 nownot recorded then
- Gianna #16 nownot recorded then
- Scarlett #17 nownot recorded then
- Avery #22 nowbest #2,433 then
- Aria #23 nownot recorded then
- Mila #24 nowbest #1,611 then
- Penelope #25 nowbest #1,114 then
- Layla #30 nownot recorded then
- Madison #33 nownot recorded then
- Isla #36 nowbest #1,169 then
Men
Names that place a character in time
- Frank
- Harry
- Fred
- Albert
- Clarence
- Roy
- Joe
- Earl
- Carl
- Ernest
- Will
- Sam
Anachronism traps
- Liam #1 nownot recorded then
- Mateo #11 nownot recorded then
- Ethan #18 nowbest #1,023 then
- Asher #23 nowbest #1,003 then
- Aiden #32 nownot recorded then
- Luca #37 nownot recorded then
- Grayson #38 nownot recorded then
- Dylan #39 nownot recorded then
- Maverick #43 nownot recorded then
- Jayden #47 nownot recorded then
- Cooper #60 nowbest #1,019 then
- Cameron #62 nowbest #1,017 then
How to use it
- 1
Scan the ranked table for the 1880s and sort it by rank, births or where a name sits today. Copy the list if you want it.
- 2
Use the generator to pair real first names from that decade with common US surnames. Tap a half to keep it and reroll the rest.
- 3
Check the anachronism traps before you commit, so a modern name does not give your period character away.
Are these British Victorian names?
No, and it matters. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901, but this data is American: Social Security Administration counts of US births from 1880, the first year the national file covers. It shows what Americans named their children in the last two decades of the Victorian era.
British naming in the same years overlapped a lot but was not identical, and we have no British source in this data, so we make no claims about it. If your story is set in London, treat these as a starting point and check British records.
How complete are the 1880s records?
Less complete than modern years. Social Security began in 1937, so names for people born in the 1880s come from those who later applied for a card. Plenty of people born then never did. The totals are smaller than the real number of births, but the ranking still shows which names were common.
Which Victorian names lasted and which vanished?
Some never went away. Twenty one of the top 100 girls’ names of the 1880s, among them Emma, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Amelia and Grace, are in the top 100 again in the 2020s, and twenty two boys’ names, like William, Henry, Theodore and Oliver.
Others are gone. Minnie was #6 for girls in the 1880s and is #2,797 now. Bertha was #8 and is #4,710. Grover, #56 for boys in the 1880s, sits outside the top 1000 today. Names like these place a character in the 1800s instantly.
Names by era
Questions writers ask
What are some Victorian ladies’ names?
The top girls’ names in the US 1880s records were Mary, Anna, Emma, Elizabeth, Margaret, Minnie, Ida, Bertha, Clara and Alice. Minnie, Ida and Bertha have since dropped out of the top 1000.
What are some Victorian men’s names?
John, William, James, George, Charles, Frank, Joseph, Henry, Robert and Thomas led the 1880s. Fred, Clarence, Earl and Herbert were also common then and are rare now.
What was the most popular name in the Victorian era?
In US records, Mary for girls and John for boys, #1 in every year from 1880 to 1899. We have no British data here, so this is the American answer.
Do you have Victorian last names?
Not from the 1800s. Our surname data is the 2000 US Census, so we do not publish a Victorian surname list rather than guess one. The generator pairs 1880s first names with common modern US surnames.
Why does the data start in 1880?
The Social Security national baby name file begins with births in 1880. Nothing earlier is in it.