Most popular baby names of 1886

The top three names for both boys and girls remained remarkably stable between 1885 and 1886, with no changes in ranking. Mary, Anna, and Emma continued to dominate for girls, while John, William, and James held their positions for boys. This consistency suggests these traditional favorites maintained their strong cultural significance during this period.

Looking at the top 10 girls' names in 1886, we see several interesting shifts. While the top names remained stable, Minnie moved up from 6th to 5th place, swapping positions with Margaret. Florence jumped from 12th to 10th place, showing growing popularity. The traditional names with softer sounds like Mary, Anna, and Clara continued to appeal to parents, with many featuring the melodic 'a' ending that characterized popular feminine names of this era.

For boys' names in 1886, the top 10 was dominated by timeless classics. Robert gained momentum, climbing from 9th to 8th place, while Henry dropped one position. Thomas rounded out the top 10, maintaining its position from the previous year. Biblical names continued to show strong representation with John, James, Joseph, and Thomas all ranking highly, reflecting the ongoing religious influence in naming practices of the late 19th century.

Broader naming patterns reveal interesting trends across both genders. For girls, names ending in 'a' or 'ie' were extremely popular, with Mary, Anna, Clara, Minnie, and Ida all ranking in the top 10. For boys, traditional Anglo-Saxon and biblical names dominated the charts, with single-syllable names like John, Frank, and Charles showing particular strength. Notably, many popular boys' names had been consistently favored for generations, suggesting parents in the 1880s valued tradition and heritage when selecting names for their sons.

Top baby names of 1886