Most popular baby names of 1918

Looking at the baby name rankings from 1917 to 1918, I notice several interesting patterns and shifts in naming preferences in the United States during this period.

The top three names for both boys and girls showed remarkable stability between 1917 and 1918. Mary, Helen, and Dorothy remained firmly in place as the top three girls' names, continuing their popularity from the previous year. Similarly, the boys' top three maintained their exact order with John, William, and James holding their respective positions. This consistency suggests these traditional names had strong cultural staying power during this period.

Among the top 10 girls' names in 1918, Virginia made the most notable move, climbing from 10th place in 1917 to 7th in 1918. Frances dropped slightly from 9th to 8th place, while Elizabeth fell one position from 8th to 9th. Anna showed the biggest decline, falling from 7th place in 1917 to 10th in 1918. Interestingly, these minor shifts within the top 10 reflect small variations rather than dramatic changes in parents' preferences for girls' names.

The boys' top 10 displayed more significant movement. Most notably, Joseph rose from 5th to 7th place, while Charles dropped from 7th to 5th. George slipped from 6th to 6th place. The remaining names in the top 10 – Robert, Edward, Frank, and Thomas – held their positions between 1917 and 1918. These subtle shifts suggest parents were gravitating slightly more toward Charles during this period, while Joseph declined somewhat in popularity.

Looking at broader naming patterns, traditional names dominated for both genders during this period. Girls' names frequently featured soft endings, with names ending in "-a" (Anna), "-y" (Mary, Dorothy) and "-en" (Helen) appearing repeatedly in the top rankings. For boys, Biblical names (John, James, Joseph) and traditional English names (William, Robert) continued to be favored choices. Notably, one-syllable names like John and Frank remained popular for boys, while girls' names tended to have two or three syllables, suggesting parents preferred longer, more melodious names for their daughters.

Top baby names of 1918