Every #1 Baby Name Since 1910: The Complete List

In 116 years of American records, the top of the chart has been a closed shop. Only 19 names have ever been #1 — eleven girls' names and eight boys' names — and two of them held the crown for nearly half the century between them.

Mary: 46 years at #1. She ruled 1910–1946 straight, was interrupted, and took the crown back for nine more years (1953–1961), the last of them in 1961. Michael: 44 years — a six-year run in the 1950s, then one year off, then a 38-year reign (1961–1998) so long that two generations of parents experienced him not as a fashion but as a fact of nature.

The strange episodes inside the table

The coup and the restoration (1947–1961). In 1947 Linda did what no name had managed in 37 years: she took the crown from a reigning Mary. It lasted six years — and then Mary did something almost no dethroned #1 ever does. She came back, for nine more years (1953–1961). The early 1950s were the restoration era on both charts: in 1953, the very year Mary returned, Robert also retook the boys' crown — for a single year wedged between James's 13-year reign and Michael's arrival.

The one-year king (1960). David's 1960 reign is the only single-year #1 in the entire table — and it sits inside Michael's interrupted reign, splitting it into the 1950s run and the 38-year run. One year of David is the punctuation mark in forty-four years of Michael — and it makes Michael a returning champion too: he lost the crown in 1960 and took it straight back for 38 years.

The split reign (1991–1995). Jessica ruled 1985–1990, lost two years to Ashley, then took the crown back for 1993–1995 — the same trick Emma later pulled (champion in 2008, gone for five years, champion again 2014–2018). Returns happen, but they are rare and usually brief: on the boys' side the only ones are Robert's single year (1953) and Michael's resumption (1961). Every other dethroned #1 in the table stayed dethroned.

The reign everyone forgets (2009–2010). Isabella's two years at #1 are the most commonly omitted entry in this table — sandwiched between Emma's two reigns and Sophia's three years, she tends to drop out of retellings. She's in the table below, where she belongs.

The 90-baby photo-finish (2013). Jacob's 14-year reign didn't end in a rout. In 2013 Noah beat him 18,291 babies to 18,201 — a margin of 90 newborns, half of one percent, to start a four-year reign of his own. The next changing of the guard, Liam in 2017, has now lasted nine years and counting.

Total years at #1

Two reigns are still running: Olivia (2019–2025) and Liam (2017–2025). Every previous reign in the table has an end date; theirs don't — yet.

The complete list, 1910–2025

Our advice: when someone tells you a name "is the new #1," check which dynasty you're in. Coronations used to last decades; the modern crown passes every four to nine years. A #1 name today is a renter, not an owner — which makes it a far safer choice than Mary ever was.

The eras behind the table: baby names by decade, and the two longest residents, Mary and Michael.

See name recommendations based on your last name

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration · Data through 2025 · Updated 2026