How popular is the baby name Florence in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Florence.

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Popularity of the baby name Florence


Posts that mention the name Florence

Baby names that fell the fastest in the U.S. data, 1881 to today (absolute decrease)

fallen leaves

A couple of weeks a go we checked out the list of top raw-number rises in the U.S. baby name data, so today let’s balance things out with the list of top raw-number drops.

Just remember that the SSA data doesn’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t reflect reality all that well.

Same format as usual: Girl names on the left, boy names on the right. Numbers represent single-year decreases in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, usage of the girl name Mary dropped by 146 babies and usage of the boy name William dropped by 1,008 babies.

1880s

  • 1881: Mary, -146; William, -1,008
  • 1882: Lulu, -34; Garfield, -78
  • 1883: Mary, -136; William, -911
  • 1884: Mina, -33; Albert, -61
  • 1885: Sarah, -94; William, -853
  • 1886: Nancy, -35; Grover, -361
  • 1887: Minnie, -157; John, -916
  • 1888: Dorothea, -24; Rudolph, -17
  • 1889: Emma, -203; William, -933

1890s

  • 1890: Mollie, -53; William, -278
  • 1891: Mary, -375; John, -821
  • 1892: Jennie, -26; Enoch & Irving, -16 each (tie)
  • 1893: Mary, -390; John, -990
  • 1894: Ruth, -286; Grover, -171
  • 1895: Laura, -87; Charles, -155
  • 1896: Jessie, -197; John, -182
  • 1897: Anna, -431; John, -589
  • 1898: Sophie, -49; Hobart, -63
  • 1899: Mary, -1,234; William, -1,314

1900s

  • 1900: Manila, -24; Dewey, -154
  • 1901: Mary, -3,572; John, -2,931
  • 1902: Sophie, -45; Manuel, -32
  • 1903: Mary, -211; William, -305
  • 1904: Lillie, -121; Leo, -83
  • 1905: Florence, -94; Alton, -138
  • 1906: Minnie, -173; Theodore, -146
  • 1907: Bessie & Alice, -85 each (tie); Austin, -27
  • 1908: Evelyn, -178; Theodore, -69
  • 1909: Mae, -154; Ernest, -115

1910s

  • 1910: Allie, -35; Delmar & Bruce, -24 each (tie)
  • 1911: Annie, -220; Willie, -405
  • 1912: Dessie, -20; Lawyer & Blas, -12 each (tie)
  • 1913: Carrie, -62; Emerson, -28
  • 1914: Tomasa, -27; Woodrow, -547
  • 1915: Juana, -32; Kermit, -79
  • 1916: Mollie, -88; Willard, -476
  • 1917: Edna, -204; Woodrow, -239
  • 1918: Rose, -215; Frederick, -103
  • 1919: Helen, -2,447; John, -3,029

1920s

  • 1920: Sophie, -234; Woodrow, -1,033
  • 1921: Gertrude, -449; Willie, -391
  • 1922: Helen, -2,314; Warren, -3,315
  • 1923: Helen, -1,017; George, -321
  • 1924: Elizabeth, -512; Warren, -1,231
  • 1925: Mary, -2,910; John, -1,878
  • 1926: Mary, -2,773; William, -1,358
  • 1927: Helen, -1,582; William, -479
  • 1928: Mary, -3,756; William, -2,360
  • 1929: Mary, -3,361; John, -1,652

1930s

  • 1930: Ruth, -1,079; Herbert, -2,187
  • 1931: Dorothy, -3,884; John, -4,026
  • 1932: Betty, -1,688; Robert, -1,255
  • 1933: Mary, -4,381; Robert, -5,052
  • 1934: Dorothy, -761; Franklin, -1,209
  • 1935: Betty, -2,408; Franklin, -1,543
  • 1936: Shirley, -7,202; Donald, -1,025
  • 1937: Shirley, -8,337; Donald, -771
  • 1938: Shirley, -3,048; Donald, -1,207
  • 1939: Shirley, -3,320; Robert, -2,630

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

1940s

  • 1940: Shirley, -2,573; Donald, -962
  • 1941: Betty, -1,172; Wendell, -533
  • 1942: Deanna, -408; Billy, -352
  • 1943: Carole, -1,900; Douglas, -3,001
  • 1944: Barbara, -4,242; Robert, -4,008
  • 1945: Mary, -3,184; James, -2,497
  • 1946: Victoria, -280; Victor, -492
    • Top 5 boy-name drops of ’46, in order: Victor, Truman, Franklin, Delano, Roosevelt/Homer (tie)
  • 1947: Carole, -793; Richard, -369
  • 1948: Patricia, -5,144; Richard, -7,570
  • 1949: Linda, -5,192; Ronald, -2,026

1950s

  • 1950: Linda, -10,549; John, -1,642
  • 1951: Linda, -6,553; Larry, -1,016
  • 1952: Linda, -6,808; Larry, -2,224
  • 1953: Linda, -5,819; Larry, -3,081
  • 1954: Linda, -5,884; Dennis, -2,860
  • 1955: Mary, -4,830; Gary, -3,499
  • 1956: Deborah, -4,476; David, -4,588
  • 1957: Deborah, -7,778; Gary, -2,286
  • 1958: Cynthia, -8,311; James, -5,502
  • 1959: Debra, -4,166; Michael, -5,209

1960s

  • 1960: Debra, -4,626; Richard, -3,619
  • 1961: Donna, -5,468; Richard, -2,432
  • 1962: Mary, -4,163; Mark, -4,234
  • 1963: Linda, -3,754; Mark, -4,150
  • 1964: Lori, -5,280; Mark, -4,073
  • 1965: Mary, -6,709; John, -10,972
  • 1966: Karen, -7,431; John, -6,519
  • 1967: Lisa, -4,483; James, -3,495
  • 1968: Mary, -3,592; David, -3,058
  • 1969: Lisa, -4,494; Timothy, -3,153

1970s

  • 1970: Lisa, -6,077; David, -1,953
  • 1971: Lisa, -6,053; David, -8,650
  • 1972: Lisa, -5,357; John, -8,340
  • 1973: Lisa, -4,883; David, -5,267
  • 1974: Lisa, -2,889; Robert, -1,681
  • 1975: Jennifer, -4,926; Brian, -3,864
  • 1976: Michelle, -3,116; Scott, -1,571
  • 1977: Amy, -4,613; Scott, -1,541
  • 1978: Amy, -3,509; Jason, -4,027
  • 1979: Kelly, -1,686; Kevin, -1,373

1980s

  • 1980: Melissa, -2,420; Jason, -2,203
  • 1981: Melissa, -3,623; Jason, -6,268
  • 1982: Brooke, -2,183; Jeremy, -2,643
  • 1983: Jennifer, -2,767; Jason, -5,512
  • 1984: Jennifer, -3,784; Jason, -5,167
  • 1985: Jennifer, -7,903; Jason, -3,905
  • 1986: Jennifer, -6,474; Joshua, -4,655
  • 1987: Jennifer, -3,483; Jason, -3,054
  • 1988: Ashley, -4,873; Jason, -3,441
  • 1989: Jennifer, -3,888; Jason, -3,292

1990s

  • 1990: Tiffany, -2,555; Adam, -2,216
  • 1991: Brittany, -7,446; Christopher, -5,219
  • 1992: Jessica, -5,047; Michael -6,409
  • 1993: Chelsea, -4,885; Michael, -4,821
  • 1994: Ashley, -4,571; Michael, -5,089
  • 1995: Jessica, -4,175; Michael, -3,060
  • 1996: Jessica, -3,752; Michael, -3,043
  • 1997: Jessica, -3,142; Cody, -2,660
  • 1998: Jessica, -2,816; Christopher, -2,104
  • 1999: Brittany, -1,903; Austin, -2,710

2000s

  • 2000: Brittany, -2,760; Austin, -4,824
  • 2001: Hannah, -2,366; Brandon, -2,445
  • 2002: Taylor, -2,220; Jacob, -1,968
  • 2003: Ashanti, -1,983; Austin, -2,850
  • 2004: Hannah, -2,034; Zachary, -1,832
  • 2005: Alexis, -1,503; Jacob, -2,059
  • 2006: Emily, -2,540; Ryan, -1,557
  • 2007: Emily, -2,050; Joshua, -1,664
  • 2008: Hannah, -3,738; Christopher, -2070
  • 2009: Emily, -2,084; Anthony, -2,099

2010s

2020s

  • 2020: Harper, -1,686; Ethan, -1,801
  • 2021: Isabella, -957; Mason, -1,035
  • 2022: Ava, -1,791; Logan, -1,241
  • 2023: Ava, -1,405; Aiden, -1,151
  • 2024: Ava, -1062; Mason, -786

I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and will write about others in the future. In the meanwhile, feel free to beat me to it! Comment below with the backstory on the fall of Shirley in the late ’30s, Linda in the early ’50s, etc.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

[Latest update: May 2025]

Popular baby names in Oxfordshire (England), 2018

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Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the English county of Oxfordshire welcomed 7,745 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Oliver, according to data released recently by the Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service.

Here are Oxfordshire’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Isabella
  3. Amelia
  4. Florence
  5. Lily
  6. Evelyn
  7. Isla
  8. Emilia
  9. Sophie
  10. Ava

Boy names

  1. Oliver
  2. George
  3. Oscar
  4. Jacob
  5. William
  6. Jack
  7. Benjamin
  8. Joshua
  9. Charlie
  10. Henry

In the girls’ top 10, Evelyn, Emilia, and Sophie replaced Poppy, Emily, and Evie.

In the boys’ top 10, William, Joshua, and Charlie replaced Arthur, Alfie, and Muhammed.

The registrar also made note of the rise in hyphenated first names (for the second year in a row, actually).

In 2017, the top names in the county were Lily and Oliver.

Update, Nov. 2019: The top baby names in England and Wales in 2018 were also Olivia and Oliver.

Source: Clayton, Indya. “Oxfordshire’s most popular baby names revealed.” Oxford Mail 1 Feb. 2019.

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2017

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Flag of California

According to the government of Sonoma, California, the most popular baby names in the county in 2017 were Mia and Mateo.

Here are Sonoma’s top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Mia, 33 baby girls
2. Olivia, 32
3. Sophia, 26
4. Charlotte, 19
5. Scarlett, 17

Boy Names
1. Mateo, 34 baby boys
2. Oliver, 25
3. Julian, 23
4. William, 22
5. Sebastian, 21

And here are some of the baby names from the other end of the list. Each of these was bestowed just once in Sonoma in 2017:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Azul Estrella, Bridget, Cardiff, Dottie, Ember, Florence, Gitselle, Hanen, Inii, Jazbel, Kova, Lennica, Mala Solara, Nelle, Opal, Pema, Rumi, Sabina, Tinsel, Vincere, Winslow, Yissel, ZahraAchilleon, Bremm, Cavendish, Dorsett, Elon, Fynn, Gradius, Hiroki, Ikaikaokalani, Jamokie, Kadessen, Larkin, Mazlo, Norrin, Onkar, Paul, Rhone, Suliano, Toby, Vyndel, Westley, Yoah, Zedrick

The top names in 2016 were Emma and Mateo.

Source: SoCo Data

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2017

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Flag of Quebec

According to Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2017 were (again) Emma and William.

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 614 baby girls
2. Lea, 554
3. Alice, 512
4. Olivia, 483
5. Florence, 482
6. Charlotte, 425
7. Charlie, 420
8. Rosalie, 384
9. Beatrice, 369
10. Zoe, 349

Boy Names
1. William, 710 baby boys
2. Logan, 671
3. Liam, 629
4. Noah, 573
5. Jacob, 571
6. Thomas, 561
7. Raphael, 498
8. Nathan, 496
9. Leo, 494
10. Alexis, 461

The girls’ top 10 contains the same names as in 2016, but in a different order.

In the boys’ top 10, Raphael and Leo replaced Felix (now 13th) and Gabriel (now 16th).

Some of the baby names used just once last year include:

  • Girls: Amberina, Benitha, Cassily, Delya, Elpis, Felia, Gwenia, Hajrah, Isalia, Jecolia, Kindia, Lagertha, Mimsy, Nolka, Odaluna, Posie, Rinnah, Sharbella, Tesseract, Ujarak, Vitalina, Wathahontha, Ysoo, Zanaelle
  • Boys: Arjo, Braveman, Clermont, Daxon, Ebbo, Floyd, Gideon, Holyver, Izai, Joah, Kephry, Lelio, Majorik, Nelligan, Orelsan, Plume, Ricardy, Syphax, Tayze, Uapeshkuss, Valerian, Witghy, Yanrick, Zarrar

This is the first time I’ve seen the geometry term “tesseract” used as a baby name. As Wikipedia puts it, “the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square.” It’s a hypercube, basically. The word was coined in the 1880s from the Greek words tessera, “four,” and aktis, “ray.” Definitely an unusual name…though it does conveniently shorten to Tess.

Sources: List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec, Tesseract – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)