Let's take a look at the most popular names for each letter across the past four generations: from the great-grandparents of babies born today to the names filling school and kindergarten rosters in 2023 and beyond.

　　The starred names ranked outside of the Top 200 during the given decade, and the double-starred names outside of the Top 1000, despite being the most popular for their particular initial.

　　

Top 1920s Names: Anna to Zane

Yes, Zane! Despite sounding like a thoroughly modern favorite, Zane was used in small but steady numbers throughout the 1920s (ranking in the 700s for boys), inspired by the Western adventure novelist Zane Grey.

　　According to the Hundred Year Rule, these baby names from the 1920s should be coming back into style right around now. But while we wouldn’t be surprised to meet a little Arthur, Frances or Louis, others, like Gladys and Melvin, might need another decade or two to feel fresh again!

　　A: Anna, Arthur

　　B: Betty, Bernard

　　C: Catherine, Charles

　　D: Dorothy, Donald

　　E: Elizabeth, Edward

　　F: Frances, Frank

　　G: Gladys, George

　　H: Helen, Harold

　　I: Irene, Irving

　　J: Jean, John

　　K: Katherine, Kenneth

　　L: Lois, Louis

　　M: Mary, Melvin

　　N: Norma, Norman

　　O: Opal, Oscar

　　P: Patricia, Paul

　　Q: Queen*, Quentin*

　　R: Ruth, Robert

　　S: Shirley, Stanley

　　T: Thelma, Thomas

　　U: Una*, Ulysses*

　　V: Virginia, Vernon

　　W: Wilma, William

　　X: Xenia**, Xavier**

　　Y: Yvonne*, Yoshio*

　　Z: Zelma*, Zane*

　　

Top 1950s Names: Anthony to Zelda

Midcentury, and consonants rule the roost! It’s not only the high-value Scrabble letters, like X and Y, which lack representatives in the 1950s Top 200: O names have also fallen out of favor, and top I boy name Ira ranks all the way down at #271 across the decade.

　　And Xenia, the most popular X girls’ name of the fifties, was anything but: given to fewer than 100 babies throughout the whole decade.

　　A: Ann, Anthony

　　B: Barbara, Bruce

　　C: Cynthia, Charles

　　D: Deborah, David

　　E: Elizabeth, Edward

　　F: Frances, Frank

　　G: Gloria, Gary

　　H: Helen, Henry

　　I: Irene, Ira*

　　J: Janet, James

　　K: Karen, Kenneth

　　L: Linda, Larry

　　M: Mary, Michael

　　N: Nancy, Norman

　　O: Olivia*, Oscar*

　　P: Patricia, Paul

　　Q: Queen*, Quentin*

　　R: Rebecca, Robert

　　S: Susan, Steven

　　T: Teresa, Thomas

　　U: Ursula*, Ulysses*

　　V: Vicki, Vincent

　　W: Wanda, William

　　X: Xenia**, Xavier*

　　Y: Yvonne, Ysidro**

　　Z: Zelda*, Zachary*

　　

Top 1980s Names: Amanda to Zachary

Always the most popular male initial, J names for boys hit their historic peak in the 1980s, with Joshua, James, John, Joseph, Jason, Justin and Jonathan all in that decade’s Top 20. Not to mention the fact that Jessica and Jennifer also took the two top spots for girls!

　　Further down the list, it’s interesting to see an increasing international influence in the eighties’ top names by letter: like Ian, Felicia, Luis, Quiana, Xiomara, Xavier, Yolanda and Yosef.

　　A: Amanda, Andrew

　　B: Brittany, Brian

　　C: Christina, Christopher

　　D: Danielle, David

　　E: Elizabeth, Eric

　　F: Felicia, Frank

　　G: Gina, Gregory

　　H: Heather, Henry

　　I: Irene*, Ian

　　J: Jessica, Joshua

　　K: Kimberly, Kevin

　　L: Lauren, Luis

　　M: Melissa, Michael

　　N: Nicole, Nicholas

　　O: Olivia, Oscar

　　P: Patricia, Patrick

　　Q: Quiana**, Quentin*

　　R: Rachel, Robert

　　S: Sarah, Steven

　　T: Tiffany, Thomas

　　U: Ursula**, Ulysses*

　　V: Vanessa, Victor

　　W: Whitney, William

　　X: Xiomara**, Xavier*

　　Y: Yolanda*, Yosef**

　　Z: Zoe*, Zachary

　　

Top Names of the 2010s: Alexander to Zoey

In sharp contrast to the trends of the 1950s, vowel initials are now red-hot – especially for girls (and especially A girls’ names). But we’re still waiting for U to catch on. Ironically enough, the most popular U girl name of the last decade was… Unique. Yeah.

　　The modern love of all things “unique” means that Q, Y, Z and even X initials are now relatively mainstream. Yahir is the lowest-ranking of these top picks – in the 500s for boys during the 2010s.

　　A: Ava, Alexander

　　B: Brooklyn, Benjamin

　　C: Charlotte, Christopher

　　D: Delilah, Daniel

　　E: Emma, Ethan

　　F: Faith, Finn*

　　G: Grace, Gabriel

　　H: Harper, Henry

　　I: Isabella, Isaac

　　J: Julia, Jacob

　　K: Kaylee, Kevin

　　L: Lily, Liam

　　M: Mia, Mason

　　N: Natalie, Noah

　　O: Olivia, Oliver

　　P: Penelope, Parker

　　Q: Quinn, Quinn*

　　R: Riley, Ryan

　　S: Sophia, Samuel

　　T: Taylor, Thomas

　　U: Unique**, Uriel*

　　V: Victoria, Vincent

　　W: Willow, William

　　X: Ximena, Xavier

　　Y: Yaretzi*, Yahir*

　　Z: Zoey, Zachary

　　See the current top baby names by letter on the Baby Names A-Z page.

　　Or access all our alphabetical name search tools here.

　　

About the Author

　　

Emma Waterhouse

　　Emma Waterhouse joined the team in 2017, writing about everything from the top baby name trends 2023 to how not to choose the next big baby name. As Nameberry's head moderator, she also helps to keep our active forums community ticking.

　　Emma's articles on names and naming trends have been featured in publications including the Huffington Post, People, Today's Parent, Fatherly, and Good Housekeeping.

　　A linguist by background, Emma speaks several languages and lives in England's smallest county with her husband and four young children. You can reach her at [email protected].

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