This list combines 1,553 spelling variations into 1,008 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1897 is Mary, given to 13,489 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Catherine has the most spelling variations with 10 different spellings, while Selena has the highest confusion index at 74.5%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Janet showed the biggest improvement, moving up 109 positions from 271 to 162, while Addie had the largest drop, falling 12 positions from 146 to 158.

Looking at trends, Thelma shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1895–1897 are 1019.33% higher compared to 1888–1897), while Grover shows the steepest decline (77.88% lower). Compared to 1896, Dewey had the largest rank improvement, moving up 93 positions to rank #267, while Brian fell 42 positions to rank #321.