Birth certificates issued by the Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics in 1908 are now online and freely available to the public. The searchable index and digital images may be accessed from archives.utah.gov/research/indexes/81443.htm.

Photo: State Library Queensland

And that means it’s time to see the most popular baby names that were given in 1908 (see 1905, 1906, and 1907).

All girl names with larger sizes for most popular.

Girls

1. Mary
2. Ruth
3. Helen
4. Alice
5. Margaret
6. Edna
7. Florence
8. Thelma
9. Dorothy
10. Grace

All boy names with larger sizes for most popular.

Boys

1. John
2. William
3. George
4. James
5. Joseph
6. Charles
7. Robert
8. Thomas
9. Harold
10. Arthur

Also, it is interesting to consider the names of the mothers and fathers bestowing these names. Many seem similar, though the popularity shifts over generations. Perhaps reflecting that the parents could have been born in a range of years, the variety of names is larger and the most popular are much more popular (for example, 844 for mothers named Mary compared to 183 daughters).

Mothers of babies born in 1908

1. Mary
2. Alice
3. Margaret
4. Florence
5. Anna
6. Sarah
7. Edith
8. Elizabeth
9. Annie
10. Emma

Fathers of babies born in 1908

1. John
2. William
3. Joseph
4. James
5. George
6. Charles
7. Thomas
8. Frank
9. Henry
10. David