Below are the compiled rankings for the most popular births in England and Wales in 1840 from the England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915. As the birth index runs from 1838, this is the last rankings of the series. You can see the complete set from 1840-1900 here.
Spelling Variants
One thing that sets 1840 apart from later years is the sheer number of spelling variations.
Let's take my own name, Eleanor, for example. Back in 1870 (and 1880, 1890 etc), only Eleanor ranked in the top 200, with alternate spellings ranking below. In 1840, however, the top 200 contained Eleanor, Elinor, Ellinor, Elenor and Ellenor.
The main reason for the wider number of spelling variants is that spelling was less standardised back in 1840. it was also often regional. Ellinor and Ellin, for example, were almost exclusively registered in Wales.
To remain consistent with the previous rankings from 1850-1900, the rank below lists individual spellings separately. Part 2, will show combined spellings.
Popular Culture Names in 1840
With the exception of 1900, during the Boer War, when patriot names were popular, Victoria rarely ranked in the top 100. It was below the top 150 in 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1890.
However, 1840 was the year of Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. So the names Victoria and Albert were in popular use, and even Alexandrina, Albertina and Brittania saw rises below the top 200.
Many boys in 1840 were given the first or middle name Feargus (or Fergus) in honour of Chartist Feargus O'Connor.
A lot of boys and girls had "Feargus O'Connor" as middle names (e.g. Jane Fergus O'Connor Mellard) and several boys were simply called "Feargus O'Connor." Surnames of Chartists appear to have been popularly used as middle names in this year -- Frost, Binns, Williams -- and often several together e.g. Rosa Emmett O'Connor Frost Wadworth and O'Connor Frost McDougall Dawson.
Issues and Discounted Names
It should be noted that the data is not without its flaws. Births were originally recorded by a registrar (in their own handwriting) which were later written up into the register. Some names are invariably recorded incorrectly and it is impossible to know where the mistake was made. Also, I have been compiling the ranks myself, and while I have endeavoured to record the number of names as accurately as possible I am also liable to human error. This, however, should not affect the rankings very much overall.
The register also doesn't record sex so it can be hard to determine how many were male or female -- especially surnames or seasonal names like Christmas, Easter and Valentine. Jesse is a male Biblical name, but was also sometimes a spelling variant/mistake for female Jessie. Tamer can be a variant of Biblical Tamar, but the census also has a few males with the name. As a guide, I looked to census records for the distribution of gender.
Many babies in 1840 were registered simply as "Male" or "Female." Perhaps it was to avoid a fine, or because of high infant mortality rates. Either way, I have not included these 'names' in the rankings.
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The Top 200 names in England and Wales in 1840:
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| 126 |
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| 131 |
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| 136 |
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| 141 |
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| 146 |
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| 156 |
| 157 |
| 157 |
| 157 |
| 157 |
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| 162 |
| 163 |
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| 166 |
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| 175 |
| 176 |
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| 180 |
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| 183 |
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| 186 |
| 186 |
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| 189 |
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| 196 |
| 197 |
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| 197 |
| 197 |
| 197 |
| 197 |
| 197 |
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| William |
| John |
| Thomas |
| James |
| George |
| Henry |
| Joseph |
| Charles |
| Robert |
| Edward |
| Richard |
| Samuel |
| Alfred |
| David |
| Frederick |
| Edwin |
| Benjamin |
| Albert |
| Francis |
| Daniel |
| Isaac |
| Walter |
| Peter |
| Arthur |
| Stephen |
| Matthew |
| Edmund |
| Abraham |
| Jonathan |
| Michael |
| Philip |
| Christopher |
| Alexander |
| Mark |
| Andrew |
| Hugh |
| Joshua |
| Evan |
| Frederic |
| Jesse |
| Josiah |
| Job |
| Jacob |
| Ralph |
| Herbert |
| Reuben |
| Owen |
| Lewis |
| Frank |
| Harry |
| Tom |
| Eli |
| Jeremiah |
| Enoch |
| Elijah |
| Amos |
| Luke |
| Timothy |
| Moses |
| Jabez |
| Cornelius |
| Anthony |
| Patrick |
| Martin |
| Nicholas |
| Nathaniel |
| Aaron |
| Ebenezer |
| Levi |
| Adam |
| Emanuel |
| Ephraim |
| Griffith |
| Noah |
| Simon |
| Jonas |
| Elias |
| Nathan |
| Oliver |
| Sidney |
| Ellis |
| Leonard |
| Morgan |
| Ambrose |
| Phillip |
| Simeon |
| Allen |
| Rees |
| Augustus |
| Roger |
| Caleb |
| Solomon |
| Mathew |
| Abel |
| Rowland |
| Isaiah |
| Sam |
| Paul |
| Lawrence |
| Dennis |
| Clement |
| Israel |
| Edgar |
| Morris |
| Elisha |
| Joel |
| Sydney |
| Edmond |
| Joe |
| Dan |
| Gilbert |
| Horatio |
| Louis |
| Theophilus |
| Miles |
| Uriah |
| Humphrey |
| Maurice |
| Sampson |
| Archibald |
| Seth |
| Feargus |
| Wilson |
| Ben |
| Jonah |
| Ezra |
| Ernest |
| Hezekiah |
| Silas |
| Giles |
| Bernard |
| Horace |
| Jenkin |
| Robinson |
| Squire |
| Bartholomew |
| Felix |
| Hiram |
| Septimus |
| Wright |
| Vincent |
| Harvey |
| Smith |
| Zachariah |
| Fergus |
| Valentine |
| Jasper |
| Johnson |
| Theodore |
| Enock |
| Laurence |
| Absalom |
| Cuthbert |
| Enos |
| Fredrick |
| Walker |
| Adolphus |
| Fred |
| Godfrey |
| Ruben |
| Watkin |
| Ezekiel |
| Allan |
| Christian |
| Nehemiah |
| Hartley |
| Austin |
| Howell |
| Lot |
| Matthias |
| Obadiah |
| Shadrach |
| Spencer |
| Titus |
| Julius |
| Emmanuel |
| Harrison |
| Reginald |
| Zechariah |
| Donald |
| Lionel |
| Percy |
| Esau |
| Oswald |
| Price |
| Gabriel |
| Marshall |
| Soloman |
| Watson |
| Cyrus |
| Douglas |
| Marmaduke |
| Greenwood |
| Jarvis |
| Llewellyn |
| Samson |
| Hubert |
| Abram |
| Arnold |
| Cecil |
| Ely |
| Julian |
| Llewelyn |
| Zephaniah |
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| 95 |
| 96 |
| 97 |
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| 100 |
| 100 |
| 102 |
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| 104 |
| 105 |
| 106 |
| 107 |
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| 109 |
| 110 |
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| 124 |
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| 135 |
| 136 |
| 137 |
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| 139 |
| 141 |
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| 145 |
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| 147 |
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| 155 |
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| 163 |
| 163 |
| 163 |
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| 163 |
| 168 |
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| 171 |
| 171 |
| 176 |
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| 178 |
| 178 |
| 178 |
| 181 |
| 181 |
| 181 |
| 181 |
| 181 |
| 186 |
| 186 |
| 186 |
| 186 |
| 186 |
| 186 |
| 192 |
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| 193 |
| 199 |
| 199 |
| 199 |
| 199 |
| 199 |
| 199 |
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| Mary |
| Elizabeth |
| Sarah |
| Ann |
| Jane |
| Eliza |
| Emma |
| Hannah |
| Margaret |
| Ellen |
| Martha |
| Maria |
| Harriet |
| Charlotte |
| Emily |
| Caroline |
| Alice |
| Louisa |
| Frances |
| Catherine |
| Fanny |
| Isabella |
| Anne |
| Susan |
| Rebecca |
| Susannah |
| Lucy |
| Sophia |
| Esther |
| Amelia |
| Matilda |
| Eleanor |
| Susanna |
| Harriett |
| Catharine |
| Rachel |
| Lydia |
| Julia |
| Anna |
| Agnes |
| Ruth |
| Betsy |
| Selina |
| Grace |
| Betty |
| Clara |
| Nancy |
| Harriot |
| Betsey |
| Phoebe |
| Jemima |
| Helen |
| Priscilla |
| Henrietta |
| Dorothy |
| Rhoda |
| Dinah |
| Bridget |
| Harriott |
| Rachael |
| Hester |
| Georgiana |
| Christiana |
| Phebe |
| Rose |
| Lavinia |
| Victoria |
| Rosina |
| Amy |
| Sally |
| Rosanna |
| Laura |
| Barbara |
| Ellin |
| Rosa |
| Marianne |
| Naomi |
| Rosetta |
| Leah |
| Edith |
| Mercy |
| Kate |
| Kezia |
| Diana |
| Adelaide |
| Letitia |
| Augusta |
| Deborah |
| Joanna |
| Miriam |
| Isabel |
| Nanny |
| Georgina |
| Thirza |
| Janet |
| Abigail |
| Marian |
| Johanna |
| Ada |
| Angelina |
| Cecilia |
| Elinor |
| Prudence |
| Jennet |
| Cathrine |
| Phillis |
| Celia |
| Judith |
| Patience |
| Gwenllian |
| Jessie |
| Sabina |
| Elisabeth |
| Rosannah |
| Dorcas |
| Keziah |
| Annie |
| Hellen |
| Clarissa |
| Gwen |
| Ellinor |
| Flora |
| Selena |
| Kitty |
| Olive |
| Winifred |
| Bessy |
| Agness |
| Lettice |
| Margarett |
| Arabella |
| Mahala |
| Theresa |
| Emely |
| Margery |
| Elenor |
| Bertha |
| Charity |
| Teresa |
| Hephzibah |
| Annis |
| Gertrude |
| Ellenor |
| Honor |
| Katherine |
| Lois |
| Pamela |
| Peggy |
| Tabitha |
| Emila |
| Faith |
| Eunice |
| Tryphena |
| Zillah |
| Emeline |
| Rebekah |
| Margaretta |
| Edna |
| Helena |
| Juliana |
| Marion |
| Mildred |
| Jenny |
| Jessey |
| Katharine |
| Levina |
| Penelope |
| Cordelia |
| Cicely |
| Joan |
| Adeline |
| Georgianna |
| Lowry |
| Lucretia |
| Tamar |
| Allice |
| Mira |
| Constance |
| Margeret |
| Myra |
| Honora |
| Josephine |
| Lavina |
| Millicent |
| Temperance |
| Adah |
| Bessey |
| Blanche |
| Emmeline |
| Leonora |
| Olivia |
| Cecelia |
| Euphemia |
| Hepzibah |
| Jennett |
| Milicent |
| Philippa |
| Tamer |
| Amanda |
| Annette |
| Celina |
| Florence |
| Hariet |
| Mariah |
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Statistics compiled by Eleanor Nickerson at britishbabynames.com
No unauthorised copying without credit or permission.
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