The terms "nursery rhyme" and "children's song" emerged in the 1820s, although this type of children's literature previously existed with different names such as Tommy Thumb Songs and Mother Goose Songs.
[2] The works of several scholars and collectors helped document and preserve these oral traditions as well as their histories.
These include Iona and Peter Opie, Joseph Ritson, James Orchard Halliwell, and Sir Walter Scott.
[3] While there are "nursery rhymes" which are called "children's songs", not every children's song is referred to as a nursery rhyme (example: Puff, the Magic Dragon, and Baby Shark).
This list is limited to songs which are known as nursery rhymes through reliable sources.