Popular 1900s names, and how old they are now

Babies born in the 1900s are 117 to 126 years old in 2026. Social Security recorded about 4.3 million of them under names it lists, and by our estimate 0% are still alive: about 0 people.

The decade's top names were Mary for girls and John for boys. Of the top ten for each, 14 still go to at least 1,000 babies a year.

Top 1900s girl names

Most popular girl names of the 1900s
#	Name	Born 1900s	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	161,504	under 100	66
2	Helen	69,428	under 100	66
3	Margaret	57,919	under 100	61
4	Anna	54,918	under 100	39
5	Ruth	51,010	under 100	62
6	Elizabeth	41,708	under 100	44
7	Dorothy	39,112	under 100	72
8	Marie	37,091	under 100	62
9	Florence	36,191	under 100	66
10	Mildred	36,173	under 100	74
11	Alice	35,232	under 100	53
12	Ethel	34,868	under 100	76
13	Lillian	32,519	under 100	29
14	Gladys	30,285	under 100	68
15	Edna	29,832	under 100	70
16	Frances	28,499	under 100	67
17	Rose	28,106	under 100	56
18	Annie	27,748	under 100	54
19	Grace	26,927	under 100	27
20	Bertha	24,247	under 100	69
21	Emma	24,176	under 100	20
22	Bessie	23,984	under 100	74
23	Clara	23,899	under 100	36
24	Hazel	23,802	under 100	27
25	Irene	23,656	under 100	61
26	Gertrude	23,607	under 100	76
27	Louise	22,862	under 100	69
28	Catherine	22,006	under 100	54
29	Martha	21,750	under 100	66
30	Mabel	21,625	under 100	34
31	Pearl	20,913	under 100	51
32	Edith	20,884	under 100	57
33	Esther	20,026	under 100	42
34	Minnie	19,715	under 100	72
35	Myrtle	19,691	under 100	79
36	Ida	18,866	under 100	65
37	Josephine	18,785	under 100	39
38	Evelyn	18,603	under 100	34
39	Elsie	18,452	under 100	41
40	Eva	18,357	under 100	36
41	Thelma	18,265	under 100	74
42	Ruby	18,175	under 100	39
43	Agnes	17,616	under 100	64
44	Sarah	17,342	under 100	39
45	Viola	16,559	under 100	61
46	Nellie	16,339	under 100	58
47	Beatrice	16,282	under 100	56
48	Julia	16,107	under 100	38
49	Laura	15,532	under 100	51
50	Lillie	15,391	under 100	54

Top 1900s boy names

Most popular boy names of the 1900s
#	Name	Born 1900s	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	84,590	under 100	55
2	William	69,320	under 100	51
3	James	62,170	under 100	54
4	George	43,589	under 100	57
5	Charles	36,184	under 100	54
6	Robert	35,849	under 100	58
7	Joseph	35,173	under 100	45
8	Frank	29,046	under 100	59
9	Edward	24,516	under 100	56
10	Thomas	21,783	under 100	53
11	Henry	21,772	under 100	34
12	Walter	19,997	under 100	58
13	Harry	17,906	under 100	62
14	Willie	17,746	under 100	64
15	Arthur	15,409	under 100	54
16	Albert	15,318	under 100	57
17	Clarence	13,573	under 100	62
18	Fred	13,076	under 100	67
19	Harold	12,795	under 100	66
20	Paul	12,636	under 100	57
21	Raymond	11,650	under 100	56
22	Richard	10,675	under 100	60
23	Roy	10,632	under 100	60
24	Joe	10,466	under 100	61
25	Louis	10,372	under 100	52
26	Carl	9,865	under 100	60
27	Ralph	9,298	under 100	65
28	Earl	9,251	under 100	64
29	Jack	9,222	under 100	34
30	Ernest	8,657	under 100	61
31	David	8,619	under 100	52
32	Samuel	8,149	under 100	32
33	Howard	8,014	under 100	65
34	Charlie	7,928	under 100	31
35	Francis	7,021	under 100	57
36	Herbert	6,957	under 100	65
37	Lawrence	6,846	under 100	60
38	Theodore	6,490	under 100	29
39	Alfred	6,356	under 100	60
40	Andrew	6,277	under 100	36
41	Sam	6,161	under 100	47
42	Elmer	6,161	under 100	56
43	Eugene	5,909	under 100	63
44	Leo	5,629	under 100	24
45	Michael	5,220	under 100	49
46	Lee	5,158	under 100	57
47	Herman	5,064	under 100	63
48	Anthony	5,043	under 100	40
49	Daniel	5,036	under 100	42
50	Leonard	5,022	under 100	60

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in the 1900s, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of those babies are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1900s babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this