Old Lady Names: 50 Classic Girl Names With the Oldest Average Age
Call them old lady names or call them classics: these girl names belong mostly to women in their seventies and eighties. The typical Betty is 76, and every name here averages 68 or older.
Most of them peaked between 1920 and 1953, and few babies get them today. A handful, like the ones on our vintage list, are showing up on birth certificates again, which will pull their average age down over the next decade.
| # | Name | Average age | Peak year | Alive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Betty | 76 | 1930 | 311K |
| 2 | Ethel | 76 | 1918 | 34.6K |
| 3 | Patsy | 75 | 1941 | 58.4K |
| 4 | Carole | 75 | 1942 | 60.5K |
| 5 | Wilma | 75 | 1925 | 35.6K |
| 6 | Shirley | 75 | 1935 | 295K |
| 7 | Lois | 75 | 1927 | 97K |
| 8 | Doris | 75 | 1928 | 120K |
| 9 | Phyllis | 74 | 1947 | 134K |
| 10 | Mildred | 74 | 1920 | 59.6K |
| 11 | Dolores | 74 | 1930 | 64.8K |
| 12 | Delores | 74 | 1932 | 51.1K |
| 13 | Thelma | 74 | 1921 | 38.3K |
| 14 | Joan | 73 | 1932 | 220K |
| 15 | Dorothy | 72 | 1924 | 240K |
| 16 | Geraldine | 72 | 1930 | 74K |
| 17 | Margie | 72 | 1925 | 39.1K |
| 18 | Judith | 72 | 1943 | 284K |
| 19 | Barbara | 72 | 1947 | 798K |
| 20 | Carol | 72 | 1946 | 511K |
| 21 | Judy | 72 | 1947 | 259K |
| 22 | Joyce | 72 | 1942 | 271K |
| 23 | Peggy | 71 | 1958 | 167K |
| 24 | Jo | 71 | 1954 | 112K |
| 25 | Sue | 71 | 1947 | 84K |
| # | Name | Average age | Peak year | Alive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Kay | 71 | 1942 | 60K |
| 27 | Gail | 71 | 1951 | 143K |
| 28 | Beverly | 70 | 1953 | 215K |
| 29 | Linda | 70 | 1947 | 1.06M |
| 30 | Bernice | 70 | 1921 | 37K |
| 31 | Gayle | 70 | 1951 | 43.9K |
| 32 | Janis | 70 | 1947 | 32.8K |
| 33 | Janice | 70 | 1951 | 267K |
| 34 | Edna | 70 | 1918 | 50.4K |
| 35 | Dianne | 69 | 1947 | 68.7K |
| 36 | Wanda | 69 | 1957 | 155K |
| 37 | Bertha | 69 | 1918 | 34.6K |
| 38 | Roberta | 69 | 1953 | 90.2K |
| 39 | Glenda | 69 | 1950 | 74.9K |
| 40 | Jean | 69 | 1927 | 190K |
| 41 | Louise | 69 | 1920 | 75.3K |
| 42 | Pauline | 69 | 1918 | 49.3K |
| 43 | Marilyn | 69 | 1947 | 197K |
| 44 | Marjorie | 69 | 1921 | 68.5K |
| 45 | Norma | 69 | 1931 | 105K |
| 46 | Patricia | 68 | 1951 | 1.01M |
| 47 | Bonita | 68 | 1950 | 25.2K |
| 48 | Marcia | 68 | 1951 | 88.4K |
| 49 | Jeanne | 68 | 1947 | 84.8K |
| 50 | Diane | 68 | 1955 | 387K |
How this list works
Girl names (at least 70% of living people with the name are women) with 20,000+ estimated alive, ranked by average age. Ages are estimates for people alive in 2026, from Social Security baby-name records and SSA life tables. How we calculate this