Timeless Names: 50 Names That Never Went Out of Style

A timeless name has no single era. These names have been given steadily for generations, so you'll meet people with them at every age. Half of all living people named James are between 40 and 71.

They're the hardest names to guess an age from, and the safest choice if you want a name that won't date a child.

Timeless Names: 50 Names That Never Went Out of Style
#	Name	Middle half aged	Peak year	Alive	Average age
1	James	40–71	1947	2.88M	54
2	Joseph	29–62	1956	1.66M	45
3	Daniel	27–57	1985	1.61M	42
4	Thomas	37–70	1952	1.43M	53
5	Anthony	24–56	1990	1.2M	40
6	Elizabeth	28–62	1990	1.13M	44
7	Patrick	34–61	1964	546K	47
8	Jose	21–46	2002	515K	34
9	Katherine	28–58	1990	478K	43
10	Victoria	19–46	1993	464K	34
11	Maria	28–61	1964	463K	45
12	Peter	36–67	1957	384K	51
13	Henry	9–63	2025	380K	34
14	Bryan	26–52	1985	353K	39
15	Juan	20–46	2005	322K	34
16	Julia	21–56	2001	311K	38
17	Diana	34–69	1957	306K	52
18	Carlos	20–46	2001	273K	33
19	Vincent	19–60	1962	257K	39
20	Melanie	21–54	1972	246K	39
21	Valerie	30–65	1959	240K	47
22	Victor	22–59	1990	236K	40
23	Joel	23–56	1985	233K	40
24	Antonio	20–46	1997	228K	34
25	Russell	44–69	1960	203K	55

Timeless Names: 50 Names That Never Went Out of Style, continued
#	Name	Middle half aged	Peak year	Alive	Average age
26	Lillian	11–41	1920	203K	29
27	Arthur	37–74	1921	201K	54
28	Martin	32–67	1963	197K	49
29	Veronica	32–57	1980	184K	45
30	Ruby	11–71	1924	153K	39
31	Calvin	16–64	1924	146K	40
32	Oscar	17–44	2006	140K	33
33	Eva	12–62	1918	135K	36
34	Manuel	22–55	2005	133K	40
35	Ricardo	22–48	1998	132K	36
36	Sylvia	47–75	1937	129K	59
37	Mario	23–50	1980	129K	37
38	Edwin	23–66	1922	128K	44
39	Francisco	20–45	1993	123K	33
40	Andre	22–52	1970	120K	37
41	Charlie	7–58	2025	116K	31
42	Carmen	29–65	1961	115K	47
43	Hazel	5–54	1918	107K	27
44	Joy	39–69	1957	105K	52
45	Clayton	20–48	2000	104K	35
46	Joanna	22–50	1984	98.1K	37
47	Roberto	23–50	1991	97K	38
48	Hector	20–47	2005	96.1K	34
49	Edgar	20–46	2005	93.4K	35
50	Ruben	24–56	1992	92.4K	40

How this list works

Names classed as steady (no single 15-year stretch holds a third of their babies, and still given today) whose middle half of living people spans 25 years or more, with 30,000+ alive, ranked by number alive. Ages are estimates for people alive in 2026, from Social Security baby-name records and SSA life tables. How we calculate this

How this list works

More lists