Popular names of 1903, and how old they are now

People born in 1903 turn 123 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 380,000 births in 1903 under names it lists, and by our estimate fewer than 100 of them are still alive.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and John for boys. Babies born that year belong to the Greatest Generation.

Top girl names of 1903

Most popular girl names of 1903
#	Name	Born 1903	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	14,275	66
2	Helen	6,129	66
3	Anna	5,098	39
4	Margaret	5,045	61
5	Ruth	4,517	62
6	Elizabeth	3,724	44
7	Marie	3,469	62
8	Florence	3,468	66
9	Ethel	3,257	76
10	Mildred	3,088	74
11	Dorothy	3,078	72
12	Alice	2,996	53
13	Lillian	2,972	29
14	Gladys	2,674	68
15	Edna	2,667	70
16	Grace	2,616	27
17	Annie	2,551	54
18	Rose	2,478	56
19	Frances	2,365	67
20	Clara	2,342	36
21	Bessie	2,339	74
22	Bertha	2,309	69
23	Emma	2,308	20
24	Gertrude	2,253	76
25	Mabel	2,163	34
26	Hazel	2,139	27
27	Pearl	2,046	51
28	Irene	2,001	61
29	Martha	1,980	66
30	Myrtle	1,980	79
31	Louise	1,935	69
32	Catherine	1,916	54
33	Edith	1,901	57
34	Esther	1,883	42
35	Minnie	1,846	72
36	Eva	1,783	36
37	Ida	1,774	65
38	Elsie	1,720	41
39	Agnes	1,616	64
40	Josephine	1,587	39
41	Sarah	1,553	39
42	Ruby	1,538	39
43	Laura	1,503	51
44	Viola	1,495	61
45	Nellie	1,491	58
46	Lillie	1,485	54
47	Thelma	1,479	74
48	Julia	1,447	38
49	Beatrice	1,439	56
50	Ella	1,419	22

Top boy names of 1903

Most popular boy names of 1903
#	Name	Born 1903	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	7,608	55
2	William	6,311	51
3	James	5,479	54
4	George	3,961	57
5	Charles	3,213	54
6	Joseph	3,121	45
7	Robert	3,044	58
8	Frank	2,644	59
9	Edward	2,268	56
10	Thomas	1,962	53
11	Henry	1,922	34
12	Walter	1,840	58
13	Harry	1,647	62
14	Willie	1,454	64
15	Arthur	1,435	54
16	Albert	1,337	57
17	Clarence	1,261	62
18	Fred	1,204	67
19	Paul	1,081	57
20	Harold	1,065	66
21	Raymond	1,051	56
22	Roy	975	60
23	Carl	910	60
24	Joe	895	61
25	Louis	889	52
26	Richard	862	60
27	Earl	837	64
28	Jack	831	34
29	Ralph	807	65
30	Ernest	764	61
31	Samuel	741	32
32	Charlie	739	31
33	David	716	52
34	Herbert	668	65
35	Francis	665	57
36	Theodore	663	29
37	Howard	636	65
38	Leo	636	24
39	Alfred	557	60
40	Elmer	556	56
41	Sam	552	47
42	Andrew	550	36
43	Lawrence	536	60
44	Eugene	478	63
45	Lee	477	57
46	Floyd	472	64
47	Michael	466	49
48	Herman	449	63
49	Leonard	448	60
50	Daniel	432	42

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1903, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of them are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables for people born in 1903. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1903 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this