Popular names of 1906, and how old they are now

People born in 1906 turn 120 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 430,000 births in 1906 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 1906

Most popular girl names of 1906
#	Name	Born 1906	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	16,370	66
2	Helen	7,176	66
3	Margaret	6,096	61
4	Anna	5,502	39
5	Ruth	5,140	62
6	Dorothy	4,326	72
7	Elizabeth	4,320	44
8	Alice	4,192	53
9	Mildred	3,873	74
10	Florence	3,691	66
11	Marie	3,690	62
12	Ethel	3,511	76
13	Lillian	3,293	29
14	Frances	3,026	67
15	Edna	3,011	70
16	Gladys	3,000	68
17	Rose	2,901	56
18	Annie	2,774	54
19	Grace	2,626	27
20	Irene	2,423	61
21	Bessie	2,396	74
22	Gertrude	2,375	76
23	Hazel	2,315	27
24	Louise	2,307	69
25	Bertha	2,302	69
26	Catherine	2,230	54
27	Clara	2,228	36
28	Emma	2,224	20
29	Martha	2,199	66
30	Edith	2,160	57
31	Thelma	2,114	74
32	Evelyn	2,077	34
33	Esther	2,065	42
34	Mabel	2,054	34
35	Pearl	2,035	51
36	Ruby	1,962	39
37	Myrtle	1,921	79
38	Josephine	1,900	39
39	Minnie	1,777	72
40	Elsie	1,771	41
41	Agnes	1,758	64
42	Eva	1,758	36
43	Ida	1,753	65
44	Sarah	1,697	39
45	Beatrice	1,679	56
46	Lucille	1,676	52
47	Viola	1,675	61
48	Julia	1,603	38
49	Nellie	1,596	58
50	Lillie	1,500	54

Top boy names of 1906

Most popular boy names of 1906
#	Name	Born 1906	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	8,264	55
2	William	6,566	51
3	James	5,908	54
4	George	4,201	57
5	Robert	3,635	58
6	Charles	3,607	54
7	Joseph	3,527	45
8	Frank	2,798	59
9	Edward	2,398	56
10	Thomas	2,176	53
11	Henry	2,112	34
12	Walter	1,934	58
13	Willie	1,756	64
14	Harry	1,631	62
15	Arthur	1,486	54
16	Albert	1,469	57
17	Harold	1,330	66
18	Clarence	1,319	62
19	Paul	1,308	57
20	Fred	1,193	67
21	Raymond	1,133	56
22	Louis	1,101	52
23	Richard	1,084	60
24	Roy	1,024	60
25	Joe	1,020	61
26	Ralph	984	65
27	Carl	951	60
28	Ernest	943	61
29	Earl	912	64
30	Jack	880	34
31	David	878	52
32	Howard	803	65
33	Samuel	783	32
34	Charlie	744	31
35	Francis	737	57
36	Lawrence	717	60
37	Herbert	689	65
38	Theodore	688	29
39	Eugene	637	63
40	Alfred	632	60
41	Andrew	611	36
42	Elmer	598	56
43	Sam	552	47
44	Anthony	542	40
45	Kenneth	534	57
46	Michael	531	49
47	Leo	508	24
48	Daniel	506	42
49	Herman	502	63
50	Leonard	492	60

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1906, 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 1906. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1906 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this