Popular names of 1908, and how old they are now

People born in 1908 turn 118 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 490,000 births in 1908 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 1908

Most popular girl names of 1908
#	Name	Born 1908	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	18,665	66
2	Helen	8,439	66
3	Margaret	6,976	61
4	Ruth	6,180	62
5	Anna	5,860	39
6	Dorothy	5,703	72
7	Elizabeth	4,904	44
8	Mildred	4,624	74
9	Alice	4,270	53
10	Marie	4,076	62
11	Florence	3,883	66
12	Ethel	3,786	76
13	Lillian	3,634	29
14	Frances	3,593	67
15	Gladys	3,580	68
16	Rose	3,382	56
17	Edna	3,365	70
18	Louise	2,937	69
19	Grace	2,901	27
20	Evelyn	2,857	34
21	Annie	2,820	54
22	Catherine	2,750	54
23	Irene	2,732	61
24	Hazel	2,698	27
25	Gertrude	2,562	76
26	Thelma	2,526	74
27	Edith	2,410	57
28	Josephine	2,389	39
29	Bertha	2,384	69
30	Emma	2,357	20
31	Clara	2,352	36
32	Martha	2,324	66
33	Ruby	2,229	39
34	Bessie	2,201	74
35	Virginia	2,195	66
36	Esther	2,187	42
37	Mabel	2,096	34
38	Lucille	2,080	52
39	Pearl	2,075	51
40	Beatrice	1,997	56
41	Elsie	1,983	41
42	Viola	1,964	61
43	Ida	1,952	65
44	Myrtle	1,952	79
45	Agnes	1,934	64
46	Eva	1,930	36
47	Minnie	1,817	72
48	Sarah	1,814	39
49	Nellie	1,757	58
50	Julia	1,749	38

Top boy names of 1908

Most popular boy names of 1908
#	Name	Born 1908	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	9,343	55
2	William	7,529	51
3	James	7,012	54
4	George	4,584	57
5	Robert	4,219	58
6	Joseph	4,162	45
7	Charles	3,929	54
8	Frank	3,146	59
9	Edward	2,707	56
10	Thomas	2,301	53
11	Henry	2,283	34
12	Walter	2,192	58
13	Willie	1,964	64
14	Harry	1,934	62
15	Albert	1,642	57
16	Arthur	1,601	54
17	Harold	1,542	66
18	Paul	1,478	57
19	Clarence	1,428	62
20	Fred	1,381	67
21	Raymond	1,381	56
22	Louis	1,317	52
23	Richard	1,244	60
24	Joe	1,209	61
25	Ralph	1,138	65
26	Roy	1,097	60
27	Jack	1,086	34
28	Howard	1,078	65
29	Carl	1,074	60
30	David	1,015	52
31	Ernest	1,000	61
32	Earl	999	64
33	Samuel	960	32
34	Francis	853	57
35	Lawrence	815	60
36	Herbert	759	65
37	Charlie	740	31
38	Alfred	739	60
39	Andrew	722	36
40	Kenneth	692	57
41	Anthony	690	40
42	Elmer	689	56
43	Eugene	689	63
44	Michael	688	49
45	Donald	664	64
46	Sam	644	47
47	Theodore	643	29
48	Leonard	614	60
49	Leo	584	24
50	Herman	562	63

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1908, 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 1908. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1908 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this