Popular names of 1909, and how old they are now

People born in 1909 turn 117 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 510,000 births in 1909 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 1909

Most popular girl names of 1909
#	Name	Born 1909	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	19,259	66
2	Helen	9,250	66
3	Margaret	7,358	61
4	Ruth	6,509	62
5	Dorothy	6,253	72
6	Anna	5,804	39
7	Elizabeth	5,176	44
8	Mildred	5,054	74
9	Marie	4,301	62
10	Alice	4,170	53
11	Florence	3,789	66
12	Frances	3,780	67
13	Ethel	3,661	76
14	Lillian	3,596	29
15	Gladys	3,538	68
16	Edna	3,429	70
17	Rose	3,374	56
18	Evelyn	3,157	34
19	Louise	3,019	69
20	Irene	2,961	61
21	Grace	2,912	27
22	Annie	2,904	54
23	Catherine	2,897	54
24	Hazel	2,708	27
25	Gertrude	2,622	76
26	Thelma	2,612	74
27	Ruby	2,524	39
28	Martha	2,510	66
29	Bertha	2,444	69
30	Virginia	2,420	66
31	Josephine	2,416	39
32	Clara	2,403	36
33	Edith	2,371	57
34	Emma	2,338	20
35	Bessie	2,276	74
36	Lucille	2,192	52
37	Esther	2,185	42
38	Beatrice	2,105	56
39	Elsie	2,064	41
40	Pearl	2,048	51
41	Mabel	2,007	34
42	Agnes	1,974	64
43	Myrtle	1,950	79
44	Ida	1,943	65
45	Julia	1,931	38
46	Viola	1,926	61
47	Eva	1,896	36
48	Pauline	1,896	69
49	Sarah	1,845	39
50	Minnie	1,779	72

Top boy names of 1909

Most popular boy names of 1909
#	Name	Born 1909	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	9,590	55
2	William	7,913	51
3	James	7,595	54
4	George	4,688	57
5	Robert	4,563	58
6	Joseph	4,348	45
7	Charles	4,029	54
8	Frank	3,244	59
9	Edward	2,935	56
10	Thomas	2,468	53
11	Henry	2,411	34
12	Walter	2,287	58
13	Willie	2,175	64
14	Harry	1,924	62
15	Albert	1,816	57
16	Harold	1,725	66
17	Paul	1,676	57
18	Arthur	1,665	54
19	Clarence	1,518	62
20	Raymond	1,441	56
21	Richard	1,427	60
22	Fred	1,355	67
23	Joe	1,292	61
24	Louis	1,231	52
25	Carl	1,215	60
26	Howard	1,166	65
27	Jack	1,150	34
28	Roy	1,135	60
29	David	1,094	52
30	Ralph	1,091	65
31	Earl	1,007	64
32	Samuel	983	32
33	Francis	886	57
34	Ernest	885	61
35	Lawrence	854	60
36	Charlie	833	31
37	Herbert	831	65
38	Andrew	766	36
39	Alfred	763	60
40	Anthony	758	40
41	Kenneth	746	57
42	Donald	725	64
43	Eugene	724	63
44	Sam	700	47
45	Elmer	687	56
46	Leonard	665	60
47	Michael	635	49
48	Herman	618	63
49	Leo	609	24
50	Stanley	607	62

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1909, 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 1909. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1909 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this