Popular names of 1912, and how old they are now

People born in 1912 turn 114 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 990,000 births in 1912 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 1912

Most popular girl names of 1912
#	Name	Born 1912	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	32,304	66
2	Helen	16,133	66
3	Dorothy	12,645	72
4	Margaret	12,536	61
5	Ruth	11,280	62
6	Mildred	8,764	74
7	Anna	8,586	39
8	Elizabeth	8,527	44
9	Frances	6,680	67
10	Marie	6,642	62
11	Alice	6,285	53
12	Florence	5,739	66
13	Evelyn	5,620	34
14	Lillian	5,568	29
15	Rose	5,431	56
16	Edna	5,136	70
17	Louise	5,116	69
18	Ethel	5,073	76
19	Gladys	4,980	68
20	Virginia	4,810	66
21	Catherine	4,666	54
22	Irene	4,646	61
23	Ruby	4,452	39
24	Grace	4,418	27
25	Hazel	4,197	27
26	Thelma	4,183	74
27	Annie	4,083	54
28	Josephine	3,980	39
29	Martha	3,911	66
30	Gertrude	3,887	76
31	Edith	3,842	57
32	Lucille	3,763	52
33	Esther	3,569	42
34	Clara	3,480	36
35	Emma	3,357	20
36	Bertha	3,288	69
37	Beatrice	3,205	56
38	Pauline	3,163	69
39	Eleanor	3,120	30
40	Agnes	2,945	64
41	Sarah	2,919	39
42	Elsie	2,895	41
43	Bessie	2,832	74
44	Julia	2,825	38
45	Ida	2,740	65
46	Mabel	2,714	34
47	Ann	2,666	65
48	Doris	2,657	75
49	Eva	2,636	36
50	Myrtle	2,599	79

Top boy names of 1912

Most popular boy names of 1912
#	Name	Born 1912	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	24,588	55
2	William	19,626	51
3	James	17,644	54
4	Robert	12,836	58
5	Joseph	12,062	45
6	George	11,734	57
7	Charles	11,070	54
8	Edward	7,936	56
9	Frank	7,912	59
10	Thomas	6,087	53
11	Walter	5,809	58
12	Henry	5,643	34
13	Harold	5,102	66
14	Paul	4,785	57
15	Arthur	4,685	54
16	Harry	4,624	62
17	Albert	4,587	57
18	Raymond	4,374	56
19	Richard	4,188	60
20	Louis	3,591	52
21	Clarence	3,590	62
22	Willie	3,508	64
23	Ralph	3,435	65
24	Carl	3,224	60
25	Howard	3,212	65
26	Fred	3,103	67
27	Donald	2,872	64
28	Jack	2,870	34
29	David	2,858	52
30	Samuel	2,602	32
31	Roy	2,591	60
32	Ernest	2,569	61
33	Kenneth	2,538	57
34	Earl	2,518	64
35	Francis	2,516	57
36	Joe	2,515	61
37	Anthony	2,480	40
38	Lawrence	2,467	60
39	Herbert	2,236	65
40	Alfred	2,210	60
41	Eugene	2,114	63
42	Michael	2,104	49
43	Stanley	2,017	62
44	Andrew	1,946	36
45	Leonard	1,928	60
46	Woodrow	1,843	57
47	Elmer	1,840	56
48	Peter	1,679	51
49	Leo	1,654	24
50	Herman	1,646	63

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1912, 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 1912. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1912 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this