Popular names of 1915, and how old they are now

People born in 1915 turn 111 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 1.8 million births in 1915 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.

11 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1915: Mabel, Willard, Estelle, Goldie, Celia, Fay, Mollie, Jess, Belle, Anton and Catharine.

Top girl names of 1915

Most popular girl names of 1915
#	Name	Born 1915	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	58,187	66
2	Helen	30,866	66
3	Dorothy	25,154	72
4	Margaret	23,054	61
5	Ruth	21,878	62
6	Mildred	15,254	74
7	Anna	15,119	39
8	Elizabeth	14,103	44
9	Frances	12,786	67
10	Evelyn	11,595	34
11	Marie	11,363	62
12	Virginia	10,952	66
13	Alice	10,525	53
14	Florence	10,105	66
15	Lillian	9,546	29
16	Rose	9,375	56
17	Irene	8,323	61
18	Louise	8,313	69
19	Catherine	8,181	54
20	Edna	8,144	70
21	Gladys	7,857	68
22	Josephine	7,606	39
23	Ethel	7,379	76
24	Ruby	7,237	39
25	Martha	7,216	66
26	Hazel	7,092	27
27	Grace	7,044	27
28	Eleanor	7,036	30
29	Lucille	7,006	52
30	Thelma	6,762	74
31	Edith	6,761	57
32	Pauline	6,334	69
33	Esther	6,321	42
34	Doris	6,292	75
35	Gertrude	6,077	76
36	Annie	5,936	54
37	Beatrice	5,342	56
38	Clara	5,285	36
39	Marjorie	5,119	69
40	Emma	5,044	20
41	Elsie	4,967	41
42	Bernice	4,937	70
43	Ann	4,895	65
44	Julia	4,831	38
45	Agnes	4,795	64
46	Bertha	4,785	69
47	Lois	4,775	75
48	Jean	4,603	69
49	Katherine	4,488	43
50	Marion	4,456	65

Top boy names of 1915

Most popular boy names of 1915
#	Name	Born 1915	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	47,576	55
2	William	38,563	51
3	James	33,773	54
4	Robert	28,737	58
5	Joseph	23,051	45
6	George	22,307	57
7	Charles	21,960	54
8	Edward	15,889	56
9	Frank	15,006	59
10	Thomas	11,490	53
11	Walter	11,255	58
12	Harold	10,444	66
13	Paul	10,328	57
14	Henry	10,138	34
15	Richard	9,143	60
16	Raymond	8,981	56
17	Albert	8,825	57
18	Arthur	8,564	54
19	Harry	8,470	62
20	Donald	7,116	64
21	Ralph	6,816	65
22	Carl	6,613	60
23	Louis	6,518	52
24	Clarence	6,267	62
25	Howard	6,103	65
26	Fred	5,778	67
27	Jack	5,749	34
28	Kenneth	5,681	57
29	Francis	5,594	57
30	Willie	5,434	64
31	David	5,394	52
32	Roy	5,052	60
33	Earl	4,908	64
34	Stanley	4,807	62
35	Ernest	4,787	61
36	Anthony	4,722	40
37	Lawrence	4,688	60
38	Joe	4,648	61
39	Samuel	4,351	32
40	Herbert	4,341	65
41	Eugene	4,321	63
42	Alfred	4,231	60
43	Michael	4,079	49
44	Leonard	3,993	60
45	Elmer	3,802	56
46	Andrew	3,573	36
47	Leo	3,527	24
48	Bernard	3,302	61
49	Peter	3,302	51
50	Norman	3,262	64

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1915, 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 1915. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1915 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this