Popular names of 1916, and how old they are now

People born in 1916 turn 110 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 1.9 million births in 1916 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.

6 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1916: Bessie, Beulah, Hugh, Lottie, Sallie and Rena.

Top girl names of 1916

Most popular girl names of 1916
#	Name	Born 1916	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	61,438	66
2	Helen	32,661	66
3	Dorothy	27,418	72
4	Margaret	24,953	61
5	Ruth	23,189	62
6	Mildred	15,633	74
7	Anna	15,228	39
8	Elizabeth	14,940	44
9	Frances	13,746	67
10	Virginia	12,487	66
11	Evelyn	11,889	34
12	Marie	11,682	62
13	Alice	10,719	53
14	Florence	10,412	66
15	Rose	9,605	56
16	Lillian	9,592	29
17	Irene	9,035	61
18	Louise	8,630	69
19	Edna	8,625	70
20	Catherine	8,469	54
21	Josephine	8,127	39
22	Gladys	8,019	68
23	Ruby	7,686	39
24	Martha	7,610	66
25	Ethel	7,601	76
26	Grace	7,461	27
27	Eleanor	7,406	30
28	Edith	7,307	57
29	Thelma	7,290	74
30	Lucille	7,241	52
31	Hazel	7,214	27
32	Doris	7,161	75
33	Pauline	6,655	69
34	Esther	6,421	42
35	Gertrude	6,243	76
36	Annie	6,105	54
37	Marjorie	5,866	69
38	Beatrice	5,586	56
39	Clara	5,544	36
40	Ann	5,343	65
41	Emma	5,217	20
42	Bernice	5,183	70
43	Lois	5,149	75
44	Betty	5,136	76
45	Jean	5,081	69
46	Julia	5,066	38
47	Marion	5,033	65
48	Elsie	5,027	41
49	Bertha	4,900	69
50	Agnes	4,852	64

Top boy names of 1916

Most popular boy names of 1916
#	Name	Born 1916	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	50,043	55
2	William	40,418	51
3	James	35,569	54
4	Robert	31,741	58
5	Joseph	23,883	45
6	Charles	23,612	54
7	George	23,381	57
8	Edward	17,005	56
9	Frank	15,291	59
10	Thomas	11,998	53
11	Walter	11,760	58
12	Paul	10,790	57
13	Harold	10,698	66
14	Henry	10,656	34
15	Richard	10,134	60
16	Raymond	9,565	56
17	Albert	9,044	57
18	Arthur	8,921	54
19	Harry	8,476	62
20	Donald	7,736	64
21	Ralph	7,085	65
22	Louis	6,817	52
23	Carl	6,785	60
24	Clarence	6,304	62
25	Howard	6,171	65
26	Jack	6,161	34
27	Kenneth	6,012	57
28	David	5,812	52
29	Fred	5,745	67
30	Willie	5,660	64
31	Francis	5,652	57
32	Earl	5,553	64
33	Roy	5,327	60
34	Stanley	5,130	62
35	Joe	4,911	61
36	Ernest	4,823	61
37	Anthony	4,749	40
38	Lawrence	4,742	60
39	Eugene	4,646	63
40	Herbert	4,463	65
41	Samuel	4,399	32
42	Leonard	4,328	60
43	Alfred	4,278	60
44	Michael	4,210	49
45	Elmer	3,936	56
46	Andrew	3,723	36
47	Leo	3,621	24
48	Norman	3,609	64
49	Bernard	3,476	61
50	Peter	3,370	51

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1916, 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 1916. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1916 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this