Popular names of 1917, and how old they are now

People born in 1917 turn 109 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2 million births in 1917 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 120 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.

10 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1917: Rose, Gertrude, Jennie, Lena, Blanche, Della, Jeannette, Emil, Nell and Alva.

Top girl names of 1917

Most popular girl names of 1917
#	Name	Born 1917	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	64,280	under 100	66
2	Helen	34,251	0	66
3	Dorothy	28,852	0	72
4	Margaret	25,560	0	61
5	Ruth	23,568	0	62
6	Mildred	16,256	0	74
7	Anna	15,160	0	39
8	Elizabeth	15,131	0	44
9	Frances	14,363	0	67
10	Virginia	14,261	0	66
11	Evelyn	12,532	0	34
12	Marie	11,813	0	62
13	Alice	10,990	0	53
14	Florence	10,538	0	66
15	Lillian	9,843	0	29
16	Rose	9,783	0	56
17	Irene	9,163	0	61
18	Catherine	8,689	0	54
19	Louise	8,584	0	69
20	Edna	8,422	0	70
21	Josephine	8,326	0	39
22	Martha	8,261	0	66
23	Gladys	8,075	0	68
24	Ethel	7,865	0	76
25	Doris	7,819	0	75
26	Eleanor	7,669	0	30
27	Ruby	7,662	0	39
28	Edith	7,532	0	57
29	Lucille	7,529	0	52
30	Grace	7,373	0	27
31	Hazel	7,285	0	27
32	Thelma	7,245	0	74
33	Pauline	6,896	0	69
34	Betty	6,639	0	76
35	Annie	6,404	0	54
36	Marjorie	6,399	0	69
37	Gertrude	6,300	0	76
38	Esther	6,281	0	42
39	Beatrice	5,839	0	56
40	Jean	5,692	0	69
41	Clara	5,626	0	36
42	Bernice	5,546	0	70
43	Lois	5,485	0	75
44	Ann	5,455	0	65
45	Marion	5,371	0	65
46	Emma	5,121	0	20
47	Julia	5,078	0	38
48	Agnes	5,066	0	64
49	Katherine	4,956	0	43
50	Elsie	4,939	0	41

Top boy names of 1917

Most popular boy names of 1917
#	Name	Born 1917	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	51,852	55
2	William	42,422	51
3	James	37,337	54
4	Robert	35,220	58
5	Joseph	24,761	45
6	George	24,196	57
7	Charles	24,143	54
8	Edward	17,501	56
9	Frank	15,768	59
10	Thomas	12,611	53
11	Walter	12,582	58
12	Harold	11,194	66
13	Paul	11,156	57
14	Richard	10,914	60
15	Henry	10,696	34
16	Raymond	9,956	56
17	Arthur	9,282	54
18	Albert	9,157	57
19	Harry	8,856	62
20	Donald	8,729	64
21	Ralph	7,391	65
22	Jack	6,875	34
23	Louis	6,771	52
24	Carl	6,699	60
25	Clarence	6,587	62
26	Howard	6,410	65
27	Kenneth	6,141	57
28	David	6,099	52
29	Fred	5,986	67
30	Francis	5,801	57
31	Willie	5,751	64
32	Earl	5,632	64
33	Roy	5,586	60
34	Stanley	5,186	62
35	Joe	5,142	61
36	Lawrence	5,094	60
37	Ernest	5,055	61
38	Anthony	5,027	40
39	Eugene	4,873	63
40	Herbert	4,745	65
41	Leonard	4,694	60
42	Samuel	4,490	32
43	Alfred	4,424	60
44	Michael	4,288	49
45	Elmer	3,812	56
46	Norman	3,788	64
47	Leo	3,779	24
48	Andrew	3,752	36
49	Bernard	3,711	61
50	Peter	3,464	51

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1917, 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 1917. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1917 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this