Popular names of 1918, and how old they are now

People born in 1918 turn 108 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.2 million births in 1918 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 270 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.

12 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1918: Helen, Frank, Frances, Anna, Walter, Florence, Harry, Edna, Josephine, Ethel, Edith and Hazel.

Top girl names of 1918

Most popular girl names of 1918
#	Name	Born 1918	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	67,365	under 100	66
2	Helen	36,148	under 100	66
3	Dorothy	32,030	under 100	72
4	Margaret	27,139	under 100	61
5	Ruth	25,535	under 100	62
6	Mildred	17,258	0	74
7	Virginia	16,421	0	66
8	Frances	16,132	0	67
9	Elizabeth	15,853	0	44
10	Anna	15,666	0	39
11	Evelyn	13,493	0	34
12	Marie	12,589	0	62
13	Alice	11,590	0	53
14	Florence	11,318	0	66
15	Lillian	9,986	0	29
16	Irene	9,774	0	61
17	Rose	9,568	0	56
18	Louise	9,111	0	69
19	Doris	9,061	0	75
20	Catherine	8,842	0	54
21	Betty	8,803	0	76
22	Gladys	8,734	0	68
23	Edna	8,698	0	70
24	Josephine	8,682	0	39
25	Martha	8,341	0	66
26	Eleanor	8,176	0	30
27	Ruby	8,134	0	39
28	Ethel	8,075	0	76
29	Lucille	7,902	0	52
30	Edith	7,858	0	57
31	Grace	7,770	0	27
32	Thelma	7,740	0	74
33	Hazel	7,615	0	27
34	Marjorie	7,517	0	69
35	Pauline	7,222	0	69
36	Annie	6,743	0	54
37	Jean	6,600	0	69
38	Esther	6,574	0	42
39	Gertrude	6,264	0	76
40	Beatrice	5,907	0	56
41	Bernice	5,892	0	70
42	Lois	5,877	0	75
43	Clara	5,778	0	36
44	Ann	5,613	0	65
45	Marion	5,583	0	65
46	Emma	5,324	0	20
47	Agnes	5,291	0	64
48	Julia	5,268	0	38
49	Elsie	5,194	0	41
50	Katherine	5,191	0	43

Top boy names of 1918

Most popular boy names of 1918
#	Name	Born 1918	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	56,558	55
2	William	45,291	51
3	James	42,115	54
4	Robert	40,619	58
5	Charles	26,921	54
6	George	26,318	57
7	Joseph	26,261	45
8	Edward	19,489	56
9	Frank	17,018	59
10	Thomas	13,910	53
11	Walter	13,338	58
12	Richard	12,323	60
13	Harold	12,185	66
14	Paul	11,755	57
15	Raymond	11,604	56
16	Henry	11,354	34
17	Arthur	10,105	54
18	Donald	9,972	64
19	Albert	9,935	57
20	Harry	9,896	62
21	Jack	8,341	34
22	Ralph	8,162	65
23	Clarence	7,187	62
24	Louis	7,082	52
25	Carl	7,004	60
26	Howard	6,928	65
27	Kenneth	6,809	57
28	David	6,627	52
29	Willie	6,537	64
30	Francis	6,347	57
31	Earl	6,321	64
32	Roy	6,211	60
33	Fred	6,182	67
34	Joe	5,805	61
35	Eugene	5,631	63
36	Stanley	5,618	62
37	Ernest	5,527	61
38	Lawrence	5,372	60
39	Anthony	5,168	40
40	Herbert	5,128	65
41	Leonard	4,980	60
42	Alfred	4,873	60
43	Samuel	4,772	32
44	Elmer	4,373	56
45	Michael	4,296	49
46	Andrew	4,138	36
47	Bernard	4,098	61
48	Leo	4,036	24
49	Norman	3,867	64
50	Russell	3,833	55

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1918, 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 1918. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1918 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this