Popular names of 1919, and how old they are now

People born in 1919 turn 107 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.1 million births in 1919 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 570 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 1919: Minnie, Lillie, Alberta, Mamie, Lola, Susie, Eula, Ollie, Ora, Essie, May and Effie.

Top girl names of 1919

Most popular girl names of 1919
#	Name	Born 1919	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	65,836	under 100	66
2	Helen	33,706	under 100	66
3	Dorothy	31,733	under 100	72
4	Margaret	26,238	under 100	61
5	Ruth	24,562	under 100	62
6	Mildred	17,300	under 100	74
7	Virginia	15,636	under 100	66
8	Elizabeth	15,287	under 100	44
9	Frances	15,106	under 100	67
10	Anna	14,498	under 100	39
11	Evelyn	13,321	under 100	34
12	Marie	12,008	under 100	62
13	Alice	11,141	under 100	53
14	Florence	10,482	under 100	66
15	Betty	10,106	under 100	76
16	Irene	9,712	0	61
17	Lillian	9,516	0	29
18	Doris	9,433	0	75
19	Rose	9,195	0	56
20	Louise	8,812	0	69
21	Gladys	8,717	0	68
22	Edna	8,404	0	70
23	Catherine	8,335	0	54
24	Ruby	8,334	0	39
25	Martha	8,322	0	66
26	Josephine	8,104	0	39
27	Lucille	7,856	0	52
28	Ethel	7,809	0	76
29	Edith	7,767	0	57
30	Eleanor	7,611	0	30
31	Thelma	7,558	0	74
32	Hazel	7,430	0	27
33	Marjorie	7,335	0	69
34	Grace	7,195	0	27
35	Annie	7,146	0	54
36	Pauline	6,973	0	69
37	Jean	6,799	0	69
38	Esther	6,248	0	42
39	Gertrude	6,014	0	76
40	Lois	5,976	0	75
41	Beatrice	5,856	0	56
42	Bernice	5,793	0	70
43	Clara	5,404	0	36
44	Marion	5,158	0	65
45	Emma	5,087	0	20
46	Sarah	5,022	0	39
47	Elsie	4,995	0	41
48	Julia	4,950	0	38
49	Ann	4,924	0	65
50	Agnes	4,901	0	64

Top boy names of 1919

Most popular boy names of 1919
#	Name	Born 1919	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	53,522	55
2	William	43,969	51
3	James	42,392	54
4	Robert	41,025	58
5	Charles	25,192	54
6	George	25,170	57
7	Joseph	24,266	45
8	Edward	18,536	56
9	Frank	15,701	59
10	Thomas	13,434	53
11	Walter	12,879	58
12	Richard	12,441	60
13	Harold	12,021	66
14	Raymond	11,384	56
15	Paul	11,305	57
16	Henry	10,613	34
17	Donald	9,904	64
18	Albert	9,607	57
19	Arthur	9,540	54
20	Harry	8,990	62
21	Jack	8,263	34
22	Ralph	7,709	65
23	Willie	6,942	64
24	Howard	6,843	65
25	Clarence	6,825	62
26	Kenneth	6,796	57
27	David	6,716	52
28	Louis	6,661	52
29	Carl	6,474	60
30	Fred	6,091	67
31	Earl	5,975	64
32	Roy	5,970	60
33	Eugene	5,892	63
34	Francis	5,726	57
35	Joe	5,709	61
36	Ernest	5,296	61
37	Stanley	5,238	62
38	Lawrence	5,205	60
39	Leonard	5,010	60
40	Herbert	4,960	65
41	Anthony	4,737	40
42	Alfred	4,615	60
43	Samuel	4,472	32
44	Elmer	3,982	56
45	Bernard	3,915	61
46	Michael	3,909	49
47	Andrew	3,851	36
48	Norman	3,809	64
49	Leo	3,802	24
50	Russell	3,645	55

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1919, 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 1919. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1919 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this