Popular names of 1921, and how old they are now

People born in 1921 turn 105 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.3 million births in 1921 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 2,400 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 1921: Mary, Margaret, George, Evelyn, Alice, Marjorie, Irene, Arthur, Albert, Ralph, Gladys and Thelma.

Top girl names of 1921

Most popular girl names of 1921
#	Name	Born 1921	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	73,984	120	66
2	Dorothy	39,087	under 100	72
3	Helen	34,822	under 100	66
4	Margaret	28,468	under 100	61
5	Ruth	25,783	under 100	62
6	Virginia	19,032	under 100	66
7	Mildred	17,880	under 100	74
8	Betty	17,638	under 100	76
9	Frances	15,993	under 100	67
10	Elizabeth	15,800	under 100	44
11	Anna	14,476	under 100	39
12	Evelyn	14,278	under 100	34
13	Doris	13,152	under 100	75
14	Marie	12,501	under 100	62
15	Alice	11,955	under 100	53
16	Marjorie	11,209	under 100	69
17	Florence	10,720	under 100	66
18	Irene	10,624	under 100	61
19	Lillian	9,770	under 100	29
20	Rose	9,352	under 100	56
21	Martha	9,264	under 100	66
22	Louise	9,180	under 100	69
23	Catherine	8,887	under 100	54
24	Gladys	8,814	under 100	68
25	Jean	8,592	under 100	69
26	Ruby	8,333	under 100	39
27	Edna	8,302	under 100	70
28	Josephine	8,135	under 100	39
29	Eleanor	8,054	under 100	30
30	Thelma	7,839	under 100	74
31	Lucille	7,698	under 100	52
32	Ethel	7,603	under 100	76
33	Edith	7,589	under 100	57
34	Hazel	7,341	under 100	27
35	Grace	7,230	under 100	27
36	Annie	7,209	under 100	54
37	Pauline	7,142	under 100	69
38	Lois	6,899	under 100	75
39	Bernice	6,190	under 100	70
40	Barbara	6,013	under 100	72
41	Beatrice	5,968	under 100	56
42	Esther	5,926	under 100	42
43	Marion	5,814	under 100	65
44	Shirley	5,695	under 100	75
45	Clara	5,606	under 100	36
46	Gertrude	5,349	under 100	76
47	Jane	5,188	under 100	62
48	Rita	5,157	under 100	67
49	Katherine	5,156	under 100	43
50	June	5,155	under 100	54

Top boy names of 1921

Most popular boy names of 1921
#	Name	Born 1921	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	John	58,216	under 100	55
2	Robert	52,779	under 100	58
3	William	51,862	under 100	51
4	James	49,750	under 100	54
5	Charles	29,242	under 100	54
6	George	27,476	under 100	57
7	Joseph	26,182	under 100	45
8	Edward	20,817	under 100	56
9	Frank	16,705	under 100	59
10	Richard	16,376	under 100	60
11	Thomas	15,308	under 100	53
12	Harold	13,811	0	66
13	Donald	13,776	0	64
14	Paul	13,169	0	57
15	Walter	13,004	0	58
16	Raymond	12,645	0	56
17	Henry	11,411	0	34
18	Jack	10,757	0	34
19	Arthur	10,527	0	54
20	Albert	10,158	0	57
21	Harry	9,731	0	62
22	Kenneth	8,959	0	57
23	Ralph	8,860	0	65
24	Warren	7,798	0	51
25	David	7,765	0	52
26	Eugene	7,717	0	63
27	Howard	7,713	0	65
28	Clarence	7,332	0	62
29	Louis	7,247	0	52
30	Carl	7,077	0	60
31	Earl	6,754	0	64
32	Roy	6,545	0	60
33	Fred	6,496	0	67
34	Willie	6,492	0	64
35	Francis	6,293	0	57
36	Joe	6,204	0	61
37	Lawrence	5,977	0	60
38	Ernest	5,697	0	61
39	Leonard	5,650	0	60
40	Anthony	5,239	0	40
41	Stanley	5,231	0	62
42	Herbert	5,217	0	65
43	Alfred	4,925	0	60
44	Samuel	4,754	0	32
45	Bernard	4,485	0	61
46	Norman	4,479	0	64
47	Michael	4,198	0	49
48	Elmer	4,146	0	56
49	Daniel	4,087	0	42
50	Leo	4,066	0	24

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1921, 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 1921. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1921 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this