Popular names of 1927, and how old they are now

People born in 1927 turn 99 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.3 million births in 1927 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 2% of them are still alive: about 46,000 people.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and Robert for boys. Babies born that year belong to the Greatest Generation.

12 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1927: Jack, Jean, Lois, Eugene, Alvin, Rudolph, Junior, Rosie, Imogene, Salvatore, Dorthy and Mavis.

Top girl names of 1927

Most popular girl names of 1927
#	Name	Born 1927	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	70,642	2,100	66
2	Dorothy	35,993	1,100	72
3	Betty	35,424	1,000	76
4	Helen	25,316	750	66
5	Margaret	21,964	650	61
6	Ruth	19,412	570	62
7	Doris	16,512	490	75
8	Virginia	15,734	470	66
9	Shirley	13,314	390	75
10	Barbara	13,161	390	72
11	Mildred	13,053	390	74
12	Frances	12,988	380	67
13	Elizabeth	12,523	370	44
14	Jean	12,512	370	69
15	Evelyn	11,495	340	34
16	Anna	11,215	330	39
17	Alice	10,679	320	53
18	Patricia	10,554	310	68
19	Lois	10,505	310	75
20	Marie	10,317	310	62
21	Irene	8,606	250	61
22	Gloria	8,535	250	66
23	Rose	8,497	250	56
24	Martha	8,304	250	66
25	Marjorie	8,115	240	69
26	Norma	7,997	240	69
27	Louise	7,704	230	69
28	Florence	7,645	230	66
29	Phyllis	7,425	220	74
30	Ruby	7,264	220	39
31	Catherine	7,256	210	54
32	Lillian	7,182	210	29
33	Eleanor	6,963	210	30
34	Dolores	6,769	200	74
35	Joyce	6,684	200	72
36	Annie	6,562	190	54
37	Gladys	6,418	190	68
38	Thelma	6,303	190	74
39	Josephine	6,108	180	39
40	Edna	6,086	180	70
41	Joan	6,032	180	73
42	Pauline	6,011	180	69
43	June	5,738	170	54
44	Lorraine	5,729	170	67
45	Lucille	5,634	170	52
46	Marilyn	5,554	160	69
47	Ethel	5,483	160	76
48	Edith	5,403	160	57
49	Bernice	5,305	160	70
50	Grace	5,304	160	27

Top boy names of 1927

Most popular boy names of 1927
#	Name	Born 1927	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	61,674	570	58
2	John	55,949	520	55
3	James	53,674	500	54
4	William	51,476	480	51
5	Charles	31,941	300	54
6	Richard	26,768	250	60
7	George	25,949	240	57
8	Donald	23,834	220	64
9	Joseph	23,503	220	45
10	Edward	19,115	180	56
11	Thomas	17,027	160	53
12	Frank	14,377	130	59
13	Paul	13,604	130	57
14	Harold	13,226	120	66
15	Raymond	12,807	120	56
16	Jack	12,802	120	34
17	Walter	11,346	110	58
18	Kenneth	10,848	100	57
19	Henry	9,871	under 100	34
20	Eugene	9,742	under 100	63
21	David	9,426	under 100	52
22	Arthur	9,338	under 100	54
23	Albert	9,128	under 100	57
24	Ralph	8,434	under 100	65
25	Harry	8,019	under 100	62
26	Carl	7,277	under 100	60
27	Willie	6,969	under 100	64
28	Howard	6,831	under 100	65
29	Louis	6,663	under 100	52
30	Joe	6,542	under 100	61
31	Billy	6,463	under 100	61
32	Clarence	6,460	under 100	62
33	Earl	6,406	under 100	64
34	Roy	6,387	under 100	60
35	Fred	6,313	under 100	67
36	Francis	5,644	under 100	57
37	Lawrence	5,572	under 100	60
38	Gerald	5,511	under 100	64
39	Norman	5,494	under 100	64
40	Leonard	5,311	under 100	60
41	Ernest	5,208	under 100	61
42	Herbert	5,017	under 100	65
43	Anthony	4,917	under 100	40
44	Stanley	4,902	under 100	62
45	Alfred	4,756	under 100	60
46	Daniel	4,615	under 100	42
47	Marvin	4,397	under 100	56
48	Melvin	4,202	under 100	59
49	Samuel	4,189	under 100	32
50	Bernard	4,165	under 100	61

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1927, 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 1927. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1927 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this