Popular names of 1928, and how old they are now

People born in 1928 turn 98 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.3 million births in 1928 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 3% of them are still alive: about 64,000 people.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and Robert for boys. Babies born that year are in the Silent Generation (see Silent names).

12 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1928: Doris, Herbert, Alfred, Lorraine, Norman, Marvin, Melvin, Gene, Johnnie, Ramona, Ernestine and Pearlie.

Top girl names of 1928

Most popular girl names of 1928
#	Name	Born 1928	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	66,871	2,800	66
2	Betty	36,083	1,500	76
3	Dorothy	33,733	1,400	72
4	Helen	22,937	960	66
5	Margaret	20,295	850	61
6	Ruth	17,859	750	62
7	Doris	16,575	690	75
8	Barbara	14,872	620	72
9	Virginia	14,500	610	66
10	Shirley	14,215	600	75
11	Patricia	12,331	520	68
12	Jean	12,209	510	69
13	Frances	12,137	510	67
14	Elizabeth	11,767	490	44
15	Mildred	11,653	490	74
16	Anna	10,575	440	39
17	Evelyn	10,533	440	34
18	Lois	10,425	440	75
19	Alice	10,139	420	53
20	Dolores	9,615	400	74
21	Marie	9,286	390	62
22	Martha	8,252	350	66
23	Norma	8,166	340	69
24	Rose	8,161	340	56
25	Gloria	8,119	340	66
26	Phyllis	7,924	330	74
27	Joan	7,854	330	73
28	Irene	7,731	320	61
29	Marjorie	7,632	320	69
30	Joyce	7,244	300	72
31	Louise	7,053	300	69
32	Florence	6,970	290	66
33	Catherine	6,910	290	54
34	Ruby	6,692	280	39
35	Lillian	6,577	280	29
36	Eleanor	6,535	270	30
37	Annie	6,329	270	54
38	Marilyn	6,066	250	69
39	Lorraine	5,982	250	67
40	Thelma	5,978	250	74
41	Gladys	5,791	240	68
42	Josephine	5,671	240	39
43	Nancy	5,537	230	68
44	June	5,517	230	54
45	Edna	5,473	230	70
46	Beverly	5,437	230	70
47	Marion	5,420	230	65
48	Pauline	5,391	230	69
49	Theresa	5,330	220	61
50	Geraldine	5,156	220	72

Top boy names of 1928

Most popular boy names of 1928
#	Name	Born 1928	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	60,701	870	58
2	John	53,760	770	55
3	James	52,752	750	54
4	William	49,118	700	51
5	Charles	31,243	450	54
6	Richard	28,793	410	60
7	Donald	25,704	370	64
8	George	24,391	350	57
9	Joseph	22,322	320	45
10	Edward	18,492	260	56
11	Thomas	16,582	240	53
12	Frank	13,570	190	59
13	Paul	13,160	190	57
14	Harold	12,670	180	66
15	Jack	12,494	180	34
16	Raymond	11,946	170	56
17	Kenneth	11,167	160	57
18	Walter	10,651	150	58
19	David	9,990	140	52
20	Eugene	9,708	140	63
21	Henry	9,313	130	34
22	Arthur	8,880	130	54
23	Albert	8,812	130	57
24	Ralph	8,100	120	65
25	Herbert	8,065	120	65
26	Harry	7,604	110	62
27	Billy	7,310	100	61
28	Carl	6,946	under 100	60
29	Willie	6,817	under 100	64
30	Joe	6,682	under 100	61
31	Howard	6,496	under 100	65
32	Louis	6,299	under 100	52
33	Alfred	6,252	under 100	60
34	Roy	6,229	under 100	60
35	Clarence	6,068	under 100	62
36	Fred	6,036	under 100	67
37	Earl	5,966	under 100	64
38	Lawrence	5,597	under 100	60
39	Norman	5,590	under 100	64
40	Francis	5,516	under 100	57
41	Gerald	5,487	under 100	64
42	Leonard	5,131	under 100	60
43	Ernest	4,941	under 100	61
44	Anthony	4,719	under 100	40
45	Stanley	4,481	under 100	62
46	Marvin	4,452	under 100	56
47	Daniel	4,426	under 100	42
48	Melvin	4,249	under 100	59
49	Bernard	4,067	under 100	61
50	Ronald	3,969	under 100	64

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1928, 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 1928. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1928 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this