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Baby names of the 1910s

The most given names of the 1910s were Mary and John. The names most over-represented in those years are Gertrude, Opal, Mildred for girls and Woodrow, Irving, Elmer for boys, each given at least 6.3 times as often then as across 1880-2025. An estimated 2,190 Americans born in the U.S. in those years are alive in 2026.

Mary and John, the most given names of the 1910s, since 1880
Mary and John births by year20k40k60k80k100k188019001920194019601980200020251910-1919JohnMary
Mary and John births by year20k40k60k80k100k188019001920194019601980200020251910-1919JohnMary
Mary and John births by year20k40k60k80k100k18801905193019551980200520251910-1919JohnMary
Mary and John births by year20k40k60k80k100k18801930198020251910-1919JohnMary

Babies given each name per year; 1910-1919 shaded.

Births 1910-1919: SSA national file, published May 8, 2026; the living figure uses SSA’s cohort life tables. SSA’s notes on the data.

The most given names

Girls: the most given names
#NameBirths
1Mary478,636
2Helen248,154
3Dorothy207,475
4Margaret189,234
5Ruth173,675
6Mildred123,998
7Anna118,998
8Elizabeth116,811
9Frances105,599
10Virginia94,322
11Marie92,086
12Evelyn91,492
13Alice85,866
14Florence81,465
15Lillian75,914
16Rose74,690
17Irene68,968
18Louise67,973
19Edna66,897
20Catherine65,823
21Gladys65,812
22Ethel63,662
23Josephine61,355
24Ruby60,308
25Martha59,508
Boys: the most given names
#NameBirths
1John376,311
2William303,017
3James275,070
4Robert239,185
5Joseph179,300
6George176,609
7Charles173,535
8Edward125,720
9Frank116,017
10Thomas91,619
11Walter89,145
12Harold79,721
13Henry79,667
14Paul78,216
15Richard74,603
16Raymond71,820
17Albert68,207
18Arthur67,478
19Harry65,874
20Donald57,001
21Ralph52,522
22Louis50,600
23Jack49,526
24Clarence49,196
25Carl48,454

Most given: births summed over 1910-1919, per sex.

Which names define the 1910s?

A name’s share of births in these years divided by its share across the whole record, for names given to at least 10,000 babies in the span and to one sex at least 90% of the time.

Girls: the most typical names
NameBirthsTimes usual share
Gertrude49,5656.4×
Opal20,3866.3×
Mildred123,9986.3×
Beulah18,8745.9×
Lucille also Lucile67,8855.8×
Thelma57,0115.8×
Blanche21,9775.7×
Viola33,0765.7×
Gladys65,8125.6×
Agnes39,2555.6×
Estelle13,8075.6×
Helen248,1545.5×
Boys: the most typical names
NameBirthsTimes usual share
Woodrow18,35513.3×
Irving10,7376.9×
Elmer28,6006.3×
Wilbur12,4116.2×
Willard15,3645.6×
Chester23,5005.5×
Homer11,4715.3×
Morris12,4845.0×
Herman22,5984.7×
Lester21,5094.7×
Clarence49,1964.6×
Harry65,8744.4×

Typical: share in the span over share in 1880-2025.

The 1920s