Most Popular Baby Names of 1916
Top 100 girl and boy names, Social Security records
Mary and John were the most popular baby names of 1916 in the US: 61,438 girls were named Mary and 50,043 boys were named John, about 1 in 17 girls and 1 in 18 boys born that year. It was Mary's 37th year in a row at #1 for girls (since 1880), and it was John's 37th year in a row at #1 for boys (since 1880).
Social Security records list 1,044,334 girls and 890,080 boys born in 1916, with 5,159 different girl names and 4,533 boy names. A name is listed for a year only when at least 5 babies of one sex got it.
What Changed From 1915
- Virginia joined the girls' top 10; the boys' top 10 had the same names as in 1915.
- Biggest climbers in the girls' top 100: Marian (#86 to #72), Geraldine (#108 to #94) and June (#96 to #86).
- Biggest climbers in the boys' top 100: Woodrow (#83 to #64), Hugh (#111 to #96) and Charlie (#75 to #68).
- 1 girl name and 3 boy names left the top 100, among them Sophie (#97 to #101) and Allen (#99 to #101).
- 972 names appeared in the records for the first time.
Top 100 Baby Names of 1916
Ranked by the babies given each name; the last column is the name's rank in 1915, among names of the same sex. Tied names share a rank.
Top 100 Girl Names of 1916
| # | Name | Babies | In 1915 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 61,438 | #1 |
| 2 | Helen | 32,661 | #2 |
| 3 | Dorothy | 27,418 | #3 |
| 4 | Margaret | 24,953 | #4 |
| 5 | Ruth | 23,189 | #5 |
| 6 | Mildred | 15,633 | #6 |
| 7 | Anna | 15,228 | #7 |
| 8 | Elizabeth | 14,940 | #8 |
| 9 | Frances | 13,746 | #9 |
| 10 | Virginia | 12,487 | #12 |
| 11 | Evelyn | 11,889 | #10 |
| 12 | Marie | 11,682 | #11 |
| 13 | Alice | 10,719 | #13 |
| 14 | Florence | 10,412 | #14 |
| 15 | Rose | 9,605 | #16 |
| 16 | Lillian | 9,592 | #15 |
| 17 | Irene | 9,035 | #17 |
| 18 | Louise | 8,630 | #18 |
| 19 | Edna | 8,625 | #20 |
| 20 | Catherine | 8,469 | #19 |
| 21 | Josephine | 8,127 | #22 |
| 22 | Gladys | 8,019 | #21 |
| 23 | Ruby | 7,686 | #24 |
| 24 | Martha | 7,610 | #25 |
| 25 | Ethel | 7,601 | #23 |
| 26 | Grace | 7,461 | #27 |
| 27 | Eleanor | 7,406 | #28 |
| 28 | Edith | 7,307 | #31 |
| 29 | Thelma | 7,290 | #30 |
| 30 | Lucille | 7,241 | #29 |
| 31 | Hazel | 7,214 | #26 |
| 32 | Doris | 7,161 | #34 |
| 33 | Pauline | 6,655 | #32 |
| 34 | Esther | 6,421 | #33 |
| 35 | Gertrude | 6,243 | #35 |
| 36 | Annie | 6,105 | #36 |
| 37 | Marjorie | 5,866 | #39 |
| 38 | Beatrice | 5,586 | #37 |
| 39 | Clara | 5,544 | #38 |
| 40 | Ann | 5,343 | #43 |
| 41 | Emma | 5,217 | #40 |
| 42 | Bernice | 5,183 | #42 |
| 43 | Lois | 5,149 | #47 |
| 44 | Betty | 5,136 | #53 |
| 45 | Jean | 5,081 | #48 |
| 46 | Julia | 5,066 | #44 |
| 47 | Marion | 5,033 | #50 |
| 48 | Elsie | 5,027 | #41 |
| 49 | Bertha | 4,900 | #46 |
| 50 | Agnes | 4,852 | #45 |
| 51 | Katherine | 4,801 | #49 |
| 52 | Sarah | 4,798 | #51 |
| 53 | Anne | 4,571 | #52 |
| 54 | Ida | 4,364 | #54 |
| 55 | Eva | 4,337 | #55 |
| 56 | Bessie | 4,122 | #57 |
| 57 | Pearl | 4,073 | #56 |
| 58 | Myrtle | 3,960 | #58 |
| 59 | Viola | 3,948 | #59 |
| 60 | Kathryn | 3,933 | #60 |
| 61 | Nellie | 3,862 | #63 |
| 62 | Jane | 3,826 | #69 |
| 63 | Stella | 3,818 | #64 |
| 64 | Laura | 3,744 | #61 |
| 65 | Mabel | 3,680 | #62 |
| 66 | Vera | 3,622 | #65 |
| 67 | Rita | 3,477 | #71 |
| 68 | Jessie | 3,414 | #66 |
| 68 | Sylvia | 3,414 | #67 |
| 70 | Alma | 3,403 | #70 |
| 71 | Minnie | 3,274 | #68 |
| 72 | Marian | 3,198 | #86 |
| 73 | Willie | 3,116 | #72 |
| 74 | Barbara | 3,112 | #83 |
| 75 | Leona | 3,086 | #74 |
| 76 | Genevieve | 3,063 | #76 |
| 77 | Vivian | 3,049 | #78 |
| 78 | Marguerite | 3,034 | #84 |
| 79 | Jennie | 3,010 | #73 |
| 80 | Charlotte | 2,995 | #81 |
| 81 | Ella | 2,965 | #75 |
| 82 | Wilma | 2,962 | #80 |
| 83 | Violet | 2,921 | #82 |
| 84 | Lucy | 2,877 | #79 |
| 85 | Lena | 2,869 | #77 |
| 86 | June | 2,840 | #96 |
| 87 | Ellen | 2,838 | #88 |
| 88 | Lillie | 2,825 | #84 |
| 89 | Blanche | 2,714 | #87 |
| 90 | Juanita | 2,644 | #92 |
| 91 | Opal | 2,636 | #90 |
| 92 | Mae | 2,607 | #89 |
| 93 | Mattie | 2,556 | #91 |
| 94 | Geraldine | 2,549 | #108 |
| 95 | Phyllis | 2,427 | #100 |
| 96 | Maxine | 2,424 | #98 |
| 97 | Beulah | 2,401 | #95 |
| 98 | Theresa | 2,348 | #93 |
| 99 | Velma | 2,319 | #94 |
| 100 | Emily | 2,213 | #99 |
Top 100 Boy Names of 1916
| # | Name | Babies | In 1915 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John | 50,043 | #1 |
| 2 | William | 40,418 | #2 |
| 3 | James | 35,569 | #3 |
| 4 | Robert | 31,741 | #4 |
| 5 | Joseph | 23,883 | #5 |
| 6 | Charles | 23,612 | #7 |
| 7 | George | 23,381 | #6 |
| 8 | Edward | 17,005 | #8 |
| 9 | Frank | 15,291 | #9 |
| 10 | Thomas | 11,998 | #10 |
| 11 | Walter | 11,760 | #11 |
| 12 | Paul | 10,790 | #13 |
| 13 | Harold | 10,698 | #12 |
| 14 | Henry | 10,656 | #14 |
| 15 | Richard | 10,134 | #15 |
| 16 | Raymond | 9,565 | #16 |
| 17 | Albert | 9,044 | #17 |
| 18 | Arthur | 8,921 | #18 |
| 19 | Harry | 8,476 | #19 |
| 20 | Donald | 7,736 | #20 |
| 21 | Ralph | 7,085 | #21 |
| 22 | Louis | 6,817 | #23 |
| 23 | Carl | 6,785 | #22 |
| 24 | Clarence | 6,304 | #24 |
| 25 | Howard | 6,171 | #25 |
| 26 | Jack | 6,161 | #27 |
| 27 | Kenneth | 6,012 | #28 |
| 28 | David | 5,812 | #31 |
| 29 | Fred | 5,745 | #26 |
| 30 | Willie | 5,660 | #30 |
| 31 | Francis | 5,652 | #29 |
| 32 | Earl | 5,553 | #33 |
| 33 | Roy | 5,327 | #32 |
| 34 | Stanley | 5,130 | #34 |
| 35 | Joe | 4,911 | #38 |
| 36 | Ernest | 4,823 | #35 |
| 37 | Anthony | 4,749 | #36 |
| 38 | Lawrence | 4,742 | #37 |
| 39 | Eugene | 4,646 | #41 |
| 40 | Herbert | 4,463 | #40 |
| 41 | Samuel | 4,399 | #39 |
| 42 | Leonard | 4,328 | #44 |
| 43 | Alfred | 4,278 | #42 |
| 44 | Michael | 4,210 | #43 |
| 45 | Elmer | 3,936 | #45 |
| 46 | Andrew | 3,723 | #46 |
| 47 | Leo | 3,621 | #47 |
| 48 | Norman | 3,609 | #50 |
| 49 | Bernard | 3,476 | #48 |
| 50 | Peter | 3,370 | #48 |
| 51 | Russell | 3,330 | #51 |
| 52 | Frederick | 3,325 | #52 |
| 53 | Edwin | 3,299 | #53 |
| 54 | Chester | 3,212 | #54 |
| 55 | Daniel | 3,149 | #55 |
| 56 | Herman | 3,043 | #56 |
| 57 | Melvin | 2,984 | #60 |
| 58 | Lloyd | 2,926 | #62 |
| 59 | Lester | 2,907 | #57 |
| 60 | Floyd | 2,783 | #59 |
| 61 | Clifford | 2,767 | #61 |
| 62 | Clyde | 2,707 | #63 |
| 63 | Leroy | 2,699 | #66 |
| 64 | Woodrow | 2,668 | #83 |
| 65 | Theodore | 2,641 | #64 |
| 66 | Marvin | 2,529 | #72 |
| 67 | Vincent | 2,500 | #65 |
| 68 | Charlie | 2,416 | #75 |
| 69 | Willard | 2,413 | #58 |
| 70 | Philip | 2,409 | #69 |
| 71 | Lewis | 2,374 | #70 |
| 72 | Milton | 2,345 | #73 |
| 73 | Ray | 2,334 | #67 |
| 74 | Sam | 2,313 | #68 |
| 75 | Vernon | 2,288 | #80 |
| 76 | Gerald | 2,260 | #78 |
| 77 | Jesse | 2,230 | #77 |
| 78 | Victor | 2,215 | #74 |
| 79 | Benjamin | 2,186 | #71 |
| 80 | Cecil | 2,181 | #76 |
| 81 | Martin | 2,122 | #79 |
| 82 | Alvin | 2,093 | #81 |
| 83 | Lee | 2,016 | #84 |
| 84 | Glenn | 1,970 | #87 |
| 85 | Leon | 1,954 | #82 |
| 86 | Oscar | 1,916 | #88 |
| 87 | Stephen | 1,877 | #86 |
| 88 | Edgar | 1,874 | #85 |
| 89 | Arnold | 1,858 | #91 |
| 90 | Gordon | 1,792 | #90 |
| 91 | Everett | 1,764 | #89 |
| 92 | Harvey | 1,763 | #95 |
| 93 | Claude | 1,733 | #96 |
| 94 | Wilbur | 1,680 | #92 |
| 95 | Sidney | 1,659 | #94 |
| 96 | Hugh | 1,619 | #111 |
| 97 | Morris | 1,618 | #93 |
| 98 | Wayne | 1,587 | #97 |
| 99 | Alexander | 1,584 | #103 |
| 99 | Maurice | 1,584 | #101 |
Open a name to see how many people with it are alive today and how its popularity changed. See the year before, 1915, or the year after, 1917, the top 100 of the whole 1910s, or let the random name generator pick names from the 1910s.