Most Popular Baby Names of 1917
Top 100 girl and boy names, Social Security records
Mary and John were the most popular baby names of 1917 in the US: 64,280 girls were named Mary and 51,852 boys were named John, about 1 in 17 girls and 1 in 18 boys born that year. It was Mary's 38th year in a row at #1 for girls (since 1880), and it was John's 38th year in a row at #1 for boys (since 1880).
Social Security records list 1,081,267 girls and 925,482 boys born in 1917, with 5,308 different girl names and 4,601 boy names. A name is listed for a year only when at least 5 babies of one sex got it.
What Changed From 1916
- The girls' top 10 had the same names as in 1916; the boys' top 10 had the same names as in 1916.
- Biggest climbers in the girls' top 100: June (#86 to #73), Betty (#44 to #34) and Doris (#32 to #25).
- Biggest climbers in the boys' top 100: Warren (#102 to #93), Gerald (#76 to #69) and Gordon (#90 to #84).
- 2 girl names and 2 boy names left the top 100, among them Beulah (#97 to #102) and Maurice (#99 to #101).
- 829 names appeared in the records for the first time.
Top 100 Baby Names of 1917
Ranked by the babies given each name; the last column is the name's rank in 1916, among names of the same sex. Tied names share a rank.
Top 100 Girl Names of 1917
| # | Name | Babies | In 1916 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 64,280 | #1 |
| 2 | Helen | 34,251 | #2 |
| 3 | Dorothy | 28,852 | #3 |
| 4 | Margaret | 25,560 | #4 |
| 5 | Ruth | 23,568 | #5 |
| 6 | Mildred | 16,256 | #6 |
| 7 | Anna | 15,160 | #7 |
| 8 | Elizabeth | 15,131 | #8 |
| 9 | Frances | 14,363 | #9 |
| 10 | Virginia | 14,261 | #10 |
| 11 | Evelyn | 12,532 | #11 |
| 12 | Marie | 11,813 | #12 |
| 13 | Alice | 10,990 | #13 |
| 14 | Florence | 10,538 | #14 |
| 15 | Lillian | 9,843 | #16 |
| 16 | Rose | 9,783 | #15 |
| 17 | Irene | 9,163 | #17 |
| 18 | Catherine | 8,689 | #20 |
| 19 | Louise | 8,584 | #18 |
| 20 | Edna | 8,422 | #19 |
| 21 | Josephine | 8,326 | #21 |
| 22 | Martha | 8,261 | #24 |
| 23 | Gladys | 8,075 | #22 |
| 24 | Ethel | 7,865 | #25 |
| 25 | Doris | 7,819 | #32 |
| 26 | Eleanor | 7,669 | #27 |
| 27 | Ruby | 7,662 | #23 |
| 28 | Edith | 7,532 | #28 |
| 29 | Lucille | 7,529 | #30 |
| 30 | Grace | 7,373 | #26 |
| 31 | Hazel | 7,285 | #31 |
| 32 | Thelma | 7,245 | #29 |
| 33 | Pauline | 6,896 | #33 |
| 34 | Betty | 6,639 | #44 |
| 35 | Annie | 6,404 | #36 |
| 36 | Marjorie | 6,399 | #37 |
| 37 | Gertrude | 6,300 | #35 |
| 38 | Esther | 6,281 | #34 |
| 39 | Beatrice | 5,839 | #38 |
| 40 | Jean | 5,692 | #45 |
| 41 | Clara | 5,626 | #39 |
| 42 | Bernice | 5,546 | #42 |
| 43 | Lois | 5,485 | #43 |
| 44 | Ann | 5,455 | #40 |
| 45 | Marion | 5,371 | #47 |
| 46 | Emma | 5,121 | #41 |
| 47 | Julia | 5,078 | #46 |
| 48 | Agnes | 5,066 | #50 |
| 49 | Katherine | 4,956 | #51 |
| 50 | Elsie | 4,939 | #48 |
| 51 | Bertha | 4,881 | #49 |
| 52 | Sarah | 4,766 | #52 |
| 53 | Anne | 4,603 | #53 |
| 54 | Eva | 4,286 | #55 |
| 55 | Jane | 4,258 | #62 |
| 56 | Ida | 4,247 | #54 |
| 57 | Pearl | 4,232 | #57 |
| 58 | Myrtle | 4,046 | #58 |
| 59 | Viola | 4,040 | #59 |
| 60 | Kathryn | 3,984 | #60 |
| 61 | Bessie | 3,927 | #56 |
| 62 | Stella | 3,872 | #63 |
| 63 | Rita | 3,870 | #67 |
| 64 | Nellie | 3,808 | #61 |
| 65 | Laura | 3,807 | #64 |
| 66 | Vera | 3,714 | #66 |
| 67 | Barbara | 3,535 | #74 |
| 68 | Mabel | 3,499 | #65 |
| 69 | Sylvia | 3,469 | #68 |
| 70 | Jessie | 3,465 | #68 |
| 71 | Alma | 3,407 | #70 |
| 72 | Willie | 3,381 | #73 |
| 73 | June | 3,370 | #86 |
| 74 | Marian | 3,267 | #72 |
| 75 | Minnie | 3,262 | #71 |
| 76 | Charlotte | 3,229 | #80 |
| 77 | Genevieve | 3,192 | #76 |
| 78 | Marguerite | 3,161 | #78 |
| 79 | Vivian | 3,119 | #77 |
| 80 | Leona | 3,115 | #75 |
| 81 | Jennie | 3,109 | #79 |
| 82 | Wilma | 3,071 | #82 |
| 83 | Ella | 3,054 | #81 |
| 84 | Violet | 3,026 | #83 |
| 85 | Lena | 3,004 | #85 |
| 86 | Lillie | 2,931 | #88 |
| 87 | Juanita | 2,929 | #90 |
| 87 | Lucy | 2,929 | #84 |
| 89 | Geraldine | 2,897 | #94 |
| 90 | Ellen | 2,855 | #87 |
| 91 | Blanche | 2,836 | #89 |
| 92 | Phyllis | 2,696 | #95 |
| 93 | Maxine | 2,647 | #96 |
| 94 | Mattie | 2,572 | #93 |
| 95 | Opal | 2,541 | #91 |
| 96 | Mae | 2,507 | #92 |
| 97 | Theresa | 2,490 | #98 |
| 98 | Nancy | 2,411 | #102 |
| 98 | Velma | 2,411 | #99 |
| 100 | Sophie | 2,382 | #101 |
Top 100 Boy Names of 1917
| # | Name | Babies | In 1916 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John | 51,852 | #1 |
| 2 | William | 42,422 | #2 |
| 3 | James | 37,337 | #3 |
| 4 | Robert | 35,220 | #4 |
| 5 | Joseph | 24,761 | #5 |
| 6 | George | 24,196 | #7 |
| 7 | Charles | 24,143 | #6 |
| 8 | Edward | 17,501 | #8 |
| 9 | Frank | 15,768 | #9 |
| 10 | Thomas | 12,611 | #10 |
| 11 | Walter | 12,582 | #11 |
| 12 | Harold | 11,194 | #13 |
| 13 | Paul | 11,156 | #12 |
| 14 | Richard | 10,914 | #15 |
| 15 | Henry | 10,696 | #14 |
| 16 | Raymond | 9,956 | #16 |
| 17 | Arthur | 9,282 | #18 |
| 18 | Albert | 9,157 | #17 |
| 19 | Harry | 8,856 | #19 |
| 20 | Donald | 8,729 | #20 |
| 21 | Ralph | 7,391 | #21 |
| 22 | Jack | 6,875 | #26 |
| 23 | Louis | 6,771 | #22 |
| 24 | Carl | 6,699 | #23 |
| 25 | Clarence | 6,587 | #24 |
| 26 | Howard | 6,410 | #25 |
| 27 | Kenneth | 6,141 | #27 |
| 28 | David | 6,099 | #28 |
| 29 | Fred | 5,986 | #29 |
| 30 | Francis | 5,801 | #31 |
| 31 | Willie | 5,751 | #30 |
| 32 | Earl | 5,632 | #32 |
| 33 | Roy | 5,586 | #33 |
| 34 | Stanley | 5,186 | #34 |
| 35 | Joe | 5,142 | #35 |
| 36 | Lawrence | 5,094 | #38 |
| 37 | Ernest | 5,055 | #36 |
| 38 | Anthony | 5,027 | #37 |
| 39 | Eugene | 4,873 | #39 |
| 40 | Herbert | 4,745 | #40 |
| 41 | Leonard | 4,694 | #42 |
| 42 | Samuel | 4,490 | #41 |
| 43 | Alfred | 4,424 | #43 |
| 44 | Michael | 4,288 | #44 |
| 45 | Elmer | 3,812 | #45 |
| 46 | Norman | 3,788 | #48 |
| 47 | Leo | 3,779 | #47 |
| 48 | Andrew | 3,752 | #46 |
| 49 | Bernard | 3,711 | #49 |
| 50 | Peter | 3,464 | #50 |
| 51 | Frederick | 3,455 | #52 |
| 52 | Russell | 3,436 | #51 |
| 53 | Lloyd | 3,417 | #58 |
| 54 | Daniel | 3,360 | #55 |
| 55 | Edwin | 3,346 | #53 |
| 56 | Chester | 3,338 | #54 |
| 57 | Melvin | 3,155 | #57 |
| 58 | Herman | 2,974 | #56 |
| 59 | Clifford | 2,969 | #61 |
| 60 | Leroy | 2,951 | #63 |
| 61 | Lester | 2,854 | #59 |
| 62 | Floyd | 2,820 | #60 |
| 63 | Theodore | 2,809 | #65 |
| 64 | Clyde | 2,719 | #62 |
| 65 | Vincent | 2,636 | #67 |
| 66 | Philip | 2,544 | #70 |
| 67 | Charlie | 2,536 | #68 |
| 68 | Marvin | 2,517 | #66 |
| 69 | Gerald | 2,486 | #76 |
| 70 | Lewis | 2,477 | #71 |
| 71 | Vernon | 2,463 | #75 |
| 72 | Sam | 2,454 | #74 |
| 73 | Woodrow | 2,428 | #64 |
| 74 | Ray | 2,426 | #73 |
| 75 | Milton | 2,394 | #72 |
| 76 | Benjamin | 2,386 | #79 |
| 77 | Martin | 2,336 | #81 |
| 78 | Victor | 2,207 | #78 |
| 79 | Jesse | 2,200 | #77 |
| 80 | Willard | 2,188 | #69 |
| 81 | Alvin | 2,142 | #82 |
| 82 | Leon | 2,102 | #85 |
| 83 | Cecil | 2,101 | #80 |
| 84 | Gordon | 2,019 | #90 |
| 85 | Lee | 2,004 | #83 |
| 86 | Glenn | 1,997 | #84 |
| 87 | Oscar | 1,961 | #86 |
| 88 | Edgar | 1,920 | #88 |
| 89 | Stephen | 1,892 | #87 |
| 90 | Harvey | 1,808 | #92 |
| 91 | Arnold | 1,781 | #89 |
| 92 | Wilbur | 1,749 | #94 |
| 93 | Warren | 1,743 | #102 |
| 94 | Everett | 1,734 | #91 |
| 95 | Sidney | 1,727 | #95 |
| 96 | Wayne | 1,715 | #98 |
| 97 | Alexander | 1,664 | #99 |
| 98 | Claude | 1,625 | #93 |
| 99 | Morris | 1,624 | #97 |
| 100 | Allen | 1,592 | #101 |
Open a name to see how many people with it are alive today and how its popularity changed. See the year before, 1916, or the year after, 1918, the top 100 of the whole 1910s, or let the random name generator pick names from the 1910s.