Most Popular Baby Names of 1916

In 1916, Mary was the most popular name for girls, given to 61,438 babies, and John topped the boys' list with 50,043. Mary held on to number one for a 37th year in a row, and John held on to number one for a 37th year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,044,334 girls and 890,080 boys born in 1916 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 5,161 different girls' names and 4,535 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 1916

Top girls' names, 1916
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1915
1	Mary	61,438	same
2	Helen	32,661	same
3	Dorothy	27,418	same
4	Margaret	24,953	same
5	Ruth	23,189	same
6	Mildred	15,633	same
7	Anna	15,228	same
8	Elizabeth	14,940	same
9	Frances	13,746	same
10	Virginia	12,487	up 2
11	Evelyn	11,889	down 1
12	Marie	11,682	down 1
13	Alice	10,719	same
14	Florence	10,412	same
15	Rose	9,605	up 1
16	Lillian	9,592	down 1
17	Irene	9,035	same
18	Louise	8,630	same
19	Edna	8,625	up 1
20	Catherine	8,469	down 1
21	Josephine	8,127	up 1
22	Gladys	8,019	down 1
23	Ruby	7,686	up 1
24	Martha	7,610	up 1
25	Ethel	7,601	down 2
26	Grace	7,461	up 1
27	Eleanor	7,406	up 1
28	Edith	7,307	up 3
29	Thelma	7,290	up 1
30	Lucille	7,241	down 1
31	Hazel	7,214	down 5
32	Doris	7,161	up 2
33	Pauline	6,655	down 1
34	Esther	6,421	down 1
35	Gertrude	6,243	same
36	Annie	6,105	same
37	Marjorie	5,866	up 2
38	Beatrice	5,586	down 1
39	Clara	5,544	down 1
40	Ann	5,343	up 3
41	Emma	5,217	down 1
42	Bernice	5,183	same
43	Lois	5,149	up 4
44	Betty	5,136	up 9
45	Jean	5,081	up 3
46	Julia	5,066	down 2
47	Marion	5,033	up 3
48	Elsie	5,027	down 7
49	Bertha	4,900	down 3
50	Agnes	4,852	down 5
51	Katherine	4,801	down 2
52	Sarah	4,798	down 1
53	Anne	4,571	down 1
54	Ida	4,364	same
55	Eva	4,337	same
56	Bessie	4,122	up 1
57	Pearl	4,073	down 1
58	Myrtle	3,960	same
59	Viola	3,948	same
60	Kathryn	3,933	same
61	Nellie	3,862	up 2
62	Jane	3,826	up 7
63	Stella	3,818	up 1
64	Laura	3,744	down 3
65	Mabel	3,680	down 3
66	Vera	3,622	down 1
67	Rita	3,477	up 4
68	Jessie	3,414	down 2
69	Sylvia	3,414	down 2
70	Alma	3,403	same
71	Minnie	3,274	down 3
72	Marian	3,198	up 14
73	Willie	3,116	down 1
74	Barbara	3,112	up 9
75	Leona	3,086	down 1
76	Genevieve	3,063	same
77	Vivian	3,049	up 1
78	Marguerite	3,034	up 7
79	Jennie	3,010	down 6
80	Charlotte	2,995	up 1
81	Ella	2,965	down 6
82	Wilma	2,962	down 2
83	Violet	2,921	down 1
84	Lucy	2,877	down 5
85	Lena	2,869	down 8
86	June	2,840	up 10
87	Ellen	2,838	up 1
88	Lillie	2,825	down 4
89	Blanche	2,714	down 2
90	Juanita	2,644	up 2
91	Opal	2,636	down 1
92	Mae	2,607	down 3
93	Mattie	2,556	down 2
94	Geraldine	2,549	up 14
95	Phyllis	2,427	up 5
96	Maxine	2,424	up 2
97	Beulah	2,401	down 2
98	Theresa	2,348	down 5
99	Velma	2,319	down 5
100	Emily	2,213	down 1

Top boys' names, 1916
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1915
1	John	50,043	same
2	William	40,418	same
3	James	35,569	same
4	Robert	31,741	same
5	Joseph	23,883	same
6	Charles	23,612	up 1
7	George	23,381	down 1
8	Edward	17,005	same
9	Frank	15,291	same
10	Thomas	11,998	same
11	Walter	11,760	same
12	Paul	10,790	up 1
13	Harold	10,698	down 1
14	Henry	10,656	same
15	Richard	10,134	same
16	Raymond	9,565	same
17	Albert	9,044	same
18	Arthur	8,921	same
19	Harry	8,476	same
20	Donald	7,736	same
21	Ralph	7,085	same
22	Louis	6,817	up 1
23	Carl	6,785	down 1
24	Clarence	6,304	same
25	Howard	6,171	same
26	Jack	6,161	up 1
27	Kenneth	6,012	up 1
28	David	5,812	up 3
29	Fred	5,745	down 3
30	Willie	5,660	same
31	Francis	5,652	down 2
32	Earl	5,553	up 1
33	Roy	5,327	down 1
34	Stanley	5,130	same
35	Joe	4,911	up 3
36	Ernest	4,823	down 1
37	Anthony	4,749	down 1
38	Lawrence	4,742	down 1
39	Eugene	4,646	up 2
40	Herbert	4,463	same
41	Samuel	4,399	down 2
42	Leonard	4,328	up 2
43	Alfred	4,278	down 1
44	Michael	4,210	down 1
45	Elmer	3,936	same
46	Andrew	3,723	same
47	Leo	3,621	same
48	Norman	3,609	up 2
49	Bernard	3,476	down 1
50	Peter	3,370	down 1
51	Russell	3,330	same
52	Frederick	3,325	same
53	Edwin	3,299	same
54	Chester	3,212	same
55	Daniel	3,149	same
56	Herman	3,043	same
57	Melvin	2,984	up 3
58	Lloyd	2,926	up 4
59	Lester	2,907	down 2
60	Floyd	2,783	down 1
61	Clifford	2,767	same
62	Clyde	2,707	up 1
63	Leroy	2,699	up 3
64	Woodrow	2,668	up 19
65	Theodore	2,641	down 1
66	Marvin	2,529	up 6
67	Vincent	2,500	down 2
68	Charlie	2,416	up 7
69	Willard	2,413	down 11
70	Philip	2,409	down 1
71	Lewis	2,374	down 1
72	Milton	2,345	up 1
73	Ray	2,334	down 6
74	Sam	2,313	down 6
75	Vernon	2,288	up 5
76	Gerald	2,260	up 2
77	Jesse	2,230	same
78	Victor	2,215	down 4
79	Benjamin	2,186	down 8
80	Cecil	2,181	down 4
81	Martin	2,122	down 2
82	Alvin	2,093	down 1
83	Lee	2,016	up 1
84	Glenn	1,970	up 3
85	Leon	1,954	down 3
86	Oscar	1,916	up 2
87	Stephen	1,877	down 1
88	Edgar	1,874	down 3
89	Arnold	1,858	up 2
90	Gordon	1,792	same
91	Everett	1,764	down 2
92	Harvey	1,763	up 3
93	Claude	1,733	up 3
94	Wilbur	1,680	down 2
95	Sidney	1,659	down 1
96	Hugh	1,619	up 15
97	Morris	1,618	down 4
98	Wayne	1,587	down 1
99	Alexander	1,584	up 4
100	Maurice	1,584	up 1

Biggest climbers in 1916

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 1915.

Girls

Theda: up 235 places, from 585th to 350th
Josefina: up 226 places, from 982nd to 756th
Charline: up 211 places, from 876th to 665th
Georgette: up 207 places, from 959th to 752nd
Juliana: up 195 places, from 983rd to 788th
Myrl: up 190 places, from 932nd to 742nd
Octavia: up 180 places, from 825th to 645th
Rachael: up 155 places, from 672nd to 517th
Lyda: up 150 places, from 710th to 560th
Ardith: up 138 places, from 875th to 737th

Boys

Dorothy: up 240 places, from 943rd to 703rd
June: up 192 places, from 920th to 728th
Damon: up 192 places, from 983rd to 791st
Tracy: up 184 places, from 891st to 707th
Verlin: up 166 places, from 815th to 649th
Bertrand: up 166 places, from 857th to 691st
Gayle: up 166 places, from 969th to 803rd
Ivory: up 165 places, from 861st to 696th
Frankie: up 164 places, from 929th to 765th
Logan: up 163 places, from 829th to 666th

New to the top 1,000 in 1916

Girls

Trinidad, 760th (back after dropping out)
Isobel, 817th (back after dropping out)
Leonore, 833rd (back after dropping out)
Elease, 849th (back after dropping out)
Lavera, 852nd (back after dropping out)
Elenor, 859th (back after dropping out)
Elberta, 873rd (back after dropping out)
Luna, 888th (back after dropping out)
Prudence, 891st (back after dropping out)
Stacia, 901st (back after dropping out)

Boys

Benson, 737th (back after dropping out)
Jones, 766th (back after dropping out)
Angel, 772nd (back after dropping out)
Hughes, 794th (its first time ever)
Trinidad, 809th (back after dropping out)
Virgle, 821st (back after dropping out)
Tatsuo, 833rd (its first time ever)
Tim, 838th (back after dropping out)
Josh, 848th (back after dropping out)
Attilio, 856th (back after dropping out)

How spread out were names in 1916?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 23.1% of the girls counted in 1916, and the top ten boys' names to 30.7% of the boys. In 1896, those shares were 20.3% for girls and 35.2% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.