US baby names · 1912

Most popular baby names of 1912

In 1912, Social Security card applications recorded 558,119 girls and 429,942 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 3,445 distinct girls’ names and 2,905 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (32,304 girls) and John (24,588 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 22% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 31% of boys. Compared with 1911, 343,782 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1911, 2 girls’ names and 6 boys’ names in 1912 are newcomers (girls: Marian, Wilma; boys: Woodrow, Glenn, Wilbur). Of these names, 18 of the 100 girls’ names and 21 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1912 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

← 1911 1913 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1912

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	32,304
#2	Helen	16,133
#3	Dorothy	12,645
#4	Margaret	12,536
#5	Ruth	11,280
#6	Mildred	8,764
#7	Anna	8,586
#8	Elizabeth	8,527
#9	Frances	6,680
#10	Marie	6,642
#11	Alice	6,285
#12	Florence	5,739
#13	Evelyn	5,620
#14	Lillian	5,568
#15	Rose	5,431
#16	Edna	5,136
#17	Louise	5,116
#18	Ethel	5,073
#19	Gladys	4,980
#20	Virginia	4,810
#21	Catherine	4,666
#22	Irene	4,646
#23	Ruby	4,452
#24	Grace	4,418
#25	Hazel	4,197
#26	Thelma	4,183
#27	Annie	4,083
#28	Josephine	3,980
#29	Martha	3,911
#30	Gertrude	3,887
#31	Edith	3,842
#32	Lucille	3,763
#33	Esther	3,569
#34	Clara	3,480
#35	Emma	3,357
#36	Bertha	3,288
#37	Beatrice	3,205
#38	Pauline	3,163
#39	Eleanor	3,120
#40	Agnes	2,945
#41	Sarah	2,919
#42	Elsie	2,895
#43	Bessie	2,832
#44	Julia	2,825
#45	Ida	2,740
#46	Mabel	2,714
#47	Ann	2,666
#48	Doris	2,657
#49	Eva	2,636
#50	Myrtle	2,599
#51	Bernice	2,593
#52	Viola	2,550
#53	Katherine	2,546
#54	Pearl	2,528
#55	Marion	2,522
#56	Marjorie	2,468
#57	Laura	2,413
#58	Anne	2,369
#59	Nellie	2,365
#60	Minnie	2,295
#61	Willie	2,267
#62	Alma	2,183
#63	Lois	2,146
#64	Jean	2,056
#65	Jessie	2,052
#66	Betty	2,011
#67	Lillie	2,003
#68	Vera	1,974
#69	Ella	1,921
#70	Mattie	1,915
#71	Kathryn	1,905
#72	Lena	1,903
#73	Stella	1,834
#74	Mae	1,775
#75	Blanche	1,761
#76	Leona	1,650
#77	Sylvia	1,639
#78	Lucy	1,636
#79	Marguerite	1,620
#80	Beulah	1,607
#81	Jennie	1,595
#82	Carrie	1,580
#83	Violet	1,535
#84	Vivian	1,487
#85	Opal	1,465
#86	Ellen	1,449
#87	Fannie	1,425
#88	Velma	1,403
#89	Jane	1,390
#90	Hattie	1,389
#91	Charlotte	1,375
#92	Genevieve	1,353
#93	Marian	1,313
#94	Rosa	1,305
#95	Mamie	1,273
#96	Ada	1,268
#97	Theresa	1,268
#98	Cora	1,253
#99	Wilma	1,241
#100	Inez	1,228

Top 100 boys’ names, 1912

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	24,588
#2	William	19,626
#3	James	17,644
#4	Robert	12,836
#5	Joseph	12,062
#6	George	11,734
#7	Charles	11,070
#8	Edward	7,936
#9	Frank	7,912
#10	Thomas	6,087
#11	Walter	5,809
#12	Henry	5,643
#13	Harold	5,102
#14	Paul	4,785
#15	Arthur	4,685
#16	Harry	4,624
#17	Albert	4,587
#18	Raymond	4,374
#19	Richard	4,188
#20	Louis	3,591
#21	Clarence	3,590
#22	Willie	3,508
#23	Ralph	3,435
#24	Carl	3,224
#25	Howard	3,212
#26	Fred	3,103
#27	Donald	2,872
#28	Jack	2,870
#29	David	2,858
#30	Samuel	2,602
#31	Roy	2,591
#32	Ernest	2,569
#33	Kenneth	2,538
#34	Earl	2,518
#35	Francis	2,516
#36	Joe	2,515
#37	Anthony	2,480
#38	Lawrence	2,467
#39	Herbert	2,236
#40	Alfred	2,210
#41	Eugene	2,114
#42	Michael	2,104
#43	Stanley	2,017
#44	Andrew	1,946
#45	Leonard	1,928
#46	Woodrow	1,843
#47	Elmer	1,840
#48	Peter	1,679
#49	Leo	1,654
#50	Herman	1,646
#51	Frederick	1,564
#52	Theodore	1,561
#53	Daniel	1,524
#54	Edwin	1,518
#55	Chester	1,460
#56	Russell	1,449
#57	Charlie	1,446
#58	Lester	1,443
#59	Floyd	1,438
#60	Bernard	1,437
#61	Norman	1,367
#62	Clifford	1,345
#63	Sam	1,325
#64	Milton	1,319
#65	Clyde	1,314
#66	Leroy	1,306
#67	Benjamin	1,272
#68	Lewis	1,247
#69	Philip	1,237
#70	Lloyd	1,227
#71	Melvin	1,185
#72	Vincent	1,178
#73	Oscar	1,157
#74	Jesse	1,106
#75	Martin	1,064
#76	Cecil	1,058
#77	Ray	1,050
#78	Lee	1,030
#79	Leon	1,006
#80	Sidney	1,003
#81	Victor	989
#82	Morris	960
#83	Marvin	958
#84	Glenn	948
#85	Edgar	945
#86	Alvin	929
#87	Gerald	929
#88	Stephen	928
#89	Claude	890
#90	Vernon	889
#91	Harvey	875
#92	Wilbur	832
#93	Gordon	822
#94	Irving	815
#95	Maurice	811
#96	Everett	806
#97	Alexander	803
#98	Homer	794
#99	Arnold	767
#100	Julius	758