US baby names · 1917

Most popular baby names of 1917

In 1917, Social Security card applications recorded 1,081,267 girls and 925,482 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,310 distinct girls’ names and 4,602 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (64,280 girls) and John (51,852 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 23% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 31% of boys. Compared with 1916, 72,335 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1916, 2 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1917 are newcomers (girls: Nancy, Sophie; boys: Warren, Allen). Of these names, 19 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 1917 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1916 1918 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1917

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	64,280
#2	Helen	34,251
#3	Dorothy	28,852
#4	Margaret	25,560
#5	Ruth	23,568
#6	Mildred	16,256
#7	Anna	15,160
#8	Elizabeth	15,131
#9	Frances	14,363
#10	Virginia	14,261
#11	Evelyn	12,532
#12	Marie	11,813
#13	Alice	10,990
#14	Florence	10,538
#15	Lillian	9,843
#16	Rose	9,783
#17	Irene	9,163
#18	Catherine	8,689
#19	Louise	8,584
#20	Edna	8,422
#21	Josephine	8,326
#22	Martha	8,261
#23	Gladys	8,075
#24	Ethel	7,865
#25	Doris	7,819
#26	Eleanor	7,669
#27	Ruby	7,662
#28	Edith	7,532
#29	Lucille	7,529
#30	Grace	7,373
#31	Hazel	7,285
#32	Thelma	7,245
#33	Pauline	6,896
#34	Betty	6,639
#35	Annie	6,404
#36	Marjorie	6,399
#37	Gertrude	6,300
#38	Esther	6,281
#39	Beatrice	5,839
#40	Jean	5,692
#41	Clara	5,626
#42	Bernice	5,546
#43	Lois	5,485
#44	Ann	5,455
#45	Marion	5,371
#46	Emma	5,121
#47	Julia	5,078
#48	Agnes	5,066
#49	Katherine	4,956
#50	Elsie	4,939
#51	Bertha	4,881
#52	Sarah	4,766
#53	Anne	4,603
#54	Eva	4,286
#55	Jane	4,258
#56	Ida	4,247
#57	Pearl	4,232
#58	Myrtle	4,046
#59	Viola	4,040
#60	Kathryn	3,984
#61	Bessie	3,927
#62	Stella	3,872
#63	Rita	3,870
#64	Nellie	3,808
#65	Laura	3,807
#66	Vera	3,714
#67	Barbara	3,535
#68	Mabel	3,499
#69	Sylvia	3,469
#70	Jessie	3,465
#71	Alma	3,407
#72	Willie	3,381
#73	June	3,370
#74	Marian	3,267
#75	Minnie	3,262
#76	Charlotte	3,229
#77	Genevieve	3,192
#78	Marguerite	3,161
#79	Vivian	3,119
#80	Leona	3,115
#81	Jennie	3,109
#82	Wilma	3,071
#83	Ella	3,054
#84	Violet	3,026
#85	Lena	3,004
#86	Lillie	2,931
#87	Juanita	2,929
#88	Lucy	2,929
#89	Geraldine	2,897
#90	Ellen	2,855
#91	Blanche	2,836
#92	Phyllis	2,696
#93	Maxine	2,647
#94	Mattie	2,572
#95	Opal	2,541
#96	Mae	2,507
#97	Theresa	2,490
#98	Nancy	2,411
#99	Velma	2,411
#100	Sophie	2,382

Top 100 boys’ names, 1917

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	51,852
#2	William	42,422
#3	James	37,337
#4	Robert	35,220
#5	Joseph	24,761
#6	George	24,196
#7	Charles	24,143
#8	Edward	17,501
#9	Frank	15,768
#10	Thomas	12,611
#11	Walter	12,582
#12	Harold	11,194
#13	Paul	11,156
#14	Richard	10,914
#15	Henry	10,696
#16	Raymond	9,956
#17	Arthur	9,282
#18	Albert	9,157
#19	Harry	8,856
#20	Donald	8,729
#21	Ralph	7,391
#22	Jack	6,875
#23	Louis	6,771
#24	Carl	6,699
#25	Clarence	6,587
#26	Howard	6,410
#27	Kenneth	6,141
#28	David	6,099
#29	Fred	5,986
#30	Francis	5,801
#31	Willie	5,751
#32	Earl	5,632
#33	Roy	5,586
#34	Stanley	5,186
#35	Joe	5,142
#36	Lawrence	5,094
#37	Ernest	5,055
#38	Anthony	5,027
#39	Eugene	4,873
#40	Herbert	4,745
#41	Leonard	4,694
#42	Samuel	4,490
#43	Alfred	4,424
#44	Michael	4,288
#45	Elmer	3,812
#46	Norman	3,788
#47	Leo	3,779
#48	Andrew	3,752
#49	Bernard	3,711
#50	Peter	3,464
#51	Frederick	3,455
#52	Russell	3,436
#53	Lloyd	3,417
#54	Daniel	3,360
#55	Edwin	3,346
#56	Chester	3,338
#57	Melvin	3,155
#58	Herman	2,974
#59	Clifford	2,969
#60	Leroy	2,951
#61	Lester	2,854
#62	Floyd	2,820
#63	Theodore	2,809
#64	Clyde	2,719
#65	Vincent	2,636
#66	Philip	2,544
#67	Charlie	2,536
#68	Marvin	2,517
#69	Gerald	2,486
#70	Lewis	2,477
#71	Vernon	2,463
#72	Sam	2,454
#73	Woodrow	2,428
#74	Ray	2,426
#75	Milton	2,394
#76	Benjamin	2,386
#77	Martin	2,336
#78	Victor	2,207
#79	Jesse	2,200
#80	Willard	2,188
#81	Alvin	2,142
#82	Leon	2,102
#83	Cecil	2,101
#84	Gordon	2,019
#85	Lee	2,004
#86	Glenn	1,997
#87	Oscar	1,961
#88	Edgar	1,920
#89	Stephen	1,892
#90	Harvey	1,808
#91	Arnold	1,781
#92	Wilbur	1,749
#93	Warren	1,743
#94	Everett	1,734
#95	Sidney	1,727
#96	Wayne	1,715
#97	Alexander	1,664
#98	Claude	1,625
#99	Morris	1,624
#100	Allen	1,592