US baby names · 1918

Most popular baby names of 1918

In 1918, Social Security card applications recorded 1,157,631 girls and 1,013,480 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 5,585 distinct girls’ names and 4,813 boys’ names.

The most common names were Mary (67,365 girls) and John (56,558 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 1917, 164,362 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1917, 4 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1918 are newcomers (girls: Lorraine, Shirley, Norma; boys: Virgil, Homer). Of these names, 18 of the 100 girls’ names and 20 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 1918 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

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

← 1917 1919 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1918

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Mary	67,365
#2	Helen	36,148
#3	Dorothy	32,030
#4	Margaret	27,139
#5	Ruth	25,535
#6	Mildred	17,258
#7	Virginia	16,421
#8	Frances	16,132
#9	Elizabeth	15,853
#10	Anna	15,666
#11	Evelyn	13,493
#12	Marie	12,589
#13	Alice	11,590
#14	Florence	11,318
#15	Lillian	9,986
#16	Irene	9,774
#17	Rose	9,568
#18	Louise	9,111
#19	Doris	9,061
#20	Catherine	8,842
#21	Betty	8,803
#22	Gladys	8,734
#23	Edna	8,698
#24	Josephine	8,682
#25	Martha	8,341
#26	Eleanor	8,176
#27	Ruby	8,134
#28	Ethel	8,075
#29	Lucille	7,902
#30	Edith	7,858
#31	Grace	7,770
#32	Thelma	7,740
#33	Hazel	7,615
#34	Marjorie	7,517
#35	Pauline	7,222
#36	Annie	6,743
#37	Jean	6,600
#38	Esther	6,574
#39	Gertrude	6,264
#40	Beatrice	5,907
#41	Bernice	5,892
#42	Lois	5,877
#43	Clara	5,778
#44	Ann	5,613
#45	Marion	5,583
#46	Emma	5,324
#47	Agnes	5,291
#48	Julia	5,268
#49	Elsie	5,194
#50	Katherine	5,191
#51	Bertha	5,051
#52	Sarah	4,969
#53	Jane	4,730
#54	Anne	4,567
#55	Eva	4,563
#56	Pearl	4,521
#57	Ida	4,450
#58	Rita	4,447
#59	Viola	4,331
#60	Barbara	4,224
#61	Bessie	4,101
#62	Myrtle	4,076
#63	Kathryn	4,068
#64	Laura	4,062
#65	Nellie	4,048
#66	June	4,034
#67	Stella	3,928
#68	Vera	3,923
#69	Lorraine	3,876
#70	Willie	3,867
#71	Sylvia	3,675
#72	Vivian	3,663
#73	Alma	3,650
#74	Mabel	3,636
#75	Jessie	3,591
#76	Marian	3,503
#77	Geraldine	3,446
#78	Charlotte	3,373
#79	Leona	3,335
#80	Phyllis	3,326
#81	Genevieve	3,304
#82	Wilma	3,298
#83	Violet	3,294
#84	Ella	3,291
#85	Juanita	3,260
#86	Marguerite	3,249
#87	Maxine	3,216
#88	Minnie	3,181
#89	Lillie	3,112
#90	Lucy	3,108
#91	Jennie	3,033
#92	Ellen	3,030
#93	Lena	2,937
#94	Opal	2,847
#95	Mae	2,756
#96	Blanche	2,739
#97	Shirley	2,654
#98	Norma	2,653
#99	Kathleen	2,629
#100	Mattie	2,610

Top 100 boys’ names, 1918

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	John	56,558
#2	William	45,291
#3	James	42,115
#4	Robert	40,619
#5	Charles	26,921
#6	George	26,318
#7	Joseph	26,261
#8	Edward	19,489
#9	Frank	17,018
#10	Thomas	13,910
#11	Walter	13,338
#12	Richard	12,323
#13	Harold	12,185
#14	Paul	11,755
#15	Raymond	11,604
#16	Henry	11,354
#17	Arthur	10,105
#18	Donald	9,972
#19	Albert	9,935
#20	Harry	9,896
#21	Jack	8,341
#22	Ralph	8,162
#23	Clarence	7,187
#24	Louis	7,082
#25	Carl	7,004
#26	Howard	6,928
#27	Kenneth	6,809
#28	David	6,627
#29	Willie	6,537
#30	Francis	6,347
#31	Earl	6,321
#32	Roy	6,211
#33	Fred	6,182
#34	Joe	5,805
#35	Eugene	5,631
#36	Stanley	5,618
#37	Ernest	5,527
#38	Lawrence	5,372
#39	Anthony	5,168
#40	Herbert	5,128
#41	Leonard	4,980
#42	Alfred	4,873
#43	Samuel	4,772
#44	Elmer	4,373
#45	Michael	4,296
#46	Andrew	4,138
#47	Bernard	4,098
#48	Leo	4,036
#49	Norman	3,867
#50	Russell	3,833
#51	Lloyd	3,742
#52	Daniel	3,726
#53	Peter	3,711
#54	Chester	3,692
#55	Edwin	3,487
#56	Melvin	3,469
#57	Leroy	3,422
#58	Woodrow	3,358
#59	Frederick	3,351
#60	Clifford	3,299
#61	Floyd	3,235
#62	Lester	3,229
#63	Victor	3,183
#64	Theodore	3,143
#65	Herman	3,041
#66	Vernon	2,971
#67	Clyde	2,917
#68	Marvin	2,829
#69	Ray	2,763
#70	Charlie	2,743
#71	Philip	2,733
#72	Gerald	2,712
#73	Vincent	2,621
#74	Lewis	2,593
#75	Sam	2,506
#76	Milton	2,454
#77	Leon	2,442
#78	Jesse	2,433
#79	Benjamin	2,431
#80	Alvin	2,409
#81	Martin	2,403
#82	Cecil	2,328
#83	Willard	2,311
#84	Glenn	2,253
#85	Gordon	2,233
#86	Lee	2,159
#87	Oscar	2,113
#88	Harvey	2,111
#89	Edgar	2,085
#90	Warren	1,990
#91	Wayne	1,912
#92	Arnold	1,910
#93	Everett	1,891
#94	Sidney	1,879
#95	Claude	1,878
#96	Stephen	1,843
#97	Wilbur	1,800
#98	Allen	1,779
#99	Virgil	1,707
#100	Homer	1,680