Birth year

Born in 1917? Here's your year in charts

In 1917, the top baby names were Mary and John and a newborn could expect to live 50.9 years.

Top baby names of 1917

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 64,280 babies, 5.9% of girls
  2. 2. Helen 34,251 babies, 3.2% of girls
  3. 3. Dorothy 28,852 babies, 2.7% of girls
  4. 4. Margaret 25,560 babies, 2.4% of girls
  5. 5. Ruth 23,568 babies, 2.2% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. John 51,852 babies, 5.6% of boys
  2. 2. William 42,422 babies, 4.6% of boys
  3. 3. James 37,337 babies, 4.0% of boys
  4. 4. Robert 35,220 babies, 3.8% of boys
  5. 5. Joseph 24,761 babies, 2.7% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

1917 then vs. now

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    50.9 years in 1917, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1917.

$100 in 1917 buys about as much as $2,627.21 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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