Birth year

Born in 1918? Here's your year in charts

In 1918, the top baby names were Mary and John and a newborn could expect to live 39.1 years.

Top baby names of 1918

Girls

  1. 1. Mary 67,365 babies, 5.8% of girls
  2. 2. Helen 36,148 babies, 3.1% of girls
  3. 3. Dorothy 32,030 babies, 2.8% of girls
  4. 4. Margaret 27,139 babies, 2.3% of girls
  5. 5. Ruth 25,535 babies, 2.2% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. John 56,558 babies, 5.6% of boys
  2. 2. William 45,291 babies, 4.5% of boys
  3. 3. James 42,115 babies, 4.2% of boys
  4. 4. Robert 40,619 babies, 4.0% of boys
  5. 5. Charles 26,921 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.

1918 then vs. now

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    39.1 years in 1918, 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 1918.

$100 in 1918 buys about as much as $2,240.04 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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