Birth year

Born in 2016? Here's your year in charts

In 2016, the top baby names were Emma and Noah, a dozen eggs cost $1.68, a gallon of gas cost $2.15, unemployment averaged 4.9%, a newborn could expect to live 78.7 years, and the world had 7.53 billion people.

Top baby names of 2016

Girls

  1. 1. Emma 19,550 babies, 1.1% of girls
  2. 2. Olivia 19,414 babies, 1.1% of girls
  3. 3. Ava 16,354 babies, 0.9% of girls
  4. 4. Sophia 16,185 babies, 0.9% of girls
  5. 5. Isabella 14,863 babies, 0.8% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Noah 19,188 babies, 1.0% of boys
  2. 2. Liam 18,277 babies, 1.0% of boys
  3. 3. William 15,810 babies, 0.8% of boys
  4. 4. Mason 15,287 babies, 0.8% of boys
  5. 5. James 14,920 babies, 0.8% 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.

2016 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

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    $1.68 in 2016, compared with $2.27 in September 2026

    Average price of grade A large eggs in U.S. cities.

  • A gallon of regular gas

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    $2.15 in 2016, compared with $4.36 in September 2026

    Average U.S. retail price.

  • Unemployment rate

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    4.9% in 2016, compared with 4.2% in September 2026

    Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.

  • Life expectancy at birth

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    78.7 years in 2016, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

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

  • People in the world

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    7.53 billion in 2016, compared with 8.22 billion in 2025

    World population at mid-year.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 2016.

$100 in 2016 buys about as much as $140.39 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates