Popular baby names in District of Columbia, 1917

The most popular baby names in District of Columbia in 1917 were Mary for girls (234 babies) and John for boys (195). Social Security records list 4,731 babies born in District of Columbia in 1917 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in District of Columbia in 1917

Names given at least 15 times in District of Columbia that year and at least twice as common as in the US as a whole.

Girls

Audrey: 18 babies, 4× the national rate
Catherine: 59 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Frances: 80 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Dorothy: 154 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Doris: 40 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Margaret: 124 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Elizabeth: 75 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Bernice: 27 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Marian: 16 babies, 2.1× the national rate

Boys

Milton: 23 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Frederick: 22 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Thomas: 77 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Bernard: 22 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Melvin: 18 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Richard: 54 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Norman: 19 babies, 2.1× the national rate
James: 176 babies, 2× the national rate
Raymond: 47 babies, 2× the national rate
Harry: 42 babies, 2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in District of Columbia, 1917

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	Mary	234	–	1
2	Dorothy	154	↑1	3
3	Margaret	124	↓1	4
4	Helen	121	–	2
5	Frances	80	↑3	9
6	Elizabeth	75	–	8
7	Ruth	65	↓2	5
8	Catherine	59	↑6	18
9	Evelyn	57	↓2	11
10	Mildred	56	↑3	6
11	Alice	51	↑5	13
12	Virginia	50	↓2	10
13	Marie	41	↑7	12
14	Doris	40	↑1	25
15	Lillian	40	↑4	15
16	Louise	36	↓7	19
17	Anna	34	↓5	7
18	Ethel	33	↑4	24
19	Thelma	32	↓8	32
20	Eleanor	30	↑10	26
21	Edith	29	↓3	28
22	Bernice	27	↑15	42
23	Edna	25	–	20
24	Florence	25	↓7	14
25	Rose	25	↑16	16
26	Gertrude	23	–	37
27	Jean	22	–	40
28	Martha	22	↑1	22
29	Bertha	21	new	51
30	Marion	21	↑10	45
31	Marjorie	21	↑5	36
32	Gladys	19	–	23
33	Grace	19	↑2	30
34	Audrey	18	↓9	>100
35	Esther	18	↑4	38
36	Ann	17	new	44
37	Jane	17	↓13	55
38	Katherine	17	↓17	49
39	Sarah	17	↑8	52
40	Agnes	16	new	48
41	Beatrice	16	new	39
42	Josephine	16	↓9	21
43	Marian	16	new	74
44	Pearl	16	new	57
45	Rita	16	↓17	63
46	Betty	15	↓8	34
47	Lucille	15	new	29
48	Anne	14	↓14	53
49	Elsie	14	new	50
50	Nancy	14	new	98

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	John	195	–	1
2	William	187	–	2
3	James	176	–	3
4	Robert	127	↑1	4
5	Charles	99	↑1	7
6	Joseph	94	↓2	5
7	George	90	–	6
8	Thomas	77	↑6	10
9	Edward	54	↓1	8
10	Richard	54	↑1	14
11	Raymond	47	↓1	16
12	Harry	42	↑1	19
13	Walter	32	↑2	11
14	Frank	30	↓2	9
15	Henry	30	↑2	15
16	Paul	30	↑7	13
17	Albert	27	↑5	18
18	Donald	27	↑3	20
19	Francis	27	↓10	30
20	Milton	23	↑25	75
21	Bernard	22	↓3	49
22	Frederick	22	↑8	51
23	Ernest	19	↑4	37
24	Harold	19	↑9	12
25	Norman	19	↑3	46
26	Jack	18	↑8	22
27	Louis	18	↓1	23
28	Melvin	18	↑16	57
29	Ralph	18	–	21
30	David	17	↓14	28
31	Herbert	17	↑1	40
32	Lawrence	17	↓7	36
33	Arthur	16	↓13	17
34	Carl	16	↑7	24
35	Clarence	16	↓11	25
36	Daniel	16	↑6	54
37	Eugene	16	new	39
38	Samuel	16	↓3	42
39	Fred	15	new	29
40	Leonard	14	↓2	41
41	Leroy	14	↑2	60
42	Alfred	12	↓6	43
43	Kenneth	12	new	27
44	Theodore	12	new	63
45	Benjamin	11	new	76
46	Earl	11	↓27	32
47	Andrew	10	↓1	48
48	Franklin	10	new	>100
49	Leon	10	new	82
50	Lloyd	10	new	53

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