| Ship (Line) |
| Size |
| Maiden Voyage |
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| City of New York (Inman) | | 10,499 tons | | 8/1/1888 |
| City of Paris (Inman) | | 10,499 tons | | 4/3/1889 |
| Campania (Cunard) | | 12,950 tons | | 4/22/1893 |
| Lucania (Cunard) | | 12,952 tons | | 9/2/1893 |
| Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (NDL) | | 14,349 tons | | 9/18/1897 |
| Oceanic (White Star) | | 17,272 tons | | 9/6/1899 |
| Celtic (White Star) | | 20.904 tons | | 7/26/1901 |
| Cedric (White Star) | | 21,035 tons | | 2/11/1903 |
| Baltic (White Star) | | 23,884 tons | | 6/29/1904 |
| Kaiserin Auguste Victoria (Hapag) | | 24,581 tons | | 5/10/1906 |
| Lusitania (Cunard) | | 31,550 tons | | 9/7/1907 |
| Mauretania (Cunard) | | 31,938 tons | | 11/16/1907 |
| Olympic (White Star) | | 45,324 tons | | 6/14/1911 |
| Titanic (White Star) | | 46,329 tons | | 4/10/1912 |
| Olympic (White Star) | | 45,324 tons | | 4/15/1912 |
| Imperator (Hapag) | | 51,680 tons | | 6/10/1913 |
| Vaterland/Leviathan (Hapag/U.S. Lines) | | 54,282 tons | | 5/14/1914 |
| Majestic (White Star) | | 56,551 tons | | 5/10/1922 |
| Normandie (French) | | 79,280 tons | | 5/29/1935 |
| Queen Elizabeth (Cunard White Star) | | 83,673 tons | | 3/2/1940 |
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Notes:
Modificatons made to Normandie in 1936 increased her tonnage to 83,423, enabling her to maintain the title of "World's Largest Ship" even after the debut of Cunard White Star's Queen Mary, at 80,774 tons, later that year.
Leviathan was remeasured at 59,956 tons in 1923, giving rise to U.S. Lines' claim that she had never been displaced as the largest ship in the world. This measurement was widely doubted at the time, and this list does not take it into account. Instead, the tonnage
figure shown is that provided by Hapag. The credibility of U.S. Lines' measurement is also called into question by the fact that a 1931 measurement purported to show a 48,932 tonnage.
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