Popular baby names in Alabama, 1939

The most popular baby names in Alabama in 1939 were Mary for girls (2,075 babies) and James for boys (2,281). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 56,291 babies born in Alabama in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Alabama in 1939

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

Girls

Voncile: 15 babies, 15.7× the national rate
Lue: 19 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Annie: 655 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Willie: 307 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Mattie: 204 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Jimmie: 76 babies, 6× the national rate
Robbie: 47 babies, 6× the national rate
Charlie: 21 babies, 6× the national rate
Syble: 19 babies, 6× the national rate
Queen: 33 babies, 5.7× the national rate

Boys

Rayburn: 25 babies, 12.7× the national rate
Foy: 15 babies, 12.6× the national rate
Rayford: 25 babies, 11.3× the national rate
Hayward: 15 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Hoyt: 17 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Roosevelt: 96 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Tommie: 76 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Willie: 901 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Lamar: 30 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Travis: 49 babies, 5.5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Alabama, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	2,075	–	1
2	Betty	1,195	–	4
3	Barbara	768	–	2
4	Annie	655	–	54
5	Dorothy	603	–	9
6	Shirley	590	–	5
7	Martha	573	–	27
8	Patricia	427	↑3	3
9	Carolyn	408	–	14
10	Margaret	408	↓2	10
11	Peggy	334	↑2	34
12	Sarah	318	–	68
13	Doris	313	↓3	29
14	Willie	307	↑1	>100
15	Helen	285	↑1	16
16	Elizabeth	275	↑3	18
17	Frances	251	↓3	26
18	Joyce	247	–	12
19	Ruby	243	↓2	67
20	Virginia	235	–	21
21	Nancy	219	↑4	7
22	Alice	218	↓1	31
23	Linda	214	↑27	15
24	Mattie	204	↓1	>100
25	Edna	199	↑6	81
26	Emma	196	–	89
27	Evelyn	191	↑5	40
28	Jo	174	↑10	70
29	Louise	172	↓2	59
30	Juanita	166	↑3	77
31	Lillie	165	↓1	>100
32	Ann	156	↓4	33
33	Mildred	151	↓9	55
34	Carol	149	new	6
35	Bobbie	148	↓13	>100
36	Clara	145	↑1	>100
37	Sara	145	↓3	>100
38	Gloria	139	↑1	36
39	Wanda	139	new	50
40	Ruth	138	↓11	22
41	Minnie	137	–	>100
42	Ella	135	new	>100
43	Ethel	134	↓8	100
44	Norma	133	new	38
45	Janice	132	↓5	24
46	Marie	131	↑3	37
47	Geraldine	129	new	41
48	Rosie	129	↓12	>100
49	Julia	128	↓1	91
50	Sandra	127	new	13

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	James	2,281	–	2
2	William	1,200	↑2	4
3	John	1,170	↓1	3
4	Robert	1,163	↓1	1
5	Charles	1,041	–	6
6	Willie	901	–	33
7	Billy	665	–	24
8	Bobby	546	–	29
9	Thomas	517	↑2	9
10	Joe	487	↓1	27
11	George	482	↓1	11
12	Jerry	451	↑1	16
13	David	376	↑2	7
14	Jimmy	363	↓2	43
15	Donald	341	↓1	8
16	Henry	314	↑1	31
17	Joseph	287	↓1	12
18	Edward	284	–	15
19	Walter	253	↑3	25
20	Johnny	250	↑1	62
21	Richard	250	↓2	5
22	Kenneth	242	↑1	13
23	Frank	217	↓3	20
24	Harold	209	↑1	23
25	Roy	207	↑2	42
26	Charlie	205	↑2	>100
27	Arthur	194	↑3	32
28	Paul	194	↑1	17
29	Eddie	190	↓5	81
30	Jimmie	190	↓4	80
31	Larry	190	↑7	14
32	Jack	180	↑1	26
33	Fred	177	↓1	40
34	Clarence	153	↑8	60
35	Eugene	152	↑6	37
36	Carl	151	↓1	30
37	Samuel	150	↓3	63
38	Albert	149	↓7	41
39	Gerald	142	↑10	19
40	Johnnie	142	↓3	>100
41	Raymond	141	↑3	22
42	Jesse	140	new	99
43	Ralph	137	–	35
44	Ronald	137	↑1	10
45	Tommy	137	↓6	77
46	Wayne	132	new	39
47	Howard	129	↓11	47
48	Melvin	124	↓2	51
49	Curtis	118	↓9	98
50	Cecil	114	new	>100

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