Popular baby names in District of Columbia, 1939

The most popular baby names in District of Columbia in 1939 were Mary for girls (366 babies) and John for boys (421). John ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 11,328 babies born in District of Columbia in 1939 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 1939

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

Delores: 54 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Constance: 34 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Anne: 45 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Jeanne: 24 babies, 3× the national rate
Yvonne: 36 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Harriet: 18 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Catherine: 53 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Brenda: 33 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Katherine: 28 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Elsie: 19 babies, 2.2× the national rate

Boys

Roland: 22 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Bernard: 36 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Benjamin: 19 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Frederick: 38 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Warren: 24 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Stephen: 36 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Samuel: 35 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Theodore: 24 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Francis: 39 babies, 2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in District of Columbia, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	366	–	1
2	Barbara	354	–	2
3	Patricia	259	–	3
4	Shirley	143	↑2	5
5	Joan	131	–	11
6	Margaret	129	↓2	10
7	Nancy	121	–	7
8	Carol	116	↑2	6
9	Dorothy	103	–	9
10	Elizabeth	101	↑2	18
11	Joyce	90	↑2	12
12	Betty	89	↓1	4
13	Judith	80	↑7	8
14	Helen	79	–	16
15	Frances	78	↑4	26
16	Ann	70	↑5	33
17	Jean	70	↓9	32
18	Sandra	69	↓3	13
19	Gloria	59	↑4	36
20	Ruth	58	↑8	22
21	Doris	57	↓4	29
22	Delores	54	↓4	79
23	Catherine	53	↑2	49
24	Carolyn	52	–	14
25	Janet	52	↓9	17
26	Linda	49	↑18	15
27	Virginia	48	↑7	21
28	Alice	46	↑4	31
29	Carole	46	↑6	47
30	Anne	45	↓4	85
31	Geraldine	45	↑6	41
32	Phyllis	45	↓2	30
33	Susan	45	–	44
34	Diane	41	new	51
35	Jane	40	↑3	46
36	Elaine	39	new	45
37	Marie	39	↓10	37
38	Beverly	36	↓16	25
39	Joanne	36	↓3	53
40	Kathleen	36	new	48
41	Martha	36	–	27
42	Yvonne	36	↓13	90
43	Jacqueline	35	↓3	72
44	Norma	35	new	38
45	Constance	34	new	>100
46	Mildred	34	↓3	55
47	Brenda	33	new	86
48	Evelyn	33	↓2	40
49	Sylvia	31	↓18	62
50	Donna	30	new	20

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	John	421	↑1	3
2	James	416	↑2	2
3	Robert	387	↓2	1
4	William	376	↓1	4
5	Charles	226	–	6
6	Richard	216	–	5
7	Thomas	185	–	9
8	George	170	↑3	11
9	David	147	↓1	7
10	Joseph	144	↓1	12
11	Donald	125	↓1	8
12	Edward	114	–	15
13	Ronald	104	↑1	10
14	Michael	102	↓1	18
15	Paul	81	↑3	17
16	Kenneth	72	–	13
17	Raymond	70	↓2	22
18	Lawrence	50	↓1	36
19	Walter	48	↑4	25
20	Eugene	46	↑6	37
21	Harry	45	↑6	45
22	Frank	41	↓3	20
23	Daniel	39	↑1	38
24	Francis	39	↓4	53
25	Frederick	38	↑11	71
26	Ralph	38	↓1	35
27	Peter	37	↑5	46
28	Bernard	36	↓6	76
29	Stanley	36	↑19	57
30	Stephen	36	new	65
31	Wayne	36	new	39
32	Arthur	35	↓3	32
33	Earl	35	↑13	50
34	Howard	35	↑3	47
35	Melvin	35	↓14	51
36	Samuel	35	↑8	63
37	Albert	34	↓7	41
38	Carl	34	↓3	30
39	Henry	34	↓11	31
40	Louis	34	new	49
41	Larry	33	↑2	14
42	Jack	31	–	26
43	Gerald	30	↓9	19
44	Norman	29	↓13	44
45	Ernest	28	↓5	55
46	Leonard	28	new	54
47	Douglas	27	↑3	58
48	Roger	27	new	28
49	Harold	25	↓8	23
50	Theodore	24	↓12	90

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