Popular baby names in Florida, 1940

The most popular baby names in Florida in 1940 were Mary for girls (901 babies) and James for boys (1,142). Social Security records list 30,288 babies born in Florida in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Florida in 1940

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

Girls

Gussie: 16 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Pearlie: 20 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Leola: 18 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Marva: 16 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Johnnie: 44 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Earnestine: 22 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Bettye: 34 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Deloris: 39 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Gracie: 19 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Rosa: 67 babies, 3.3× the national rate

Boys

Alphonso: 25 babies, 13.4× the national rate
Lamar: 18 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Nathaniel: 70 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Elijah: 16 babies, 6× the national rate
Cleveland: 19 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Moses: 19 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Winston: 20 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Rufus: 22 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Willie: 290 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Roosevelt: 29 babies, 3.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Florida, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	901	–	1
2	Betty	534	↑1	5
3	Barbara	522	↓1	2
4	Patricia	388	–	3
5	Dorothy	324	↑1	12
6	Shirley	303	↓1	9
7	Linda	236	↑10	8
8	Carolyn	235	↑2	15
9	Joyce	223	↑2	13
10	Margaret	222	↓2	11
11	Sandra	203	↑3	10
12	Frances	196	–	28
13	Nancy	195	↓4	7
14	Martha	192	↓7	26
15	Gloria	186	↑5	30
16	Annie	153	–	56
17	Elizabeth	151	↓4	20
18	Helen	145	↓3	18
19	Virginia	141	–	21
20	Judith	136	↑6	4
21	Carol	126	↓3	6
22	Evelyn	112	↑2	48
23	Alice	108	↓2	32
24	Doris	108	↓2	31
25	Judy	101	↑6	16
26	Joan	99	↑2	14
27	Sylvia	95	↓4	62
28	Sarah	91	↑1	60
29	Peggy	87	↑12	37
30	Marilyn	86	↑6	25
31	Ruby	84	↓4	66
32	Ann	83	↑10	35
33	Janice	83	↑2	22
34	Norma	80	↓2	43
35	Catherine	76	↓2	53
36	Juanita	76	↑2	78
37	Mildred	76	↓7	58
38	Willie	76	↓4	>100
39	Emma	74	↑11	94
40	Ruth	74	↓15	24
41	Louise	73	↑4	59
42	Jean	72	↓5	29
43	Jeanette	71	–	90
44	Yvonne	70	new	>100
45	Beverly	69	↑4	27
46	Geraldine	69	↓6	46
47	Thelma	68	↑1	>100
48	Marie	67	new	41
49	Rosa	67	new	>100
50	Annette	65	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	1,142	–	1
2	Robert	816	–	2
3	John	716	–	3
4	William	716	–	4
5	Charles	538	–	6
6	Richard	354	↑2	5
7	George	326	–	11
8	Thomas	307	↑3	8
9	David	302	–	7
10	Willie	290	↓4	35
11	Donald	247	↓1	9
12	Joseph	243	–	12
13	Jerry	178	↑6	14
14	Edward	170	↓1	16
15	Frank	168	↑3	20
16	Ronald	166	–	10
17	Henry	155	↓3	31
18	Kenneth	146	↓3	15
19	Paul	143	↑19	17
20	Bobby	141	↑1	30
21	Larry	141	↑10	13
22	Walter	137	↓5	25
23	Joe	120	↓3	28
24	Raymond	116	↑2	22
25	Arthur	114	↓3	33
26	Harold	114	↓1	23
27	Michael	114	–	18
28	Billy	109	↓4	27
29	Jack	104	↓6	29
30	Eugene	103	↓2	38
31	Roy	102	↑8	42
32	Albert	98	↓3	41
33	Carl	98	↓3	32
34	Earl	97	↑7	52
35	Johnny	96	↑7	51
36	Jimmy	94	↑4	44
37	Fred	93	↑6	40
38	Gerald	93	↓6	21
39	Ralph	91	↓6	37
40	Ernest	90	↓3	58
41	Eddie	88	↓7	81
42	Samuel	88	↓7	65
43	Tommy	86	new	76
44	Harry	81	–	47
45	Leroy	80	↑1	66
46	Marvin	79	new	63
47	Herbert	75	↑3	75
48	Clarence	73	↓12	64
49	Charlie	71	new	>100
50	Nathaniel	70	new	>100

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