Popular baby names in Illinois, 1938

The most popular baby names in Illinois in 1938 were Mary for girls (2,734 babies) and Robert for boys (3,968). Social Security records list 112,266 babies born in Illinois in 1938 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Illinois in 1938

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

Girls

Adrienne: 61 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Therese: 43 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Bernadine: 64 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Marilynn: 53 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Angeline: 34 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Diane: 477 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Camille: 39 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Lynne: 73 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Lynn: 82 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Arlene: 405 babies, 2.1× the national rate

Boys

Norbert: 50 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Sheldon: 59 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Terrence: 40 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Stuart: 69 babies, 2.1× the national rate
Nick: 42 babies, 2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Illinois, 1938

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1937	US rank
1	Mary	2,734	–	1
2	Barbara	2,524	–	2
3	Patricia	1,956	–	3
4	Carol	1,644	–	6
5	Nancy	1,339	↑1	7
6	Shirley	1,205	↓1	5
7	Judith	1,083	↑10	12
8	Donna	994	↑2	20
9	Joan	926	↓1	10
10	Marilyn	917	↓1	19
11	Sandra	914	↑3	14
12	Betty	912	↓5	4
13	Joyce	772	↓1	11
14	Margaret	733	↓1	9
15	Janet	724	↑1	16
16	Dorothy	712	↓5	8
17	Beverly	673	↓2	18
18	Sharon	657	↑8	30
19	Phyllis	585	–	28
20	Ruth	554	↓2	21
21	Carolyn	552	↑3	15
22	Linda	493	↑15	31
23	Diane	477	↑12	64
24	Judy	468	↑20	41
25	Virginia	462	↓3	22
26	Janice	461	↑1	24
27	Helen	450	↓7	13
28	Jean	425	↓3	27
29	Karen	410	new	50
30	Arlene	405	↓1	63
31	Alice	395	↑2	29
32	Lois	395	↓4	33
33	Elizabeth	394	↑3	17
34	Carole	380	↓4	46
35	Marlene	371	↓12	51
36	Frances	366	↓4	23
37	Joanne	366	↓6	57
38	Doris	364	↓4	25
39	Geraldine	343	–	45
40	Dolores	328	↓19	43
41	Elaine	320	–	42
42	Roberta	313	↑7	73
43	Gloria	310	↓1	36
44	Norma	305	↓6	34
45	Darlene	292	↓5	76
46	Ann	284	new	32
47	Jacqueline	281	↓1	69
48	Rose	275	↓5	39
49	Susan	260	new	71
50	Loretta	259	new	62

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1937	US rank
1	Robert	3,968	–	1
2	James	3,086	–	2
3	John	2,982	–	3
4	Richard	2,538	–	5
5	William	2,387	–	4
6	Donald	1,921	–	7
7	Ronald	1,780	–	10
8	Charles	1,660	–	6
9	Thomas	1,360	–	9
10	David	1,314	–	8
11	George	1,020	–	11
12	Kenneth	1,005	–	14
13	Edward	910	–	13
14	Joseph	881	–	12
15	Gerald	816	–	19
16	Larry	813	–	16
17	Paul	702	–	15
18	Michael	676	↑3	21
19	Jerry	648	↑1	17
20	Frank	618	↓1	18
21	Raymond	618	↓3	20
22	Roger	532	↑2	31
23	Jack	502	↓1	25
24	Harold	498	↓1	23
25	Gary	460	↑4	22
26	Wayne	415	↑2	40
27	Lawrence	412	↑4	36
28	Carl	395	↓2	29
29	Daniel	377	↑4	39
30	Dennis	370	↑11	49
31	Walter	365	↓6	26
32	Arthur	358	↓2	32
33	Fred	357	↓6	38
34	Ralph	354	↓2	35
35	Eugene	336	↓1	33
36	Anthony	294	↑1	46
37	Norman	289	↓2	43
38	Howard	268	↑4	42
39	Peter	267	↑6	48
40	Albert	264	↑3	37
41	Leonard	264	↑7	57
42	Henry	251	↓3	30
43	Harry	235	↑1	44
44	Don	225	↓4	52
45	Dale	224	↓9	56
46	Jerome	222	↑4	93
47	Bruce	221	new	66
48	Roy	218	↓2	41
49	Louis	213	↓11	47
50	Earl	208	new	50

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