Popular baby names in Illinois, 1939

The most popular baby names in Illinois in 1939 were Mary for girls (2,634 babies) and Robert for boys (3,677). Social Security records list 109,000 babies born in Illinois in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Illinois in 1939

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: 48 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Bernadine: 53 babies, 3× the national rate
Marilynn: 42 babies, 3× the national rate
Therese: 30 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Denise: 33 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Diane: 512 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Penny: 44 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Margo: 37 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Marianne: 79 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Sandy: 29 babies, 2.3× the national rate

Boys

Norbert: 47 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Nick: 54 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Burton: 34 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Denis: 31 babies, 2.1× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	2,634	–	1
2	Barbara	2,176	–	2
3	Patricia	1,998	–	3
4	Judith	1,627	↑3	8
5	Carol	1,625	↓1	6
6	Nancy	1,266	↓1	7
7	Sandra	955	↑4	13
8	Shirley	946	↓2	5
9	Sharon	895	↑9	23
10	Joyce	878	↑3	12
11	Betty	821	↑1	4
12	Donna	819	↓4	20
13	Joan	806	↓4	11
14	Marilyn	802	↓4	19
15	Janet	711	–	17
16	Margaret	706	↓2	10
17	Judy	699	↑7	28
18	Linda	633	↑4	15
19	Dorothy	628	↓3	9
20	Beverly	618	↓3	25
21	Carolyn	597	–	14
22	Phyllis	521	↓3	30
23	Ruth	513	↓3	22
24	Diane	512	↓1	51
25	Karen	489	↑4	39
26	Janice	477	–	24
27	Virginia	472	↓2	21
28	Helen	463	↓1	16
29	Jean	380	↓1	32
30	Carole	370	↑4	47
31	Lois	352	↑1	35
32	Arlene	349	↓2	69
33	Susan	341	↑16	44
34	Doris	332	↑4	29
35	Elizabeth	332	↓2	18
36	Alice	327	↓5	31
37	Frances	326	↓1	26
38	Geraldine	325	↑1	41
39	Joanne	314	↓2	53
40	Kathleen	309	new	48
41	Darlene	305	↑4	75
42	Elaine	297	↓1	45
43	Marlene	297	↓8	64
44	Norma	297	–	38
45	Ann	292	↑1	33
46	Jacqueline	281	↑1	72
47	Gloria	280	↓4	36
48	Dolores	277	↓8	58
49	Rose	265	↓1	42
50	Roberta	263	↓8	71

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Robert	3,677	–	1
2	James	3,034	–	2
3	John	2,951	–	3
4	Richard	2,501	–	5
5	William	2,259	–	4
6	Ronald	1,725	↑1	10
7	Donald	1,571	↓1	8
8	Charles	1,551	–	6
9	David	1,384	↑1	7
10	Thomas	1,351	↓1	9
11	Larry	1,057	↑5	14
12	Kenneth	1,004	–	13
13	Joseph	914	↑1	12
14	Edward	864	↓1	15
15	George	834	↓4	11
16	Jerry	790	↑3	16
17	Michael	768	↑1	18
18	Gerald	738	↓3	19
19	Paul	665	↓2	17
20	Frank	592	–	20
21	Dennis	552	↑9	34
22	Gary	520	↑3	21
23	Raymond	519	↓2	22
24	Jack	463	↓1	26
25	Roger	461	↓3	28
26	Daniel	428	↑3	38
27	Harold	422	↓3	23
28	Walter	389	↑3	25
29	Lawrence	386	↓2	36
30	Carl	372	↓2	30
31	Wayne	372	↓5	39
32	Arthur	347	–	32
33	Fred	326	–	40
34	Ralph	324	–	35
35	Norman	316	↑2	44
36	Eugene	312	↓1	37
37	Anthony	280	↓1	48
38	Peter	269	↑1	46
39	Henry	246	↑3	31
40	Leonard	245	↑1	54
41	Dale	244	↑4	59
42	Albert	234	↓2	41
43	Harry	234	–	45
44	Howard	230	↓6	47
45	Bruce	227	↑2	64
46	Philip	208	new	66
47	Terry	208	new	83
48	Jim	205	new	75
49	Bill	203	new	67
50	Tom	200	new	97

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