Popular baby names in Kansas, 1940

The most popular baby names in Kansas in 1940 were Mary for girls (662 babies) and Larry for boys (713). Larry ranked #13 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 25,252 babies born in Kansas in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Kansas in 1940

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

Girls

Twila: 18 babies, 11.5× the national rate
Sondra: 47 babies, 5× the national rate
Vicki: 22 babies, 5× the national rate
Lila: 21 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Glenna: 18 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Karen: 277 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Sonja: 26 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Dixie: 42 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Connie: 89 babies, 3× the national rate
Patty: 35 babies, 3× the national rate

Boys

Galen: 20 babies, 10.5× the national rate
Loren: 38 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Eldon: 31 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Darrel: 29 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Max: 51 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Merle: 24 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Darrell: 63 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Dwight: 20 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Larry: 713 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Leland: 25 babies, 3.7× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	662	–	1
2	Patricia	373	↑1	3
3	Judith	350	↑4	4
4	Barbara	348	↓2	2
5	Judy	331	↑10	16
6	Carol	328	↓2	6
7	Sharon	328	↓1	17
8	Karen	277	–	34
9	Shirley	255	↓4	9
10	Nancy	240	–	7
11	Betty	231	↓2	5
12	Carolyn	222	–	15
13	Donna	217	↓2	23
14	Joyce	217	↑2	13
15	Linda	216	↑8	8
16	Marilyn	202	↓3	25
17	Janice	199	↓3	22
18	Sandra	196	–	10
19	Beverly	149	↓2	27
20	Virginia	149	↑2	21
21	Dorothy	143	↓1	12
22	Phyllis	141	↓1	33
23	Janet	129	↑2	19
24	Ruth	127	–	24
25	Margaret	124	↓6	11
26	Helen	103	–	18
27	Bonnie	101	↑11	39
28	Joan	99	↑1	14
29	Norma	95	↓2	43
30	Lois	91	↑2	38
31	Connie	89	↓1	88
32	Doris	88	↓4	31
33	Peggy	82	↑12	37
34	Martha	81	↑1	26
35	Darlene	77	↓2	79
36	Marjorie	75	new	64
37	Elizabeth	74	↑2	20
38	Alice	72	↓2	32
39	Kay	71	↓8	77
40	Gloria	66	↑7	30
41	Frances	64	↓4	28
42	Anita	63	new	87
43	Delores	63	↓9	83
44	Carole	62	new	49
45	Wanda	61	↓4	52
46	Jean	60	↓4	29
47	Brenda	57	new	42
48	Charlotte	56	new	55
49	Roberta	55	↓3	71
50	Jane	54	↓2	47

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Larry	713	–	13
2	Robert	621	–	2
3	James	554	–	1
4	John	553	–	3
5	Gary	509	↑1	19
6	Richard	461	↑1	5
7	Donald	368	↓2	9
8	William	363	–	4
9	Charles	355	–	6
10	Ronald	318	↑2	10
11	Jerry	299	↓1	14
12	David	291	↓1	7
13	Kenneth	207	–	15
14	George	154	↑3	11
15	Thomas	148	↓1	8
16	Gerald	139	↓1	21
17	Dennis	137	↑11	24
18	Paul	136	–	17
19	Michael	133	↑7	18
20	Roger	124	–	26
21	Harold	121	↓5	23
22	Raymond	121	↓1	22
23	Jack	117	↓4	29
24	Dale	102	↓1	57
25	Lawrence	94	↑23	36
26	Frank	87	↑8	20
27	Carl	85	↑8	32
28	Jim	85	↑8	78
29	Wayne	85	↓2	39
30	Don	84	↓6	62
31	Melvin	80	↑2	53
32	Edward	78	↓3	16
33	Bill	76	↓3	67
34	Billy	76	↓12	27
35	Marvin	76	↓10	63
36	Ralph	74	↓5	37
37	Norman	73	↓5	48
38	Joseph	66	↓1	12
39	Leroy	65	↑5	66
40	Walter	65	↑1	25
41	Phillip	64	new	79
42	Darrell	63	↑1	>100
43	Eugene	63	↓5	38
44	Joe	62	↓5	28
45	Jimmy	60	↑5	44
46	Fred	59	↑3	40
47	Arthur	58	new	33
48	Terry	57	new	73
49	Earl	55	new	52
50	Gene	55	↓8	70

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