Popular baby names in Kentucky, 1936

The most popular baby names in Kentucky in 1936 were Mary for girls (1,693 babies) and James for boys (1,946). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 51,036 babies born in Kentucky in 1936 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Kentucky in 1936

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

Girls

Bethel: 15 babies, 10.3× the national rate
Oma: 17 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Maudie: 18 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Dortha: 17 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Allene: 15 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Geneva: 142 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Nannie: 27 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Reva: 24 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Flossie: 20 babies, 4× the national rate
Shelby: 104 babies, 3.9× the national rate

Boys

Estill: 19 babies, 37.1× the national rate
Denver: 35 babies, 10.5× the national rate
Hobert: 17 babies, 8.6× the national rate
Shelby: 24 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Clay: 19 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Arlie: 15 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Hershel: 21 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Kennith: 16 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Randall: 34 babies, 5× the national rate
Kelly: 17 babies, 5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Kentucky, 1936

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Mary	1,693	–	1
2	Betty	1,213	–	4
3	Shirley	1,064	–	2
4	Barbara	701	–	3
5	Anna	453	–	36
6	Dorothy	409	–	6
7	Joyce	398	–	12
8	Wanda	354	↑1	56
9	Martha	346	↑3	24
10	Helen	343	↓2	11
11	Patricia	341	↑3	5
12	Doris	338	↓2	15
13	Nancy	315	–	8
14	Margaret	314	↓3	9
15	Norma	299	↑1	29
16	Virginia	299	↑3	14
17	Phyllis	278	↑6	25
18	Wilma	260	–	78
19	Ruth	258	↓4	16
20	Ruby	253	↓3	51
21	Elizabeth	250	↓1	18
22	Peggy	220	↑4	35
23	Lois	215	↓2	26
24	Carolyn	209	↑4	23
25	Frances	206	↓1	19
26	Mildred	201	↓4	40
27	Patsy	192	↑13	52
28	Alice	184	↑5	27
29	Juanita	183	↓4	75
30	Emma	180	↑9	85
31	Bonnie	175	↓2	65
32	Edna	162	↓1	71
33	Thelma	161	↓6	74
34	Jo	154	↑1	72
35	Carol	153	↑9	10
36	Janice	152	new	31
37	Ann	148	↓5	28
38	Geneva	142	↑7	>100
39	Joan	141	↓5	7
40	Sarah	134	new	63
41	Sue	134	new	>100
42	Loretta	133	new	70
43	Jean	132	↓13	20
44	Billie	126	↓2	>100
45	Rose	125	new	37
46	Evelyn	124	↓10	34
47	Edith	123	↓9	87
48	Hazel	122	↓11	96
49	Janet	121	new	21
50	Margie	119	↓9	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	James	1,946	–	2
2	William	1,243	–	4
3	Charles	1,166	–	6
4	Robert	1,088	–	1
5	John	856	–	3
6	Donald	765	–	7
7	Billy	593	–	22
8	Bobby	501	–	24
9	Paul	418	–	15
10	George	411	–	9
11	Kenneth	407	–	14
12	Thomas	377	–	8
13	Harold	355	–	21
14	David	321	↑2	10
15	Joseph	318	↑3	11
16	Richard	305	↓2	5
17	Edward	276	↑2	13
18	Joe	274	↓1	23
19	Ronald	257	↑5	12
20	Carl	255	↓5	27
21	Raymond	216	↓1	17
22	Roy	211	↑5	42
23	Jerry	196	↑7	18
24	Earl	195	↑1	47
25	Jack	190	↓4	20
26	Ralph	184	↑2	31
27	Walter	183	↓5	26
28	Eugene	180	↓2	29
29	Frank	178	↑8	16
30	Henry	156	↓7	28
31	Jimmy	153	–	46
32	Ray	151	↓3	65
33	Franklin	146	↑3	64
34	Larry	146	↑8	25
35	Howard	144	–	40
36	Jimmie	136	↑5	71
37	Fred	128	↑2	36
38	Gerald	122	↑2	19
39	Willie	120	↑9	32
40	Norman	119	↑4	43
41	Albert	117	↓9	34
42	Ernest	116	↑7	55
43	Cecil	111	new	>100
44	Jackie	111	↓6	>100
45	Clarence	105	↓12	52
46	Bill	104	–	61
47	Gene	101	new	66
48	Lawrence	99	new	37
49	Marvin	99	↓15	49
50	Vernon	98	new	93

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