Popular baby names in Kentucky, 1946

The most popular baby names in Kentucky in 1946 were Mary for girls (1,734 babies) and James for boys (2,455). Social Security records list 66,059 babies born in Kentucky in 1946 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Kentucky in 1946

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

Girls

Nannie: 23 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Vonda: 17 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Reva: 27 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Jewell: 36 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Virgie: 23 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Imogene: 25 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Wilma: 194 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Beulah: 36 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Glenna: 50 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Freda: 42 babies, 4.3× the national rate

Boys

Rondal: 17 babies, 18.7× the national rate
Randell: 21 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Denver: 28 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Delmer: 20 babies, 7.6× the national rate
Hershel: 20 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Shelby: 24 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Orville: 39 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Dannie: 30 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Roscoe: 25 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Junior: 37 babies, 5.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Kentucky, 1946

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Mary	1,734	–	1
2	Linda	1,354	–	2
3	Barbara	931	–	4
4	Patricia	927	↑1	3
5	Betty	903	↓1	14
6	Brenda	897	–	24
7	Carolyn	708	–	12
8	Sandra	659	↑3	6
9	Judy	648	–	11
10	Shirley	618	↓2	18
11	Sharon	579	↑6	9
12	Donna	524	↑4	13
13	Joyce	514	↓3	20
14	Nancy	491	↓1	7
15	Carol	470	↓1	5
16	Wanda	457	↓4	59
17	Phyllis	443	↑1	41
18	Judith	404	↓3	10
19	Janice	380	↑1	22
20	Margaret	371	↑1	17
21	Martha	326	↓2	32
22	Peggy	286	↑7	43
23	Anna	284	↓1	87
24	Elizabeth	279	–	25
25	Bonnie	276	–	33
26	Dorothy	262	↓3	23
27	Helen	262	↓1	36
28	Janet	256	↑3	21
29	Virginia	243	↓1	31
30	Doris	240	–	51
31	Ruth	238	↓4	38
32	Susan	233	↑14	8
33	Beverly	222	↑10	30
34	Alice	215	↓1	44
35	Sue	213	↑3	61
36	Gloria	203	↑6	26
37	Patsy	200	↓3	85
38	Diana	197	new	42
39	Wilma	194	↓7	>100
40	Norma	184	–	77
41	Frances	180	↓5	39
42	Marilyn	178	↓5	29
43	Jo	177	↑2	53
44	Connie	176	–	45
45	Lois	176	↓6	55
46	Karen	165	↑3	15
47	Rita	159	new	56
48	Charlotte	156	↓13	64
49	Joan	153	↓2	28
50	Ruby	150	↓9	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	James	2,455	–	1
2	William	1,515	–	4
3	Robert	1,253	–	2
4	John	1,189	↑1	3
5	Charles	1,147	↓1	9
6	Larry	1,078	–	11
7	David	939	–	6
8	Jerry	695	↑1	20
9	Donald	673	↓1	13
10	Ronald	651	↑1	10
11	Michael	628	↑7	7
12	Gary	621	↑2	12
13	Richard	554	–	5
14	Thomas	549	↓4	8
15	Kenneth	504	↓3	15
16	George	468	–	16
17	Billy	462	–	45
18	Paul	462	↓3	18
19	Joseph	429	–	14
20	Danny	427	↑8	46
21	Roger	410	–	23
22	Bobby	370	↓2	53
23	Ronnie	329	↑4	54
24	Harold	307	↓2	33
25	Roy	277	↓2	43
26	Jimmy	274	–	42
27	Edward	270	↓3	19
28	Carl	242	↓3	39
29	Dennis	235	↑6	17
30	Terry	217	↑14	26
31	Johnny	216	–	47
32	Raymond	216	↓2	25
33	Joe	196	↓4	37
34	Ralph	179	–	48
35	Tommy	179	↑4	77
36	Gerald	178	↑2	27
37	Daniel	167	↑8	21
38	Wayne	157	↑2	29
39	Jack	154	↑4	35
40	Walter	154	↓8	30
41	Earl	152	↓8	82
42	Frank	152	↓5	22
43	Phillip	152	↑4	83
44	Stephen	149	new	24
45	Douglas	148	↓9	34
46	Henry	148	↓4	41
47	Jackie	135	new	>100
48	Eddie	132	new	85
49	Donnie	130	↓1	>100
50	Ray	128	new	95

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