Popular baby names in Louisiana, 1940

The most popular baby names in Louisiana in 1940 were Mary for girls (1,409 babies) and James for boys (1,166). Social Security records list 46,031 babies born in Louisiana in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Louisiana in 1940

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

Girls

Emelda: 16 babies, 35.5× the national rate
Joycelyn: 25 babies, 18.2× the national rate
Myrtis: 21 babies, 11.5× the national rate
Janell: 16 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Gaynell: 17 babies, 9× the national rate
Aline: 22 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Gertie: 16 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Earline: 55 babies, 7.6× the national rate
Elouise: 21 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Mercedes: 17 babies, 6.2× the national rate

Boys

Curley: 18 babies, 24.9× the national rate
Murphy: 24 babies, 23.2× the national rate
Whitney: 18 babies, 18.4× the national rate
Felton: 33 babies, 17.6× the national rate
Emile: 22 babies, 15.7× the national rate
Huey: 31 babies, 15.4× the national rate
Jules: 28 babies, 14.8× the national rate
Lionel: 69 babies, 13.6× the national rate
Hayward: 16 babies, 12.4× the national rate
Dalton: 29 babies, 11.6× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	1,409	–	1
2	Barbara	705	↑1	2
3	Betty	645	↓1	5
4	Dorothy	502	↑1	12
5	Shirley	465	↓1	9
6	Patricia	429	↑1	3
7	Gloria	349	↓1	30
8	Carolyn	308	–	15
9	Linda	305	↑13	8
10	Helen	239	–	18
11	Joyce	236	↓2	13
12	Margaret	222	↓1	11
13	Doris	221	–	31
14	Geraldine	210	–	46
15	Alice	201	↑2	32
16	Rose	201	↑3	44
17	Martha	196	↑4	26
18	Annie	186	↓3	56
19	Sandra	185	↑23	10
20	Elizabeth	184	↓8	20
21	Carol	182	↑3	6
22	Frances	169	↓2	28
23	Marie	169	↓7	41
24	Brenda	160	new	42
25	Virginia	145	↑6	21
26	Audrey	144	↓3	99
27	Evelyn	142	–	48
28	Beverly	141	↑7	27
29	Bobbie	141	↑11	>100
30	Patsy	138	↑2	57
31	Peggy	138	↑7	37
32	Juanita	137	↑15	78
33	Sylvia	136	↑8	62
34	Willie	135	↑5	>100
35	Joan	134	↓9	14
36	Ethel	132	↓7	>100
37	Judy	129	new	16
38	Ruby	129	↓20	66
39	Jo	128	new	72
40	Anna	127	↓15	51
41	Judith	127	new	4
42	Mildred	127	↓12	58
43	Janice	126	↓10	22
44	Ruth	123	↓10	24
45	Nancy	120	new	7
46	Yvonne	119	↓18	>100
47	Catherine	117	↓11	53
48	Laura	116	new	>100
49	Lois	115	↓4	38
50	Emma	113	↓4	94

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	1,166	–	1
2	John	940	–	3
3	Robert	795	–	2
4	Charles	736	–	6
5	Joseph	716	–	12
6	William	528	–	4
7	Willie	390	–	35
8	Donald	356	–	9
9	George	341	–	11
10	Richard	341	↑1	5
11	Jerry	313	↑4	14
12	Thomas	277	↓2	8
13	Edward	268	↓1	16
14	Louis	255	↑2	50
15	Henry	249	↓2	31
16	Larry	244	↑16	13
17	David	242	–	7
18	Frank	235	↑3	20
19	Kenneth	223	↑10	15
20	Raymond	212	↓6	22
21	Billy	211	↑3	27
22	Paul	210	↓3	17
23	Ronald	204	↓5	10
24	Earl	197	↑7	52
25	Walter	196	↑1	25
26	Albert	186	↓3	41
27	Bobby	182	↑3	30
28	Clarence	180	↑5	64
29	Gerald	177	↓4	21
30	Johnny	173	↑10	51
31	Harold	168	↓11	23
32	Joe	163	↓5	28
33	Lawrence	156	↓5	36
34	Roy	154	↓12	42
35	Eugene	146	↑2	38
36	Leroy	145	↓2	66
37	Melvin	143	↑1	53
38	Arthur	142	↓3	33
39	Alvin	132	↑2	>100
40	Jimmy	132	↓4	44
41	Anthony	119	↑3	46
42	Herbert	113	–	75
43	Ernest	112	↓4	58
44	Jimmie	106	new	86
45	Wayne	106	new	39
46	Daniel	103	new	34
47	Alfred	102	new	69
48	Eddie	102	↓3	81
49	Herman	102	↓6	>100
50	Samuel	102	new	65

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