Popular baby names in Massachusetts, 1939

The most popular baby names in Massachusetts in 1939 were Mary for girls (1,303 babies) and Robert for boys (2,602). Social Security records list 57,169 babies born in Massachusetts in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Massachusetts in 1939

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

Girls

Claire: 232 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Yvette: 17 babies, 7× the national rate
Madeleine: 29 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Maureen: 231 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Elisabeth: 18 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Deborah: 59 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Therese: 28 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Clare: 20 babies, 5× the national rate
Elinor: 31 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Cecile: 33 babies, 4× the national rate

Boys

Normand: 48 babies, 14.5× the national rate
Kevin: 58 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Bradford: 27 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Andre: 18 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Armand: 31 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Elliot: 16 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Dana: 20 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Rene: 24 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Francis: 413 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Edmund: 50 babies, 4.1× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	1,303	–	1
2	Patricia	1,179	↑1	3
3	Barbara	1,105	↓1	2
4	Carol	1,035	–	6
5	Judith	874	↑2	8
6	Joan	847	↓1	11
7	Nancy	744	↓1	7
8	Margaret	495	–	10
9	Elizabeth	489	↑2	18
10	Dorothy	477	↓1	9
11	Ann	466	↓1	33
12	Sandra	426	–	13
13	Beverly	400	–	25
14	Janet	384	↑2	17
15	Jean	348	↓1	32
16	Marilyn	334	↓1	19
17	Marie	321	↑4	37
18	Joyce	311	↑2	12
19	Elaine	305	↓2	45
20	Helen	288	↓1	16
21	Joanne	274	↑4	53
22	Janice	263	–	24
23	Ruth	259	↑3	22
24	Shirley	257	↓6	5
25	Carolyn	252	↑12	14
26	Anne	251	↓2	85
27	Virginia	250	↑1	21
28	Eleanor	248	↓5	63
29	Carole	247	↑2	47
30	Frances	244	↓3	26
31	Jane	236	↓2	46
32	Gail	235	↑4	73
33	Catherine	233	↑14	49
34	Claire	232	↓2	>100
35	Maureen	231	↑9	>100
36	Brenda	222	new	86
37	Lorraine	222	↓7	95
38	Kathleen	212	↑3	48
39	Phyllis	205	↓6	30
40	Pauline	202	↓5	>100
41	Linda	200	new	15
42	Susan	200	new	44
43	Sheila	197	↑3	>100
44	Rita	194	↓6	78
45	Alice	193	↓6	31
46	Diane	181	new	51
47	Theresa	173	↓13	94
48	Louise	170	–	59
49	Roberta	167	new	71
50	Irene	165	new	74

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Robert	2,602	–	1
2	John	2,272	–	3
3	Richard	1,872	–	5
4	William	1,423	–	4
5	James	1,254	–	2
6	David	1,036	–	7
7	Paul	976	↑1	17
8	Joseph	952	↓1	12
9	Thomas	790	↑1	9
10	George	709	↑2	11
11	Edward	698	↓2	15
12	Donald	683	↓1	8
13	Charles	650	–	6
14	Ronald	597	–	10
15	Peter	445	↑2	46
16	Francis	413	↓1	53
17	Michael	380	↑5	18
18	Kenneth	372	–	13
19	Arthur	362	↓3	32
20	Raymond	334	↓1	22
21	Gerald	303	↑2	19
22	Frank	286	↓2	20
23	Roger	281	↑2	28
24	Daniel	248	↑4	38
25	Walter	245	↓1	25
26	Anthony	240	↓5	48
27	Albert	239	↓1	41
28	Lawrence	224	↓1	36
29	Frederick	212	↑1	71
30	Stephen	212	↓1	65
31	Philip	209	–	66
32	Henry	179	–	31
33	Norman	173	–	44
34	Bruce	163	↑2	64
35	Louis	159	↑2	49
36	Alan	156	↑9	85
37	Ralph	156	↓3	35
38	Alfred	152	↓3	70
39	Carl	149	↑4	30
40	Harold	139	↓1	23
41	Leo	126	–	>100
42	Leonard	126	↓2	54
43	Ernest	125	↓5	55
44	Russell	125	↑4	73
45	Wayne	125	new	39
46	Eugene	124	↓4	37
47	Bernard	123	↓1	76
48	Fred	122	↓1	40
49	Stanley	107	↓5	57
50	Vincent	101	new	>100

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