Popular baby names in Massachusetts, 1940

The most popular baby names in Massachusetts in 1940 were Mary for girls (1,322 babies) and Robert for boys (2,640). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 60,087 babies born in Massachusetts in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Massachusetts in 1940

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: 212 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Yvette: 23 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Deborah: 65 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Therese: 30 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Madeleine: 25 babies, 5× the national rate
Carolann: 16 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Maureen: 218 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Cecile: 34 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Natalie: 43 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Margery: 22 babies, 4× the national rate

Boys

Antone: 18 babies, 16.6× the national rate
Normand: 36 babies, 14.6× the national rate
Kevin: 73 babies, 9.2× the national rate
Armand: 35 babies, 9.2× the national rate
Bradford: 30 babies, 9× the national rate
Gerard: 75 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Earle: 17 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Jeremiah: 16 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Rene: 21 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Wilfred: 37 babies, 4.3× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	1,322	–	1
2	Patricia	1,229	–	3
3	Barbara	1,139	–	2
4	Judith	1,109	↑1	4
5	Carol	1,009	↓1	6
6	Joan	746	–	14
7	Nancy	726	–	7
8	Sandra	704	↑4	10
9	Margaret	516	↓1	11
10	Ann	489	↑1	35
11	Elizabeth	440	↓2	20
12	Janet	429	↑2	19
13	Jean	428	↑2	29
14	Dorothy	417	↓4	12
15	Linda	365	↑26	8
16	Joyce	360	↑2	13
17	Beverly	350	↓4	27
18	Janice	324	↑4	22
19	Elaine	315	–	50
20	Marie	314	↓3	41
21	Joanne	307	–	54
22	Susan	296	↑20	36
23	Marilyn	287	↓7	25
24	Anne	279	↑2	84
25	Helen	272	↓5	18
26	Virginia	266	↑1	21
27	Frances	261	↑3	28
28	Kathleen	259	↑10	40
29	Lorraine	259	↑8	95
30	Ruth	255	↓7	24
31	Jane	249	–	47
32	Carolyn	242	↓7	15
33	Brenda	239	↑3	42
34	Diane	239	↑12	45
35	Eleanor	239	↓7	68
36	Gail	239	↓4	65
37	Catherine	234	↓4	53
38	Phyllis	234	↑1	33
39	Carole	226	↓10	49
40	Maureen	218	↓5	>100
41	Claire	212	↓7	>100
42	Ellen	212	new	74
43	Alice	200	↑2	32
44	Shirley	200	↓20	9
45	Pauline	193	↓5	>100
46	Rita	188	↓2	70
47	Cynthia	183	new	>100
48	Sheila	178	↓5	>100
49	Jacqueline	170	new	76
50	Theresa	170	↓3	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	2,640	–	2
2	John	2,386	–	3
3	Richard	1,980	–	5
4	William	1,614	–	4
5	James	1,314	–	1
6	David	1,162	–	7
7	Paul	1,009	–	17
8	Joseph	987	–	12
9	Thomas	826	–	8
10	Edward	776	↑1	16
11	Charles	719	↑2	6
12	George	704	↓2	11
13	Donald	637	↓1	9
14	Ronald	637	–	10
15	Peter	502	–	43
16	Michael	475	↑1	18
17	Kenneth	413	↑1	15
18	Francis	392	↓2	61
19	Raymond	368	↑1	22
20	Arthur	361	↓1	33
21	Frank	321	↑1	20
22	Gerald	319	↓1	21
23	Walter	291	↑2	25
24	Roger	277	↓1	26
25	Stephen	274	↑5	49
26	Anthony	264	–	46
27	Daniel	261	↓3	34
28	Albert	233	↓1	41
29	Philip	224	↑2	60
30	Henry	212	↑2	31
31	Frederick	208	↓2	68
32	Lawrence	207	↓4	36
33	Bruce	199	↑1	55
34	Ralph	184	↑3	37
35	Alfred	180	↑3	69
36	Norman	178	↓3	48
37	Carl	169	↑2	32
38	Alan	156	↓2	88
39	Leonard	154	↑3	54
40	Dennis	149	new	24
41	Ernest	142	↑2	58
42	Louis	133	↓7	50
43	Leo	127	↓2	>100
44	Stanley	126	↑5	59
45	Eugene	121	↑1	38
46	Russell	120	↓2	72
47	Harold	119	↓7	23
48	Bernard	110	↓1	82
49	Wayne	102	↓4	39
50	Fred	99	↓2	40

← Massachusetts 1939 Massachusetts: all years · US 1940 Massachusetts 1941 →