Popular baby names in Massachusetts, 1942

The most popular baby names in Massachusetts in 1942 were Mary for girls (1,625 babies) and Robert for boys (3,173). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 77,495 babies born in Massachusetts in 1942 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Massachusetts in 1942

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: 233 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Yvette: 26 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Maureen: 372 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Cecile: 38 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Deborah: 89 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Natalie: 60 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Noreen: 37 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Elinor: 28 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Maryellen: 20 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Anne: 334 babies, 3.4× the national rate

Boys

Normand: 31 babies, 11.9× the national rate
Bradford: 44 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Armand: 38 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Kevin: 111 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Gerard: 132 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Jeremiah: 20 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Dana: 22 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Francis: 527 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Wilfred: 39 babies, 4× the national rate
Rene: 25 babies, 4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Massachusetts, 1942

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1941	US rank
1	Mary	1,625	↑1	1
2	Patricia	1,509	↓1	3
3	Carol	1,474	↑2	5
4	Barbara	1,363	–	2
5	Judith	1,340	↓2	7
6	Sandra	933	↑2	6
7	Nancy	927	↓1	8
8	Linda	813	↑3	4
9	Joan	801	↓2	18
10	Susan	615	↑4	21
11	Margaret	563	↓2	14
12	Elizabeth	548	–	22
13	Ann	529	↓3	38
14	Elaine	506	↑5	45
15	Janet	491	–	19
16	Dorothy	485	↓3	17
17	Kathleen	465	↑5	24
18	Beverly	443	↓1	32
19	Diane	441	↑9	28
20	Jean	436	↓4	36
21	Joyce	432	↓3	13
22	Marie	417	↓2	43
23	Carolyn	402	↑2	10
24	Donna	402	↑10	20
25	Marilyn	390	↓2	27
26	Janice	387	↓5	25
27	Joanne	377	–	48
28	Maureen	372	↑9	>100
29	Gail	364	↑2	60
30	Carole	337	↑5	35
31	Anne	334	↓1	76
32	Virginia	334	↓8	23
33	Helen	313	↓4	26
34	Frances	309	↓1	30
35	Ruth	291	↓3	33
36	Jane	282	↓10	46
37	Lorraine	274	↓1	91
38	Catherine	267	↑4	49
39	Ellen	256	↑6	64
40	Sheila	250	↑4	94
41	Roberta	244	↑8	66
42	Karen	239	new	16
43	Shirley	239	↓3	12
44	Claire	233	↓1	>100
45	Eleanor	232	↑1	87
46	Geraldine	221	new	47
47	Phyllis	213	↓9	37
48	Pauline	211	↓7	>100
49	Cynthia	208	↓2	>100
50	Alice	203	↓11	39

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1941	US rank
1	Robert	3,173	–	2
2	John	3,019	–	3
3	Richard	2,389	–	5
4	William	1,987	–	4
5	James	1,855	–	1
6	David	1,436	–	6
7	Joseph	1,258	↑1	11
8	Paul	1,210	↓1	19
9	Thomas	1,098	–	8
10	Edward	993	–	17
11	Charles	865	↑2	7
12	Ronald	812	↓1	9
13	George	799	↓1	14
14	Michael	740	↑2	13
15	Donald	706	↓1	10
16	Peter	693	↓1	39
17	Kenneth	612	–	15
18	Francis	527	–	58
19	Stephen	493	↑3	32
20	Raymond	469	↓1	24
21	Arthur	452	↓1	29
22	Daniel	402	↓1	28
23	Frank	396	–	21
24	Gerald	363	–	22
25	Walter	351	↑1	26
26	Anthony	336	↑1	44
27	Roger	335	↓2	25
28	Philip	331	↑2	54
29	Lawrence	317	↓1	30
30	Dennis	306	↑6	20
31	Albert	302	–	40
32	Douglas	272	↑16	23
33	Frederick	266	–	68
34	Bruce	259	↓5	50
35	Henry	248	↓3	31
36	Ralph	229	↓1	38
37	Alfred	205	–	76
38	Louis	197	↑2	51
39	Alan	195	↓1	81
40	Norman	186	↓6	53
41	Leonard	183	↑1	57
42	Harold	175	↓1	27
43	Wayne	166	↑3	41
44	Carl	160	↓5	36
45	Stanley	160	↓2	56
46	Russell	146	new	70
47	Bernard	144	–	90
48	Barry	143	↓3	79
49	Ernest	143	–	61
50	Leo	141	↓6	>100

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