Popular baby names in Massachusetts, 1946

The most popular baby names in Massachusetts in 1946 were Mary for girls (1,665 babies) and Robert for boys (3,662). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 91,391 babies born in Massachusetts in 1946 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Massachusetts in 1946

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: 200 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Madeleine: 28 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Maureen: 502 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Noreen: 59 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Meredith: 39 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Maryellen: 32 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Therese: 39 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Doreen: 81 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Clare: 24 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Anne: 380 babies, 3.3× the national rate

Boys

Normand: 34 babies, 11.7× the national rate
Armand: 40 babies, 8.9× the national rate
Kevin: 242 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Bradford: 46 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Gerard: 127 babies, 5× the national rate
Dana: 74 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Peter: 863 babies, 4× the national rate
Francis: 468 babies, 4× the national rate
Edmund: 73 babies, 4× the national rate
Edmond: 33 babies, 3.6× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Mary	1,665	–	1
2	Patricia	1,651	–	3
3	Carol	1,391	–	5
4	Linda	1,390	↑2	2
5	Susan	1,282	↑2	8
6	Barbara	1,208	↓2	4
7	Nancy	1,173	↑2	7
8	Judith	1,146	↓3	10
9	Donna	1,064	↑2	13
10	Kathleen	1,042	–	16
11	Sandra	1,024	↓3	6
12	Diane	825	–	19
13	Margaret	606	↑1	17
14	Joan	598	↓1	28
15	Karen	593	↑3	15
16	Elizabeth	565	↑1	25
17	Janet	557	↓2	21
18	Elaine	524	↓2	47
19	Ann	522	–	40
20	Janice	514	–	22
21	Maureen	502	↑4	95
22	Jane	493	–	35
23	Jean	489	↓2	37
24	Joanne	458	–	57
25	Gail	452	↑4	49
26	Beverly	410	↑5	30
27	Dorothy	395	–	23
28	Joyce	395	↓5	20
29	Sharon	383	↑7	9
30	Anne	380	↑5	81
31	Cynthia	377	↑10	46
32	Marilyn	373	↓6	29
33	Pamela	359	↑10	34
34	Carolyn	357	↓6	12
35	Cheryl	350	↑4	27
36	Marie	348	↓6	54
37	Paula	337	↓3	69
38	Jeanne	317	↑4	83
39	Virginia	316	↓7	31
40	Christine	305	new	50
41	Ellen	302	↓1	58
42	Sheila	300	↑3	70
43	Catherine	277	new	48
44	Lorraine	268	↓11	93
45	Frances	261	↓8	39
46	Shirley	260	↑4	18
47	Helen	254	↓9	36
48	Ruth	254	↓4	38
49	Eileen	248	↓3	80
50	Suzanne	243	new	52

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Robert	3,662	–	2
2	John	3,386	–	3
3	Richard	3,166	–	5
4	William	2,237	↑1	4
5	James	2,206	↓1	1
6	Paul	1,729	↑1	18
7	David	1,726	↓1	6
8	Thomas	1,345	–	8
9	Joseph	1,312	–	14
10	Michael	1,251	–	7
11	Edward	1,001	–	19
12	Ronald	983	↑3	10
13	Charles	907	↓1	9
14	Peter	863	–	38
15	Donald	828	↑1	13
16	George	785	↓3	16
17	Stephen	768	↑1	24
18	Kenneth	750	↓1	15
19	Dennis	551	↑5	17
20	Daniel	507	↑3	21
21	Francis	468	↓1	80
22	Raymond	467	↓3	25
23	Bruce	459	↑9	32
24	Arthur	442	↓3	36
25	Lawrence	398	↑2	31
26	Frank	386	↓4	22
27	Gerald	366	↓2	27
28	Alan	365	↑1	49
29	Philip	341	↓1	61
30	Roger	337	↑1	23
31	Walter	335	↓5	30
32	Anthony	329	↓2	44
33	Frederick	305	–	75
34	Gary	288	–	12
35	Wayne	286	↑2	29
36	Steven	263	↑3	28
37	Douglas	252	↓1	34
38	Kevin	242	↑11	>100
39	Albert	241	↓4	52
40	Russell	224	↑6	66
41	Henry	218	↓1	41
42	Ralph	217	↓4	48
43	Jeffrey	209	↑1	78
44	Mark	209	new	58
45	Brian	207	↓3	>100
46	Leonard	201	↓1	67
47	Alfred	189	↓4	94
48	Carl	188	new	39
49	Barry	187	↑1	68
50	Norman	173	↓9	76

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