Popular baby names in Minnesota, 1936

The most popular baby names in Minnesota in 1936 were Mary for girls (1,024 babies) and Robert for boys (1,214). Social Security records list 40,686 babies born in Minnesota in 1936 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Minnesota in 1936

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

Girls

Marlys: 174 babies, 24.8× the national rate
Ardyce: 16 babies, 15.2× the national rate
Ione: 32 babies, 12.7× the national rate
Lavonne: 106 babies, 12.1× the national rate
Ardis: 28 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Ladonna: 21 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Darlene: 341 babies, 6× the national rate
Mavis: 50 babies, 6× the national rate
Sonja: 18 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Clarice: 37 babies, 4.9× the national rate

Boys

Darold: 18 babies, 10.2× the national rate
Marlyn: 15 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Arlan: 15 babies, 8.6× the national rate
Duane: 224 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Maynard: 37 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Harlan: 48 babies, 6× the national rate
Daryl: 24 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Arlen: 22 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Dennis: 261 babies, 5× the national rate
Loren: 55 babies, 5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Minnesota, 1936

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Mary	1,024	–	1
2	Shirley	777	–	2
3	Patricia	617	–	5
4	Barbara	616	–	3
5	Carol	565	–	10
6	Marilyn	421	↑3	13
7	Joan	406	↓1	7
8	Beverly	401	–	17
9	Marlene	376	↑3	39
10	Betty	362	–	4
11	Donna	356	↓4	22
12	Darlene	341	↑2	83
13	Janice	326	↑10	31
14	Nancy	288	↑5	8
15	Dorothy	286	↓4	6
16	Joyce	283	↑1	12
17	Lois	282	↓4	26
18	Margaret	281	–	9
19	Janet	270	↓3	21
20	Joanne	231	↑1	48
21	Phyllis	224	↑3	25
22	Helen	211	↓2	11
23	Jean	205	↓8	20
24	Elaine	197	↓2	50
25	Arlene	190	↑4	54
26	Joann	179	↑8	55
27	Marlys	174	↑3	>100
28	Delores	173	↓3	58
29	Audrey	169	↓1	68
30	Virginia	165	↓3	14
31	Ruth	163	↓5	16
32	Sharon	161	↑10	60
33	Gloria	149	↓1	32
34	Kathleen	148	↑4	67
35	Lorraine	148	↓2	76
36	Judith	147	↑10	43
37	Elizabeth	145	↓1	18
38	Alice	143	↑2	27
39	Geraldine	143	↓2	41
40	Karen	143	new	>100
41	Doris	142	↓10	15
42	Yvonne	135	↓1	81
43	Marjorie	126	↓8	49
44	Sandra	119	new	38
45	Jeanette	118	↑2	94
46	Marie	114	new	33
47	Evelyn	108	↓3	34
48	Jane	108	↑2	42
49	Lavonne	106	↓4	>100
50	Rose	98	new	37

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Robert	1,214	–	1
2	Richard	1,125	–	5
3	James	1,053	–	2
4	John	884	–	3
5	Donald	838	–	7
6	David	578	↑1	10
7	Ronald	543	↑1	12
8	William	539	↓2	4
9	Gerald	509	–	19
10	Roger	476	–	35
11	Thomas	404	↑1	8
12	Kenneth	386	↑1	14
13	Charles	380	↓2	6
14	George	270	–	9
15	Dennis	261	↑2	74
16	Dale	253	↑3	59
17	Paul	228	↓1	15
18	Duane	224	–	>100
19	Raymond	216	↑1	17
20	Gary	211	↑6	38
21	Larry	208	↑12	25
22	Eugene	205	↓7	29
23	Edward	196	↓2	13
24	Jerome	175	↓1	98
25	Joseph	175	↓1	11
26	Harold	169	↓4	21
27	Leroy	163	–	57
28	Wayne	163	↓3	45
29	Jerry	162	↓1	18
30	Lawrence	151	↑1	37
31	Michael	148	↑7	33
32	Marvin	138	↓3	49
33	Gordon	137	↓3	75
34	Jack	123	–	20
35	Walter	122	↑1	26
36	Ralph	117	↓4	31
37	Bruce	114	↑11	73
38	Douglas	111	↑3	78
39	Leonard	108	↓4	54
40	Daniel	103	↑3	41
41	Norman	102	↑1	43
42	Howard	100	new	40
43	Arthur	99	↑3	30
44	Stanley	98	↓7	58
45	Russell	92	↑2	69
46	Warren	92	new	95
47	Frank	91	↓3	16
48	Vernon	91	↓3	93
49	Gene	88	new	66
50	Bernard	87	new	68

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