Popular baby names in Missouri, 1917

The most popular baby names in Missouri in 1917 were Mary for girls (1,882 babies) and John for boys (1,269). Social Security records list 53,026 babies born in Missouri in 1917 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Missouri in 1917

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

Girls

Cleta: 20 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Glenda: 15 babies, 7× the national rate
Leta: 27 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Nadine: 53 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Willa: 35 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Golda: 15 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Pansy: 23 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Alpha: 18 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Celeste: 15 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Jewell: 68 babies, 3.5× the national rate

Boys

Jewell: 19 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Ora: 16 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Herschel: 24 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Alva: 31 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Orval: 27 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Noel: 17 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Winfred: 18 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Virgil: 126 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Orville: 87 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Junior: 21 babies, 3× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Missouri, 1917

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	Mary	1,882	–	1
2	Dorothy	1,062	–	3
3	Helen	1,012	–	2
4	Ruth	725	–	5
5	Virginia	653	↑2	10
6	Mildred	625	↓1	6
7	Margaret	602	↓1	4
8	Frances	442	↑1	9
9	Marie	383	↓1	12
10	Ruby	342	–	27
11	Anna	339	–	7
12	Edna	301	↑2	20
13	Hazel	301	–	31
14	Evelyn	295	↑4	11
15	Elizabeth	294	↑1	8
16	Thelma	293	↓4	32
17	Martha	281	↑2	22
18	Lucille	270	↓3	29
19	Wilma	256	↑5	82
20	Alice	240	–	13
21	Pauline	238	↑10	33
22	Gladys	237	↓5	23
23	Irene	224	↑5	17
24	Bernice	221	↑6	42
25	Marjorie	219	↑2	36
26	Edith	215	–	28
27	Louise	211	↑2	19
28	Opal	201	↓6	95
29	Ethel	196	↓6	24
30	Lillian	194	↓9	15
31	Clara	193	↑2	41
32	Florence	189	↓7	14
33	Grace	189	↓1	30
34	Lois	188	–	43
35	Doris	183	↑4	25
36	Juanita	180	↑5	87
37	Catherine	166	↑1	18
38	Josephine	161	↓1	21
39	Esther	159	↓3	38
40	Betty	156	↑8	34
41	Rose	156	↓6	16
42	Viola	149	↑2	59
43	Georgia	147	new	>100
44	Nellie	146	↓1	64
45	Gertrude	143	↓3	37
46	Maxine	143	new	93
47	Alma	142	↓1	71
48	Bertha	141	new	51
49	Jean	140	new	40
50	Mabel	139	↓1	68

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	John	1,269	↑1	1
2	William	1,225	↓1	2
3	James	1,071	–	3
4	Robert	899	↑1	4
5	Charles	844	↓1	7
6	George	627	–	6
7	Joseph	425	–	5
8	Paul	417	↑2	13
9	Harold	392	↓1	12
10	Edward	390	↓1	8
11	Raymond	335	–	16
12	Walter	328	↑1	11
13	Richard	324	↑3	14
14	Thomas	315	–	10
15	Frank	299	↓3	9
16	Harry	296	↓1	19
17	Roy	272	↑4	33
18	Henry	269	↑4	15
19	Carl	268	↓1	24
20	Ralph	268	↓1	21
21	Earl	255	↑4	32
22	Kenneth	253	↓2	27
23	Jack	237	↑5	22
24	Albert	232	↓1	18
25	Arthur	231	↓8	17
26	Clarence	226	↓2	25
27	Donald	226	↑4	20
28	Lawrence	201	↑6	36
29	Howard	199	↓2	26
30	Eugene	198	↓1	39
31	Elmer	191	↓5	45
32	Louis	172	↑1	23
33	Fred	171	↓3	29
34	Floyd	161	↑12	62
35	Melvin	157	↑5	57
36	Leonard	155	↑2	41
37	Lloyd	154	↑5	53
38	Joe	152	↓3	35
39	Francis	150	↓7	30
40	Norman	146	new	46
41	Russell	146	–	52
42	Herbert	145	↓3	40
43	David	142	↓7	28
44	Clifford	134	↑6	59
45	Ernest	132	–	37
46	Clyde	126	↑1	64
47	Virgil	126	↓10	>100
48	Lester	125	↓5	61
49	Vernon	121	new	71
50	Marvin	119	↓2	68

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