Popular baby names in Missouri, 1939

The most popular baby names in Missouri in 1939 were Mary for girls (1,618 babies) and James for boys (1,564). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 54,762 babies born in Missouri in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Missouri in 1939

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

Girls

Reta: 15 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Frieda: 15 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Lora: 20 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Melba: 53 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Marcella: 43 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Wilda: 15 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Opal: 37 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Freda: 36 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Laverne: 39 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Carlene: 19 babies, 2.6× the national rate

Boys

Jewell: 16 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Carrol: 20 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Charley: 15 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Orville: 36 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Donnie: 46 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Jackie: 119 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Bill: 195 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Everett: 58 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Doyle: 35 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Teddy: 25 babies, 2.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Missouri, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	1,618	–	1
2	Barbara	1,074	–	2
3	Shirley	840	–	5
4	Betty	774	–	4
5	Patricia	748	–	3
6	Carol	640	–	6
7	Judith	520	↑10	8
8	Nancy	459	–	7
9	Joyce	451	–	12
10	Dorothy	405	↓3	9
11	Carolyn	398	↓1	14
12	Sandra	340	↑10	13
13	Marilyn	336	↑3	19
14	Donna	329	↓2	20
15	Margaret	325	↓4	10
16	Helen	324	↓2	16
17	Ruth	321	↑4	22
18	Janet	319	↑2	17
19	Virginia	304	↑4	21
20	Judy	301	↑17	28
21	Beverly	300	↓8	25
22	Joan	300	↓7	11
23	Norma	283	↓4	38
24	Linda	277	↑4	15
25	Doris	271	↓7	29
26	Martha	247	↓1	27
27	Sharon	247	↑4	23
28	Wanda	228	↓4	50
29	Frances	226	↑5	26
30	Bonnie	212	↓3	61
31	Phyllis	208	↓2	30
32	Peggy	205	↓6	34
33	Janice	198	↓3	24
34	Alice	189	↑4	31
35	Patsy	184	↑1	56
36	Lois	179	↓4	35
37	Wilma	166	↑3	87
38	Anna	162	↑1	43
39	Evelyn	161	↓4	40
40	Elizabeth	152	↓7	18
41	Joann	152	–	57
42	Jean	137	↑1	32
43	Karen	136	new	39
44	Rose	130	–	42
45	Jane	128	↑2	46
46	Loretta	127	↑4	65
47	Carole	125	new	47
48	Delores	123	new	79
49	Geraldine	121	new	41
50	Kathleen	119	new	48

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	James	1,564	–	2
2	Robert	1,469	–	1
3	John	1,283	–	3
4	William	1,026	–	4
5	Charles	983	↑1	6
6	Donald	921	↓1	8
7	Richard	866	–	5
8	Larry	708	↑2	14
9	Jerry	655	↓1	16
10	David	634	↑1	7
11	Ronald	571	↓2	10
12	Kenneth	508	–	13
13	Thomas	447	–	9
14	George	400	–	11
15	Gary	364	↑2	21
16	Paul	362	–	17
17	Edward	319	↑3	15
18	Harold	306	–	23
19	Billy	298	↓4	24
20	Joseph	297	↑4	12
21	Gerald	268	↑2	19
22	Jack	243	↓3	26
23	Raymond	235	↑2	22
24	Carl	230	↓3	30
25	Michael	227	↑8	18
26	Bobby	221	↓4	29
27	Joe	204	↓1	27
28	Bill	195	↓1	67
29	Roger	195	↑20	28
30	Roy	190	↑1	42
31	Frank	185	↓3	20
32	Wayne	172	↓2	39
33	Lawrence	166	↑3	36
34	Ralph	165	↓2	35
35	Walter	162	↑3	25
36	Dennis	153	new	34
37	Don	149	↓8	56
38	Marvin	144	↑2	52
39	Earl	143	↑8	50
40	Jimmy	143	↑8	43
41	Fred	141	↓6	40
42	Melvin	141	↑1	51
43	Dale	139	↑2	59
44	Eugene	139	↓10	37
45	Arthur	138	↑1	32
46	Harry	138	new	45
47	Jim	138	↓3	75
48	Norman	137	↓7	44
49	Bob	128	↓7	89
50	Howard	125	↓13	47

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