Popular baby names in North Carolina, 1940

The most popular baby names in North Carolina in 1940 were Mary for girls (2,282 babies) and James for boys (3,063). Social Security records list 74,652 babies born in North Carolina in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in North Carolina in 1940

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

Girls

Johnsie: 19 babies, 19.9× the national rate
Peggie: 43 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Doretha: 32 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Delois: 37 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Nannie: 36 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Queen: 35 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Hilda: 138 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Pansy: 28 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Shelby: 155 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Hattie: 128 babies, 4.4× the national rate

Boys

Haywood: 29 babies, 9.9× the national rate
Linwood: 50 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Lacy: 22 babies, 8.5× the national rate
Alvis: 19 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Boyce: 20 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Thurman: 45 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Wade: 74 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Jasper: 39 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Grady: 80 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Wilbert: 76 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in North Carolina, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	2,282	–	1
2	Betty	1,372	–	5
3	Barbara	1,151	–	2
4	Shirley	952	–	9
5	Linda	730	↑12	8
6	Dorothy	702	↑1	12
7	Nancy	692	↓2	7
8	Patricia	691	↑3	3
9	Carolyn	602	↓1	15
10	Margaret	590	↓4	11
11	Peggy	569	↓1	37
12	Annie	554	↓3	56
13	Joyce	538	↑1	13
14	Martha	515	↓1	26
15	Doris	512	↓3	31
16	Frances	449	–	28
17	Helen	447	↓2	18
18	Elizabeth	422	–	20
19	Brenda	409	new	42
20	Alice	394	↓1	32
21	Judy	373	↑13	16
22	Virginia	367	↓1	21
23	Sarah	336	↓3	60
24	Ruby	302	↓2	66
25	Judith	288	↑10	4
26	Sylvia	283	↓1	62
27	Mildred	260	↓3	58
28	Rebecca	259	↑10	96
29	Ruth	250	↓6	24
30	Phyllis	247	↑1	33
31	Edna	245	↓5	86
32	Jean	245	↓2	29
33	Janice	244	↓4	22
34	Evelyn	229	↓7	48
35	Carol	223	↓2	6
36	Geraldine	215	↓8	46
37	Sandra	213	new	10
38	Lois	212	↑3	38
39	Patsy	210	↓7	57
40	Gloria	208	↑2	30
41	Ann	204	↓4	35
42	Emma	193	↓6	94
43	Hazel	177	–	>100
44	Clara	173	↑4	>100
45	Edith	169	new	98
46	Norma	169	↓6	43
47	Julia	168	new	91
48	Jo	166	↑2	72
49	Lillie	160	new	>100
50	Rosa	160	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	3,063	–	1
2	William	1,903	–	4
3	Robert	1,531	–	2
4	John	1,458	–	3
5	Charles	1,260	–	6
6	Jerry	746	↑2	14
7	Thomas	725	–	8
8	Bobby	722	↓2	30
9	David	693	↑1	7
10	George	657	↓1	11
11	Larry	568	↑5	13
12	Richard	564	↑3	5
13	Billy	549	↓1	27
14	Donald	543	↓3	9
15	Willie	534	↓1	35
16	Joseph	467	↓3	12
17	Kenneth	428	–	15
18	Jimmy	369	–	44
19	Harold	363	↑2	23
20	Walter	360	↑6	25
21	Henry	353	↑3	31
22	Paul	350	↓3	17
23	Johnny	335	↑2	51
24	Edward	330	↓4	16
25	Joe	329	↓3	28
26	Roy	276	↓3	42
27	Ronald	272	↑2	10
28	Frank	241	↓1	20
29	Ralph	226	↑2	37
30	Wayne	221	↑6	39
31	Clarence	213	↑4	64
32	Carl	209	↓4	32
33	Charlie	206	↑1	>100
34	Samuel	197	↓1	65
35	Jack	195	↓3	29
36	Tommy	183	↑11	76
37	Howard	182	↑3	45
38	Fred	181	↓8	40
39	Earl	180	↓1	52
40	Ernest	170	↓1	58
41	Roger	169	↑9	26
42	Jesse	168	↑1	93
43	Melvin	167	↑2	53
44	Raymond	166	↓7	22
45	Eugene	164	↓4	38
46	Arthur	160	new	33
47	Albert	155	↓3	41
48	Gerald	155	new	21
49	Gene	151	↓1	70
50	Franklin	148	new	87

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