Popular baby names in North Carolina, 1941

The most popular baby names in North Carolina in 1941 were Mary for girls (2,250 babies) and James for boys (3,273). Social Security records list 77,711 babies born in North Carolina in 1941 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in North Carolina in 1941

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

Lessie: 32 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Pattie: 23 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Libby: 20 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Nannie: 33 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Hilda: 135 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Doretha: 25 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Shelby: 138 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Queen: 30 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Donnie: 24 babies, 5× the national rate
Peggie: 35 babies, 4.9× the national rate

Boys

Haywood: 35 babies, 13.7× the national rate
Lacy: 28 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Linwood: 52 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Lynwood: 26 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Shelton: 28 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Graham: 22 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Wade: 80 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Jasper: 40 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Thurman: 37 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Coy: 28 babies, 4.7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in North Carolina, 1941

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1940	US rank
1	Mary	2,250	–	1
2	Betty	1,333	–	7
3	Barbara	1,304	–	2
4	Linda	1,107	↑1	5
5	Patricia	811	↑3	3
6	Shirley	811	↓2	10
7	Carolyn	750	↑2	11
8	Brenda	747	↑11	41
9	Nancy	718	↓2	8
10	Margaret	659	–	12
11	Dorothy	653	↓5	14
12	Joyce	616	↑1	13
13	Peggy	564	↓2	39
14	Annie	536	↓2	59
15	Martha	530	↓1	25
16	Doris	487	↓1	38
17	Judy	446	↑4	16
18	Elizabeth	420	–	21
19	Frances	413	↓3	31
20	Helen	392	↓3	24
21	Alice	384	↓1	34
22	Virginia	351	–	23
23	Janice	318	↑10	22
24	Judith	310	↑1	6
25	Sarah	309	↓2	60
26	Sandra	290	↑11	9
27	Patsy	281	↑12	52
28	Ruby	281	↓4	69
29	Carol	276	↑6	4
30	Sylvia	273	↓4	65
31	Rebecca	272	↓3	86
32	Ruth	271	↓3	28
33	Mildred	262	↓6	64
34	Evelyn	250	–	50
35	Gloria	240	↑5	26
36	Phyllis	231	↓6	35
37	Edna	218	↓6	89
38	Lois	211	–	43
39	Jean	207	↓7	32
40	Geraldine	196	↓4	45
41	Ann	193	–	37
42	Emma	182	–	99
43	Glenda	182	new	96
44	Clara	169	–	>100
45	Janet	168	new	18
46	Edith	164	↓1	>100
47	Julia	164	–	88
48	Wanda	160	new	53
49	Kay	158	new	70
50	Lillie	157	↓1	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1940	US rank
1	James	3,273	–	1
2	William	1,988	–	4
3	Robert	1,643	–	2
4	John	1,532	–	3
5	Charles	1,291	–	6
6	Jerry	888	–	14
7	David	762	↑2	7
8	Thomas	751	↓1	8
9	Larry	739	↑2	11
10	George	707	–	13
11	Bobby	681	↓3	35
12	Donald	594	↑2	10
13	Richard	591	↓1	5
14	Billy	557	↓1	27
15	Willie	531	–	36
16	Joseph	501	–	12
17	Kenneth	399	–	15
18	Jimmy	378	–	45
19	Walter	362	↑1	26
20	Harold	352	↓1	24
21	Henry	348	–	28
22	Edward	342	↑2	17
23	Ronald	333	↑4	9
24	Paul	329	↓2	18
25	Roy	306	↑1	39
26	Johnny	305	↓3	55
27	Joe	303	↓2	30
28	Frank	242	–	21
29	Ralph	229	–	38
30	Carl	223	↑2	29
31	Wayne	222	↓1	37
32	Samuel	209	↑2	65
33	Charlie	207	–	>100
34	Raymond	203	↑10	22
35	Ernest	197	↑5	61
36	Clarence	194	↓5	62
37	Howard	193	–	47
38	Jack	188	↓3	32
39	Albert	175	↑8	40
40	Earl	171	↓1	58
41	Tommy	171	↓5	71
42	Eugene	163	↑3	42
43	Fred	159	↓5	43
44	Gerald	157	↑4	20
45	Jesse	156	↓3	99
46	Gary	152	new	19
47	Marvin	150	new	63
48	Johnnie	149	new	>100
49	Arthur	147	↓3	33
50	Clyde	147	new	>100

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