Popular baby names in Pennsylvania, 1928

The most popular baby names in Pennsylvania in 1928 were Mary for girls (5,742 babies) and John for boys (6,134). John ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 171,583 babies born in Pennsylvania in 1928 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Pennsylvania in 1928

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

Girls

Romaine: 45 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Philomena: 62 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Clare: 61 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Regina: 243 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Twila: 44 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Veronica: 127 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Carmella: 74 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Anna: 1,822 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Olga: 165 babies, 2.3× the national rate
Angeline: 120 babies, 2.3× the national rate

Boys

Regis: 54 babies, 10.3× the national rate
Clair: 128 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Marlin: 79 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Steve: 188 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Stephen: 265 babies, 2.6× the national rate
Dominic: 73 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Carmen: 63 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Michael: 667 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Nicholas: 224 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Elwood: 88 babies, 2.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Pennsylvania, 1928

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Mary	5,742	–	1
2	Dorothy	3,129	–	3
3	Betty	2,977	–	2
4	Helen	2,662	–	4
5	Margaret	2,574	–	5
6	Ruth	1,892	–	6
7	Anna	1,822	–	16
8	Jean	1,623	–	12
9	Elizabeth	1,589	–	14
10	Doris	1,583	–	7
11	Dolores	1,515	↑9	20
12	Shirley	1,255	↑3	10
13	Marie	1,146	↓2	21
14	Catherine	1,088	–	33
15	Eleanor	1,037	↓2	36
16	Lois	1,032	–	18
17	Rose	993	–	24
18	Mildred	971	↓6	15
19	Frances	917	↑2	13
20	Florence	911	↓2	32
21	Irene	907	↓2	28
22	Patricia	901	↑4	11
23	Virginia	891	↓1	9
24	Alice	858	–	19
25	Evelyn	819	↓2	17
26	Theresa	789	↑2	49
27	Barbara	768	↑8	8
28	Gloria	707	↓3	25
29	Rita	682	↑1	57
30	Josephine	673	↓3	42
31	Jane	652	↓2	62
32	Joan	651	↑15	27
33	Nancy	644	↑6	43
34	Ann	642	–	54
35	Phyllis	640	↓2	26
36	Martha	624	–	22
37	Grace	613	↓6	52
38	Pauline	559	–	48
39	Marjorie	544	↑2	29
40	Louise	537	–	31
41	June	532	↓4	44
42	Lillian	532	↓10	35
43	Marian	532	↑6	71
44	Marion	532	↑1	47
45	Geraldine	501	new	50
46	Norma	493	↓4	23
47	Esther	488	↓3	66
48	Lorraine	472	new	39
49	Thelma	470	↓3	40
50	Ethel	454	↓7	55

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	John	6,134	–	2
2	Robert	5,177	–	1
3	William	5,008	–	4
4	James	3,785	–	3
5	Joseph	3,686	–	9
6	Charles	2,915	–	5
7	Richard	2,679	↑1	6
8	George	2,554	↓1	8
9	Edward	2,236	–	10
10	Donald	2,111	–	7
11	Thomas	1,844	–	11
12	Paul	1,652	–	13
13	Frank	1,421	–	12
14	Harry	1,118	–	26
15	Raymond	1,068	↑1	16
16	Walter	988	↓1	18
17	Albert	959	–	23
18	David	933	↑1	19
19	Harold	915	↓1	14
20	Francis	840	–	40
21	Eugene	780	↑1	20
22	Jack	772	↓1	15
23	Kenneth	746	↑2	17
24	Anthony	713	↓1	44
25	Carl	706	↑1	28
26	Ralph	678	↑2	24
27	Michael	667	↓3	53
28	Herbert	631	↑21	25
29	Louis	624	–	32
30	Henry	601	↓3	21
31	Arthur	571	–	22
32	Leonard	531	↑2	42
33	Howard	514	↑5	31
34	Stanley	513	↓4	45
35	Samuel	504	↑1	52
36	Daniel	497	↑1	47
37	Bernard	484	↓2	49
38	Earl	472	↓6	37
39	Andrew	470	↓6	60
40	Alfred	466	↑7	33
41	Norman	461	–	39
42	Fred	421	↓3	36
43	Lawrence	412	↑5	38
44	Gerald	409	↓1	41
45	Peter	407	↓3	56
46	Clarence	383	↓6	35
47	Russell	372	↓2	55
48	Vincent	365	↓2	82
49	Theodore	350	↓5	66
50	Ernest	329	–	43

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