Popular baby names in Pennsylvania, 1940

The most popular baby names in Pennsylvania in 1940 were Mary for girls (3,942 babies) and Robert for boys (5,351). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 151,784 babies born in Pennsylvania in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Pennsylvania in 1940

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

Girls

Carmella: 53 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Bernadette: 71 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Regina: 149 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Maryann: 244 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Dolores: 596 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Rosemarie: 183 babies, 2.5× the national rate
Veronica: 88 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Darla: 51 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Dorothea: 50 babies, 2.2× the national rate
Bernadine: 47 babies, 2.2× the national rate

Boys

Regis: 57 babies, 11.8× the national rate
Clair: 70 babies, 6× the national rate
Carmen: 59 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Marlin: 82 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Dominic: 51 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Barry: 366 babies, 3× the national rate
Elwood: 58 babies, 3× the national rate
Francis: 690 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Harry: 739 babies, 2.4× the national rate
Jacob: 81 babies, 2.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Pennsylvania, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	3,942	–	1
2	Patricia	3,061	↑1	3
3	Barbara	2,922	↓1	2
4	Nancy	2,048	–	7
5	Carol	1,846	–	6
6	Judith	1,810	↑4	4
7	Joan	1,567	↓1	14
8	Margaret	1,495	↓1	11
9	Sandra	1,294	↑4	10
10	Dorothy	1,167	↓1	12
11	Shirley	1,095	↓3	9
12	Janet	1,027	↓1	19
13	Elizabeth	977	↑2	20
14	Joyce	973	↑4	13
15	Betty	936	↓3	5
16	Ruth	890	↓2	24
17	Donna	845	–	23
18	Linda	845	↑16	8
19	Helen	812	↓3	18
20	Jean	747	↓1	29
21	Lois	622	↑5	38
22	Ann	617	↑8	35
23	Beverly	612	–	27
24	Gloria	607	↑23	30
25	Dolores	596	↓3	67
26	Virginia	595	↑1	21
27	Frances	591	↓2	28
28	Joanne	590	–	54
29	Marie	569	↓8	41
30	Catherine	563	↓6	53
31	Anna	561	↓11	51
32	Rose	554	↓1	44
33	Judy	552	↑15	16
34	Kathleen	539	↑9	40
35	Janice	532	↑4	22
36	Elaine	526	↓4	50
37	Carole	524	↑4	49
38	Doris	524	↓9	31
39	Alice	514	↓3	32
40	Jane	500	↑2	47
41	Carolyn	496	↓1	15
42	Phyllis	490	↓9	33
43	Geraldine	489	↓6	46
44	Susan	489	new	36
45	Eleanor	450	↓10	68
46	Marilyn	421	↓2	25
47	Marlene	408	↓9	80
48	Martha	408	↑2	26
49	Sally	371	↓3	61
50	Evelyn	365	↓5	48

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	5,351	–	2
2	John	5,253	–	3
3	William	4,124	↑1	4
4	James	4,109	↓1	1
5	Richard	3,218	–	5
6	Joseph	2,658	–	12
7	Thomas	2,370	–	8
8	Charles	2,348	–	6
9	Ronald	2,207	–	10
10	David	2,000	↑1	7
11	Donald	1,822	↓1	9
12	George	1,707	–	11
13	Edward	1,606	–	16
14	Paul	1,271	–	17
15	Michael	1,075	↑2	18
16	Kenneth	1,059	↓1	15
17	Frank	930	↓1	20
18	Raymond	825	–	22
19	Larry	796	↑1	13
20	Gerald	766	↑1	21
21	Harry	739	↓2	47
22	Francis	690	–	61
23	Gary	643	↑11	19
24	Walter	624	↓1	25
25	Anthony	584	↓1	46
26	Daniel	579	↑2	34
27	Carl	552	↓2	32
28	Eugene	522	↓1	38
29	Harold	503	↓3	23
30	Albert	485	↓1	41
31	Lawrence	451	–	36
32	Ralph	445	↑3	37
33	Jack	438	↓3	29
34	Arthur	429	↓2	33
35	Dennis	428	↑10	24
36	Stephen	405	↑10	49
37	Samuel	387	↑4	65
38	Fred	381	↓5	40
39	Louis	367	↓3	50
40	Barry	366	new	>100
41	Howard	363	↑6	45
42	Stanley	363	↓5	59
43	Henry	353	↓5	31
44	Wayne	349	↓5	39
45	Peter	343	↓1	43
46	Bernard	341	↓4	82
47	Frederick	323	↑2	68
48	Leonard	310	↓5	54
49	Dale	307	new	57
50	Andrew	294	↓2	84

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