Popular baby names in Rhode Island, 1940

The most popular baby names in Rhode Island in 1940 were Barbara for girls (207 babies) and Robert for boys (430). Barbara ranked #2 nationally for girls. Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 9,125 babies born in Rhode Island in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Rhode Island in 1940

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

Girls

Cecile: 15 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Claire: 44 babies, 11.7× the national rate
Muriel: 20 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Pauline: 58 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Lucille: 45 babies, 5× the national rate
Jeanne: 38 babies, 5× the national rate
Maureen: 36 babies, 5× the national rate
Theresa: 36 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Eileen: 28 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Elaine: 64 babies, 3.4× the national rate

Boys

Domenic: 17 babies, 67× the national rate
Normand: 15 babies, 40.7× the national rate
Roland: 27 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Anthony: 88 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Leo: 29 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Maurice: 15 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Francis: 50 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Alfred: 42 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Manuel: 16 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Peter: 66 babies, 3.3× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Rhode Island, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Barbara	207	–	2
2	Patricia	180	↑2	3
3	Mary	177	↓1	1
4	Carol	174	↑1	6
5	Joan	139	↓2	14
6	Judith	125	–	4
7	Ann	95	↑2	35
8	Dorothy	85	↑5	12
9	Beverly	77	↑3	27
10	Margaret	77	↑7	11
11	Nancy	77	↓4	7
12	Joyce	75	↓1	13
13	Elizabeth	74	↑1	20
14	Marie	70	↑7	41
15	Jean	68	↑3	29
16	Sandra	66	↓8	10
17	Elaine	64	↓7	50
18	Pauline	58	↑7	>100
19	Linda	56	new	8
20	Carolyn	54	↓5	15
21	Shirley	54	↓5	9
22	Janet	50	↑12	19
23	Jane	49	–	47
24	Janice	47	↑6	22
25	Marilyn	46	↑11	25
26	Lucille	45	↑13	>100
27	Claire	44	↓8	>100
28	Helen	44	↓6	18
29	Jacqueline	41	↑9	76
30	Eleanor	40	↑2	68
31	Gail	39	↑10	65
32	Anne	38	↓1	84
33	Frances	38	↓13	28
34	Jeanne	38	↓8	>100
35	Irene	37	↑14	73
36	Susan	37	new	36
37	Virginia	37	↓9	21
38	Dolores	36	↓3	67
39	Maureen	36	↓12	>100
40	Theresa	36	↓3	>100
41	Doris	34	↓12	31
42	Kathleen	34	new	40
43	Lorraine	33	↓19	95
44	Geraldine	32	new	46
45	Brenda	31	new	42
46	Catherine	30	–	53
47	Alice	29	new	32
48	Gloria	29	new	30
49	Diane	28	new	45
50	Eileen	28	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	430	–	2
2	Richard	303	↑1	5
3	John	281	↓1	3
4	William	225	–	4
5	Joseph	182	–	12
6	James	174	–	1
7	Edward	138	–	16
8	Thomas	133	↑5	8
9	Ronald	128	↑2	10
10	David	117	↓1	7
11	Raymond	115	↓3	22
12	Donald	113	↓2	9
13	George	108	↓1	11
14	Paul	107	↑1	17
15	Anthony	88	↑1	46
16	Charles	86	↓2	6
17	Frank	73	↑4	20
18	Peter	66	–	43
19	Michael	65	–	18
20	Kenneth	64	↓3	15
21	Roger	62	↑3	26
22	Albert	54	–	41
23	Francis	50	↑2	61
24	Walter	48	↑4	25
25	Arthur	47	↓5	33
26	Gerald	46	↑1	21
27	Norman	44	↑13	48
28	Alfred	42	↑2	69
29	Henry	41	↓6	31
30	Stephen	41	↑3	49
31	Louis	34	↑1	50
32	Dennis	32	↑12	24
33	Daniel	31	↓4	34
34	Alan	30	new	88
35	Leo	29	↑6	>100
36	Ralph	29	↓5	37
37	Ernest	27	↓1	58
38	Eugene	27	↓1	38
39	Roland	27	↓13	>100
40	Bruce	25	↓6	55
41	Frederick	25	↓2	68
42	Harold	24	–	23
43	Vincent	23	↓8	>100
44	Harry	22	new	47
45	Russell	22	new	72
46	Leonard	21	new	54
47	Douglas	19	new	56
48	Lawrence	19	↓5	36
49	Bernard	18	new	82
50	Fred	18	new	40

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