Popular baby names in South Carolina, 1939

The most popular baby names in South Carolina in 1939 were Mary for girls (1,484 babies) and James for boys (1,802). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 41,547 babies born in South Carolina in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Carolina in 1939

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

Girls

Wilhelmenia: 19 babies, 29.9× the national rate
Eartha: 39 babies, 28.5× the national rate
Albertha: 30 babies, 24.3× the national rate
Blondell: 15 babies, 21.6× the national rate
Elease: 21 babies, 21.4× the national rate
Jannie: 73 babies, 17.5× the national rate
Queen: 45 babies, 10.4× the national rate
Wilhelmina: 24 babies, 10.1× the national rate
Isabell: 15 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Pearline: 15 babies, 7.3× the national rate

Boys

Heyward: 29 babies, 46.3× the national rate
Furman: 20 babies, 27.1× the national rate
Olin: 34 babies, 15.1× the national rate
Isiah: 23 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Elijah: 43 babies, 9.8× the national rate
Isaiah: 15 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Solomon: 17 babies, 8× the national rate
Isaac: 63 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Odell: 28 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Marion: 127 babies, 6.7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Carolina, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	1,484	–	1
2	Betty	790	–	4
3	Barbara	559	↑2	2
4	Shirley	471	–	5
5	Dorothy	457	↓2	9
6	Annie	424	–	54
7	Martha	344	↑1	27
8	Margaret	342	↓1	10
9	Elizabeth	312	–	18
10	Carolyn	292	↑4	14
11	Nancy	272	↑2	7
12	Patricia	260	–	3
13	Frances	247	↓3	26
14	Helen	244	↑1	16
15	Sarah	232	↓4	68
16	Doris	202	–	29
17	Virginia	198	–	21
18	Rosa	197	–	>100
19	Ruth	193	↑1	22
20	Louise	189	↑1	59
21	Lillie	180	↑4	>100
22	Willie	173	↑4	>100
23	Ruby	167	↑1	67
24	Joyce	165	↓1	12
25	Mildred	165	↓3	55
26	Peggy	163	↑1	34
27	Evelyn	160	↓8	40
28	Alice	157	↑2	31
29	Linda	155	new	15
30	Carrie	131	↓1	>100
31	Emma	131	↑2	89
32	Rebecca	131	↑6	>100
33	Sylvia	128	↑1	62
34	Thelma	126	↓6	88
35	Jessie	122	new	>100
36	Hattie	119	↑4	>100
37	Catherine	112	–	49
38	Ella	111	↑8	>100
39	Ann	108	↑5	33
40	Julia	105	↑2	91
41	Sara	104	↑2	>100
42	Edna	103	↓7	81
43	Gloria	103	new	36
44	Bessie	102	new	>100
45	Mattie	102	↓9	>100
46	Margie	101	↓1	>100
47	Juanita	100	new	77
48	Ethel	98	↓17	100
49	Shelby	98	↓17	>100
50	Clara	96	–	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	James	1,802	–	2
2	John	974	–	3
3	William	953	–	4
4	Robert	818	–	1
5	Charles	627	–	6
6	Willie	601	–	33
7	Thomas	427	–	9
8	George	416	–	11
9	David	363	–	7
10	Joseph	329	↑3	12
11	Bobby	320	–	29
12	Henry	310	↓2	31
13	Joe	293	↓1	27
14	Richard	260	↑3	5
15	Edward	249	–	15
16	Billy	240	↑2	24
17	Harold	227	↓3	23
18	Jerry	210	↑1	16
19	Leroy	199	↑4	61
20	Donald	195	↓4	8
21	Walter	177	–	25
22	Samuel	176	–	63
23	Paul	175	↑2	17
24	Johnny	171	↑2	62
25	Frank	169	↓5	20
26	Jimmy	159	↓2	43
27	Clarence	146	↑2	60
28	Larry	143	↑2	14
29	Jack	133	↓2	26
30	Kenneth	128	↑1	13
31	Arthur	127	↓3	32
32	Marion	127	–	>100
33	Eugene	118	↑1	37
34	Albert	117	↑6	41
35	Charlie	115	–	>100
36	Ernest	115	↓3	55
37	Fred	112	↓1	40
38	Harry	111	↓1	45
39	Raymond	111	new	22
40	Roy	109	↓2	42
41	Herbert	105	↑9	68
42	Johnnie	101	↓1	>100
43	Ronald	101	new	10
44	Carl	97	↑3	30
45	Eddie	95	↓3	81
46	Jimmie	93	new	80
47	Leon	93	↑2	86
48	Daniel	92	↓3	38
49	Melvin	92	↓3	51
50	Nathaniel	91	↓11	>100

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