Popular baby names in South Carolina, 1940

The most popular baby names in South Carolina in 1940 were Mary for girls (1,569 babies) and James for boys (1,929). Social Security records list 43,113 babies born in South Carolina in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Carolina in 1940

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

Eartha: 43 babies, 32.1× the national rate
Elease: 30 babies, 28× the national rate
Blondell: 15 babies, 25.3× the national rate
Albertha: 37 babies, 24.5× the national rate
Jannie: 78 babies, 16.8× the national rate
Louvenia: 16 babies, 11.8× the national rate
Vernell: 30 babies, 10.7× the national rate
Elouise: 26 babies, 8.6× the national rate
Queen: 31 babies, 8.2× the national rate
Wilhelmina: 15 babies, 7.5× the national rate

Boys

Heyward: 20 babies, 34.1× the national rate
Furman: 23 babies, 31.4× the national rate
Hazel: 18 babies, 22.4× the national rate
Olin: 21 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Isiah: 15 babies, 9.9× the national rate
Elijah: 34 babies, 9.2× the national rate
Wilton: 17 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Sammie: 48 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Isaiah: 16 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Moses: 38 babies, 7.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Carolina, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	1,569	–	1
2	Betty	811	–	5
3	Barbara	566	–	2
4	Dorothy	461	↑1	12
5	Shirley	412	↓1	9
6	Annie	402	–	56
7	Margaret	377	↑1	11
8	Patricia	372	↑4	3
9	Martha	339	↓2	26
10	Linda	320	↑19	8
11	Frances	306	↑2	28
12	Elizabeth	304	↓3	20
13	Carolyn	283	↓3	15
14	Helen	271	–	18
15	Sarah	269	–	60
16	Nancy	261	↓5	7
17	Doris	226	↓1	31
18	Virginia	203	↓1	21
19	Rosa	199	↓1	>100
20	Ruth	196	↓1	24
21	Joyce	184	↑3	13
22	Ruby	178	↑1	66
23	Willie	175	↓1	>100
24	Alice	169	↑4	32
25	Mildred	169	–	58
26	Lillie	164	↓5	>100
27	Peggy	160	↓1	37
28	Brenda	153	new	42
29	Evelyn	144	↓2	48
30	Sandra	136	new	10
31	Carrie	132	↓1	>100
32	Emma	132	↓1	94
33	Gloria	130	↑10	30
34	Louise	130	↓14	59
35	Rebecca	122	↓3	96
36	Sara	122	↑5	>100
37	Patsy	119	new	57
38	Minnie	116	new	>100
39	Sylvia	114	↓6	62
40	Judy	113	new	16
41	Mattie	113	↑4	>100
42	Bessie	112	↑2	>100
43	Thelma	112	↓9	>100
44	Hattie	111	↓8	>100
45	Catherine	110	↓8	53
46	Edna	109	↓4	86
47	Rose	108	new	44
48	Julia	107	↓8	91
49	Ethel	104	↓1	>100
50	Ella	103	↓12	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	1,929	–	1
2	John	1,072	–	3
3	William	943	–	4
4	Robert	908	–	2
5	Willie	646	↑1	35
6	Charles	640	↓1	6
7	Thomas	482	–	8
8	George	412	–	11
9	David	411	–	7
10	Joseph	320	–	12
11	Henry	313	↑1	31
12	Bobby	307	↓1	30
13	Richard	294	↑1	5
14	Joe	281	↓1	28
15	Jerry	251	↑3	14
16	Donald	226	↑4	9
17	Edward	216	↓2	16
18	Larry	214	↑10	13
19	Billy	208	↓3	27
20	Johnny	201	↑4	51
21	Harold	196	↓4	23
22	Samuel	193	–	65
23	Frank	188	↑2	20
24	Walter	180	↓3	25
25	Leroy	172	↓6	66
26	Jimmy	170	–	44
27	Kenneth	157	↑3	15
28	Paul	149	↓5	17
29	Eugene	147	↑4	38
30	Clarence	131	↓3	64
31	Arthur	130	–	33
32	Harry	119	↑6	47
33	Raymond	118	↑6	22
34	Albert	117	–	41
35	Fred	115	↑2	40
36	Carl	112	↑8	32
37	Ernest	110	↓1	58
38	Jack	109	↓9	29
39	Charlie	105	↓4	>100
40	Johnnie	104	↑2	>100
41	Marion	102	↓9	>100
42	Melvin	101	↑7	53
43	Nathaniel	98	↑7	>100
44	Roy	95	↓4	42
45	Herbert	93	↓4	75
46	Ronald	93	↓3	10
47	Eddie	92	↓2	81
48	Franklin	92	new	87
49	Leon	90	↓2	89
50	Daniel	84	↓2	34

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