Popular baby names in South Dakota, 1912

The most popular baby names in South Dakota in 1912 were Mary for girls (108 babies) and John for boys (98). Social Security records list 4,602 babies born in South Dakota in 1912 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Dakota in 1912

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

Girls

Fern: 19 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Lydia: 21 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Marian: 21 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Violet: 24 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Mabel: 40 babies, 3× the national rate
Viola: 37 babies, 3× the national rate
Myrtle: 37 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Esther: 48 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Hilda: 16 babies, 2.8× the national rate
Elsie: 37 babies, 2.6× the national rate

Boys

Melvin: 31 babies, 6× the national rate
Alvin: 21 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Edwin: 26 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Lloyd: 21 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Vernon: 15 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Clifford: 22 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Kenneth: 40 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Leonard: 26 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Floyd: 19 babies, 3× the national rate
Oscar: 15 babies, 3× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Dakota, 1912

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	Mary	108	↑1	1
2	Helen	93	↓1	2
3	Dorothy	82	–	3
4	Margaret	79	–	4
5	Ruth	79	–	5
6	Mildred	73	↑3	6
7	Alice	55	–	11
8	Marie	55	–	10
9	Gladys	52	↑6	19
10	Florence	51	↑3	12
11	Esther	48	↑1	33
12	Frances	47	↑6	9
13	Evelyn	46	↓7	13
14	Hazel	40	↓3	25
15	Lillian	40	↑1	14
16	Mabel	40	↑6	46
17	Elsie	37	↑31	42
18	Irene	37	↑6	22
19	Myrtle	37	↑15	50
20	Viola	37	↓3	52
21	Elizabeth	35	new	8
22	Clara	34	↓1	34
23	Edna	33	↓13	16
24	Grace	32	↑4	24
25	Ethel	31	↓2	18
26	Agnes	30	↓1	40
27	Lucille	30	↑2	32
28	Thelma	30	↑10	26
29	Anna	27	↓15	7
30	Ruby	27	↑7	23
31	Emma	26	↓5	35
32	Marjorie	26	↑15	56
33	Bernice	25	↓3	51
34	Ida	25	↑10	45
35	Martha	25	↓16	29
36	Gertrude	24	↓9	30
37	Violet	24	↑5	83
38	Bertha	22	↓7	36
39	Doris	22	–	48
40	Alma	21	↓8	62
41	Lydia	21	new	>100
42	Marian	21	new	93
43	Rose	21	↓23	15
44	Catherine	20	new	21
45	Lois	20	↑1	63
46	Fern	19	↓6	>100
47	Laura	19	↑2	57
48	Louise	19	new	17
49	Vivian	19	↓14	84
50	Ann	17	new	47

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	John	98	–	1
2	William	69	–	2
3	Robert	59	↑1	4
4	Harold	52	↑5	13
5	Charles	50	↑1	7
6	George	49	↓3	6
7	Clarence	44	↑16	21
8	James	40	↑6	3
9	Kenneth	40	↑3	33
10	Henry	39	↑20	12
11	Donald	36	↑5	27
12	Albert	33	↓2	17
13	Ralph	33	↑6	23
14	Raymond	33	↑18	18
15	Walter	32	↓8	11
16	Harry	31	↑13	16
17	Melvin	31	new	71
18	Frank	29	↑8	9
19	Arthur	28	↓6	15
20	Edward	28	↓15	8
21	Paul	28	↓3	14
22	Joseph	27	↓11	5
23	Edwin	26	↑19	54
24	Leonard	26	↓7	45
25	Howard	25	↑10	25
26	Carl	24	↑7	24
27	Lawrence	24	↓7	38
28	Richard	23	↑9	19
29	Alfred	22	↑9	40
30	Clifford	22	↓6	62
31	Alvin	21	↑10	86
32	Earl	21	↑2	34
33	Lloyd	21	new	70
34	Floyd	19	↓19	59
35	Francis	19	↓27	35
36	Herbert	18	↓5	39
37	Louis	17	new	20
38	Elmer	16	↓13	47
39	Ernest	16	↑1	32
40	Fred	16	↓18	26
41	Oscar	15	new	73
42	Vernon	15	new	90
43	Arnold	14	↑5	99
44	Glenn	14	new	84
45	Roy	14	↓24	31
46	Dale	13	new	>100
47	Lester	13	new	58
48	Martin	13	new	75
49	Peter	13	new	48
50	Theodore	13	new	52

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