Popular baby names in South Dakota, 1936

The most popular baby names in South Dakota in 1936 were Shirley for girls (289 babies) and Robert for boys (298). Shirley ranked #2 nationally for girls. Social Security records list 10,405 babies born in South Dakota in 1936 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Dakota in 1936

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

Marlys: 35 babies, 19.4× the national rate
Lavonne: 36 babies, 15.9× the national rate
Lila: 25 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Darlene: 90 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Ramona: 21 babies, 5× the national rate
Deloris: 19 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Colleen: 18 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Violet: 22 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Karen: 32 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Connie: 30 babies, 3.6× the national rate

Boys

Harlan: 18 babies, 8.8× the national rate
Merle: 24 babies, 8.3× the national rate
Lyle: 36 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Dean: 50 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Duane: 56 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Darrell: 38 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Loren: 16 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Orville: 15 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Eldon: 15 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Keith: 36 babies, 5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Dakota, 1936

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Shirley	289	–	2
2	Mary	226	–	1
3	Betty	151	↑1	4
4	Donna	124	↓1	22
5	Beverly	119	↑7	17
6	Barbara	106	↑1	3
7	Carol	106	↓2	10
8	Marilyn	103	↓2	13
9	Patricia	99	↓1	5
10	Darlene	90	–	83
11	Joyce	86	↑2	12
12	Dorothy	85	↓3	6
13	Joan	84	↓2	7
14	Marlene	84	–	39
15	Janice	78	↑1	31
16	Lois	76	↓1	26
17	Helen	71	↑7	11
18	Phyllis	62	↑1	25
19	Janet	61	↑12	21
20	Jean	60	↑15	20
21	Sharon	59	↑23	60
22	Margaret	57	↓2	9
23	Doris	56	↓5	15
24	Delores	55	↓7	58
25	Norma	55	↓4	29
26	Arlene	53	↓4	54
27	Bonnie	52	↓2	65
28	Ruth	52	↓5	16
29	Virginia	50	↓2	14
30	Alice	46	↓4	27
31	Joann	46	↓3	55
32	Marjorie	43	↓3	49
33	Audrey	39	↑1	68
34	Frances	39	new	19
35	Elaine	38	↓5	50
36	Joanne	36	↓4	48
37	Lavonne	36	–	>100
38	Marlys	35	↑4	>100
39	Nancy	34	↓6	8
40	Karen	32	new	>100
41	Rose	32	↓2	37
42	Evelyn	31	↑8	34
43	Kay	31	–	98
44	Connie	30	↑1	>100
45	Gloria	30	↓5	32
46	Charlotte	27	↑3	61
47	Eleanor	26	–	47
48	Geraldine	26	new	41
49	Lorraine	26	↓11	76
50	Anna	25	new	36

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Robert	298	–	1
2	James	281	↑1	2
3	Donald	239	↓1	7
4	Richard	205	–	5
5	John	164	–	3
6	Ronald	124	↑2	12
7	William	116	↓1	4
8	Roger	104	↑2	35
9	Larry	101	↑4	25
10	Kenneth	95	↓1	14
11	Charles	89	↓4	6
12	Gerald	88	↓1	19
13	Marvin	74	↑6	49
14	David	71	↓2	10
15	Jerry	68	↑3	18
16	Dale	67	↓2	59
17	George	67	↑11	9
18	Raymond	65	↑9	17
19	Dennis	63	↑1	74
20	Thomas	62	↑6	8
21	Wayne	61	↑1	45
22	Harold	57	↑2	21
23	Duane	56	↓6	>100
24	Edward	53	↑9	13
25	Gary	53	–	38
26	Eugene	52	↓5	29
27	Dean	50	↑5	>100
28	Jack	47	↑1	20
29	Leroy	45	↓14	57
30	Paul	44	↓14	15
31	Joseph	43	new	11
32	Melvin	41	↑7	53
33	Gene	40	↑3	66
34	Darrell	38	↓3	>100
35	Jerome	37	new	98
36	Keith	36	↑1	>100
37	Lawrence	36	↓2	37
38	Lyle	36	↓15	>100
39	Don	33	new	51
40	Daniel	32	new	41
41	Francis	32	new	50
42	Ralph	32	↓8	31
43	Vernon	32	↑1	93
44	Gordon	30	↓1	75
45	Jim	30	new	85
46	Earl	29	↑3	47
47	Norman	29	↓17	43
48	Leonard	28	↓2	54
49	Allen	26	↓11	81
50	Floyd	26	new	86

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