Popular baby names in South Dakota, 1937

The most popular baby names in South Dakota in 1937 were Mary for girls (228 babies) and Robert for boys (279). Social Security records list 9,380 babies born in South Dakota in 1937 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Dakota in 1937

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: 39 babies, 24.3× the national rate
Lavonne: 36 babies, 18.1× the national rate
Mavis: 22 babies, 11.2× the national rate
Darlene: 94 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Karen: 52 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Connie: 33 babies, 4× the national rate
Sharon: 79 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Ramona: 17 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Kay: 49 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Verna: 15 babies, 3.7× the national rate

Boys

Darwin: 16 babies, 12× the national rate
Jerald: 18 babies, 9.8× the national rate
Merle: 21 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Loren: 19 babies, 8.8× the national rate
Lyle: 34 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Duane: 49 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Keith: 37 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Darrell: 32 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Dennis: 59 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Dick: 19 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Dakota, 1937

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1936	US rank
1	Mary	228	↑1	1
2	Shirley	187	↓1	4
3	Carol	136	↑4	6
4	Donna	132	–	21
5	Betty	128	↓2	5
6	Janice	113	↑9	25
7	Patricia	105	↑2	3
8	Barbara	99	↓2	2
9	Darlene	94	↑1	72
10	Beverly	93	↓5	14
11	Marilyn	91	↓3	13
12	Sharon	79	↑9	41
13	Joyce	70	↓2	11
14	Dorothy	64	↓2	8
15	Janet	61	↑4	18
16	Joan	61	↓3	9
17	Margaret	61	↑5	10
18	Lois	58	↓2	29
19	Helen	55	↓2	12
20	Marlene	53	↓6	40
21	Phyllis	53	↓3	27
22	Karen	52	↑18	>100
23	Norma	52	↑2	33
24	Ruth	52	↑4	15
25	Kay	49	↑18	79
26	Joann	48	↑5	58
27	Virginia	44	↑2	16
28	Doris	40	↓5	22
29	Elaine	40	↑6	45
30	Rose	40	↑11	38
31	Delores	39	↓7	68
32	Marlys	39	↑6	>100
33	Bonnie	38	↓6	64
34	Arlene	37	↓8	60
35	Lavonne	36	↑2	>100
36	Evelyn	35	↑6	36
37	Frances	35	↓3	19
38	Alice	33	↓8	28
39	Connie	33	↑5	>100
40	Jean	33	↓20	23
41	Nancy	32	↓2	7
42	Gloria	31	↑3	32
43	Sylvia	31	new	50
44	Yvonne	28	new	77
45	Geraldine	27	↑3	44
46	Myrna	26	new	>100
47	Marjorie	25	↓15	57
48	Sandra	25	new	26
49	Anita	24	new	93
50	Jane	24	new	42

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1936	US rank
1	Robert	279	–	1
2	James	237	–	2
3	Donald	202	–	7
4	Richard	180	–	5
5	John	150	–	3
6	William	126	↑1	4
7	Larry	116	↑2	16
8	Ronald	113	↓2	11
9	Charles	99	↑2	6
10	David	89	↑4	8
11	Gary	85	↑14	29
12	Kenneth	84	↓2	14
13	Roger	81	↓5	36
14	Jerry	70	↑1	17
15	Gerald	69	↓3	20
16	Dennis	59	↑3	63
17	Thomas	52	↑3	9
18	Dale	51	↓2	59
19	George	50	↓2	10
20	Wayne	50	↑1	44
21	Duane	49	↑2	>100
22	Marvin	49	↓9	49
23	Raymond	46	↓5	19
24	Paul	45	↑6	15
25	Harold	43	↓3	21
26	Melvin	42	↑6	50
27	Eugene	41	↓1	33
28	Edward	39	↓4	13
29	Keith	37	↑7	>100
30	Leroy	37	↓1	56
31	Lyle	34	↑7	>100
32	Gene	33	↑1	61
33	Darrell	32	↑1	>100
34	Jerome	32	↑1	100
35	Lawrence	32	↑2	38
36	Arnold	31	new	>100
37	Norman	31	↑10	43
38	Don	29	↑1	51
39	Jack	28	↓11	23
40	Lloyd	28	new	91
41	Arthur	27	new	31
42	Clifford	27	new	90
43	Frank	27	new	18
44	Bill	26	new	64
45	Douglas	26	new	74
46	Gordon	26	↓2	75
47	Jim	26	↓2	82
48	Allen	25	↑1	76
49	Joseph	25	↓18	12
50	Leo	25	new	97

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