Popular baby names in South Dakota, 1940

The most popular baby names in South Dakota in 1940 were Mary for girls (209 babies) and Robert for boys (256). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 9,771 babies born in South Dakota in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Dakota in 1940

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: 20 babies, 16.4× the national rate
Lavonne: 22 babies, 16.2× the national rate
Colleen: 16 babies, 6× the national rate
Darlene: 67 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Deanna: 34 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Myrna: 25 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Karen: 118 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Sharon: 170 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Marlene: 44 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Donna: 126 babies, 3.3× the national rate

Boys

Harlan: 19 babies, 14.5× the national rate
Jerald: 26 babies, 11.9× the national rate
Lyle: 31 babies, 8.2× the national rate
Darrel: 17 babies, 8.2× the national rate
Duane: 45 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Darrell: 31 babies, 5× the national rate
Dennis: 143 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Dale: 67 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Dean: 19 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Keith: 22 babies, 3.3× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	209	–	1
2	Sharon	170	–	17
3	Carol	151	↑1	6
4	Donna	126	↑3	23
5	Judy	123	↑13	16
6	Patricia	119	↑5	3
7	Karen	118	↑2	34
8	Barbara	115	↓3	2
9	Janice	114	↓3	22
10	Joyce	104	↑5	13
11	Shirley	104	↓8	9
12	Judith	98	↑9	4
13	Betty	92	↓5	5
14	Marilyn	80	↓4	25
15	Janet	70	↑1	19
16	Beverly	68	↓4	27
17	Darlene	67	↓4	79
18	Sandra	67	↑7	10
19	Dorothy	65	↓2	12
20	Joan	63	–	14
21	Linda	63	↑23	8
22	Phyllis	57	↓8	33
23	Margaret	56	↓1	11
24	Bonnie	45	↑2	39
25	Nancy	45	↑3	7
26	Marlene	44	↓7	80
27	Lois	42	↓4	38
28	Kay	41	↑3	77
29	Virginia	40	↑1	21
30	Elaine	37	↑3	50
31	Jean	37	↑8	29
32	Ruth	36	↓3	24
33	Helen	35	↑3	18
34	Kathleen	35	new	40
35	Arlene	34	new	75
36	Deanna	34	↑1	>100
37	Gloria	34	↑5	30
38	Joann	34	↓4	63
39	Norma	34	↓15	43
40	Connie	33	↓8	88
41	Delores	33	↓14	83
42	Diane	33	new	45
43	Marjorie	30	↑6	64
44	Roberta	28	new	71
45	Rita	26	new	70
46	Carole	25	↑4	49
47	Carolyn	25	↓9	15
48	Frances	25	new	28
49	Myrna	25	new	>100
50	Rose	25	↓10	44

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	256	–	2
2	James	234	–	1
3	Richard	202	↑1	5
4	Larry	194	↓1	13
5	John	175	↑1	3
6	Gary	154	↑3	19
7	Donald	147	↓2	9
8	Dennis	143	↑6	24
9	Ronald	135	↓1	10
10	David	128	↑1	7
11	William	118	↓4	4
12	Roger	103	↓2	26
13	Kenneth	97	–	15
14	Charles	93	↑2	6
15	Jerry	90	↓3	14
16	Gerald	88	↓1	21
17	Thomas	72	–	8
18	Dale	67	–	57
19	George	58	↑1	11
20	Paul	53	↑2	17
21	Raymond	53	↑10	22
22	Eugene	46	↓3	38
23	Duane	45	↓2	>100
24	Edward	45	↑2	16
25	Leroy	43	–	66
26	Wayne	42	↑3	39
27	Marvin	38	↓4	63
28	Jim	37	↑10	78
29	Michael	37	↓1	18
30	Douglas	33	↑6	56
31	Joseph	33	↑3	12
32	Harold	32	↓5	23
33	Darrell	31	↑9	>100
34	Lyle	31	↑5	>100
35	Stanley	30	↓2	59
36	Jack	29	↑1	29
37	Terry	29	↑6	73
38	Allen	28	↑10	71
39	Jerome	28	↑1	95
40	Lawrence	28	↓10	36
41	Norman	28	new	48
42	Jerald	26	new	>100
43	Curtis	25	new	97
44	Daniel	24	new	34
45	Francis	24	↑4	61
46	Gene	24	↓22	70
47	Glenn	24	new	83
48	Melvin	24	↓3	53
49	Gordon	23	↓17	91
50	Patrick	23	new	74

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