Popular baby names in South Dakota, 1946

The most popular baby names in South Dakota in 1946 were Mary for girls (300 babies) and Robert for boys (326). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 11,921 babies born in South Dakota in 1946 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in South Dakota in 1946

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: 25 babies, 28.5× the national rate
Lavonne: 23 babies, 21.1× the national rate
Colleen: 25 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Kay: 43 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Marlene: 35 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Deanna: 15 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Sheryl: 18 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Dianne: 45 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Delores: 27 babies, 2.7× the national rate
Bonnie: 88 babies, 2.6× the national rate

Boys

Darwin: 16 babies, 13.9× the national rate
Lyle: 31 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Darrel: 20 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Jerald: 17 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Duane: 41 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Dean: 31 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Darrell: 29 babies, 4× the national rate
Keith: 35 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Dale: 60 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Gene: 33 babies, 3.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in South Dakota, 1946

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Mary	300	–	1
2	Linda	193	↑2	2
3	Sharon	178	–	9
4	Carol	177	↓2	5
5	Patricia	169	↑4	3
6	Judy	157	↑1	11
7	Sandra	149	↑1	6
8	Barbara	148	↓3	4
9	Karen	125	↓3	15
10	Donna	104	↑2	13
11	Diane	98	↑6	19
12	Nancy	96	↓1	7
13	Judith	93	↓3	10
14	Shirley	91	↑1	18
15	Bonnie	88	↑16	33
16	Cheryl	88	↓3	27
17	Kathleen	85	↑2	16
18	Susan	85	↑2	8
19	Janice	84	↓3	22
20	Betty	80	↓6	14
21	Janet	78	↓3	21
22	Margaret	74	↑5	17
23	Jean	72	↑6	37
24	Marilyn	66	↓2	29
25	Beverly	62	↓2	30
26	Joyce	62	↓5	20
27	Connie	57	↑1	45
28	Dorothy	55	↑6	23
29	Gloria	53	↓5	26
30	Joan	51	↓5	28
31	Carolyn	50	↑4	12
32	Dianne	45	↑4	76
33	Kay	43	↑9	>100
34	Diana	42	↑3	42
35	Pamela	41	new	34
36	Phyllis	41	↑10	41
37	Lois	39	↓11	55
38	Charlotte	38	↑5	64
39	Peggy	38	↑11	43
40	Jane	35	↓2	35
41	Marlene	35	new	>100
42	Elizabeth	34	new	25
43	Elaine	33	↓10	47
44	Helen	33	–	36
45	Norma	33	new	77
46	Virginia	33	↓6	31
47	Joann	32	↓2	90
48	Cynthia	30	new	46
49	Rita	30	↓8	56
50	Ruth	30	↓20	38

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Robert	326	↑1	2
2	James	323	↓1	1
3	Richard	287	–	5
4	David	242	–	6
5	John	222	–	3
6	Dennis	216	↑1	17
7	Gary	204	↓1	12
8	Ronald	200	↑2	10
9	Larry	197	↓1	11
10	Michael	149	↑4	7
11	Donald	141	↓2	13
12	Kenneth	131	↑3	15
13	Thomas	130	↓2	8
14	William	124	↓2	4
15	Roger	117	↓2	23
16	Charles	88	–	9
17	Jerry	87	–	20
18	Douglas	84	↑1	34
19	Paul	82	↑3	18
20	Terry	73	↓2	26
21	Gerald	66	↓1	27
22	Dale	60	↓1	62
23	Daniel	60	↑1	21
24	Wayne	58	↓1	29
25	Allen	47	↑14	74
26	George	45	↑3	16
27	Patrick	45	new	59
28	Duane	41	↓3	>100
29	Marvin	40	↑3	88
30	Alan	39	↑4	49
31	Raymond	38	↓4	25
32	Rodney	38	↑11	93
33	Steven	36	↑5	28
34	Keith	35	↑8	96
35	Leroy	35	↓5	90
36	Gene	33	new	98
37	Danny	32	new	46
38	Edward	32	↓10	19
39	Joseph	32	↓13	14
40	Dean	31	–	>100
41	Eugene	31	↓6	57
42	Lyle	31	↓11	>100
43	Jim	30	↓6	73
44	Timothy	30	new	60
45	Darrell	29	new	>100
46	Jack	29	↓10	35
47	Ralph	29	new	48
48	Bruce	28	↑1	32
49	Curtis	26	↑1	99
50	Gregory	26	new	56

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