Popular baby names in Tennessee, 1917

The most popular baby names in Tennessee in 1917 were Mary for girls (1,744 babies) and James for boys (1,778). James ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 44,227 babies born in Tennessee in 1917 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Tennessee in 1917

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

Girls

Trula: 21 babies, 21.2× the national rate
Tennie: 16 babies, 10.1× the national rate
Lennie: 20 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Nelle: 33 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Sammie: 16 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Robbie: 34 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Rubye: 33 babies, 6× the national rate
Nannie: 73 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Charlie: 18 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Ocie: 15 babies, 5.3× the national rate

Boys

Hobert: 20 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Buford: 32 babies, 6× the national rate
Hershel: 18 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Billie: 29 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Will: 38 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Coy: 22 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Wilburn: 22 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Odis: 16 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Tommie: 31 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Loyd: 37 babies, 3.5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Tennessee, 1917

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	Mary	1,744	–	1
2	Margaret	482	–	4
3	Dorothy	459	↑3	3
4	Ruth	457	–	5
5	Mildred	434	–	6
6	Ruby	433	↓3	27
7	Helen	386	–	2
8	Frances	366	↑3	9
9	Annie	363	↓1	35
10	Martha	324	–	22
11	Virginia	318	↑2	10
12	Louise	314	↑2	19
13	Elizabeth	313	↓4	8
14	Willie	283	↑5	72
15	Gladys	280	↓3	23
16	Edith	271	↑5	28
17	Hazel	253	↓1	31
18	Edna	252	↓3	20
19	Thelma	252	↓1	32
20	Anna	242	↓3	7
21	Pauline	236	↓1	33
22	Mattie	227	↑4	94
23	Evelyn	222	↓1	11
24	Sarah	217	↓1	52
25	Lucille	207	↑3	29
26	Lillian	196	↑1	15
27	Emma	192	↑13	46
28	Ethel	190	↓3	24
29	Irene	185	↑5	17
30	Katherine	178	↑1	49
31	Clara	174	↓1	41
32	Myrtle	174	↑9	58
33	Alice	168	–	13
34	Nellie	161	↑5	64
35	Grace	158	–	30
36	Minnie	158	↓12	75
37	Bessie	150	↓8	61
38	Georgia	150	–	>100
39	Pearl	145	↑3	57
40	Marie	143	↓8	12
41	Lillie	142	↓4	86
42	Geneva	136	↑8	>100
43	Ida	135	↑6	56
44	Beatrice	133	↑1	39
45	Jessie	130	↓9	70
46	Lena	126	new	85
47	Bertha	125	↓1	51
48	Bonnie	125	new	>100
49	Elsie	122	new	50
50	Eva	122	↓6	54

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	James	1,778	–	3
2	William	1,325	–	2
3	John	1,099	–	1
4	Robert	845	–	4
5	Charles	622	–	7
6	George	536	–	6
7	Thomas	430	–	10
8	Willie	292	–	31
9	Joe	272	↑6	35
10	Walter	270	–	11
11	Paul	258	↑3	13
12	Henry	241	↓3	15
13	Edward	237	↓1	8
14	Frank	234	↓3	9
15	Fred	224	↑1	29
16	Joseph	222	↑2	5
17	Roy	217	↓4	33
18	Clarence	197	↑1	25
19	Carl	176	↓2	24
20	Charlie	173	↑5	67
21	Earl	166	↑1	32
22	Howard	156	↓2	26
23	Ernest	152	↑12	37
24	Raymond	150	↑2	16
25	Clyde	148	↑2	64
26	Albert	146	↓5	18
27	Jack	142	↓3	22
28	Richard	140	–	14
29	Ralph	139	↑2	21
30	Jesse	138	↑4	79
31	Samuel	133	↑1	42
32	Arthur	125	↑1	17
33	David	122	↓4	28
34	Eugene	114	↑5	39
35	Harry	113	↓12	19
36	Harold	106	↑4	12
37	Herbert	97	↑8	40
38	Woodrow	94	↓8	73
39	Cecil	92	↑3	83
40	Claude	92	↓4	98
41	Herman	92	–	58
42	Jessie	90	↑2	>100
43	Leonard	89	↑5	41
44	Floyd	87	↑5	62
45	Hubert	87	↑1	>100
46	Sam	86	new	72
47	Lawrence	83	new	36
48	Kenneth	80	↑2	27
49	Lee	79	new	85
50	Andrew	78	new	48

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