Popular baby names in Tennessee, 1929

The most popular baby names in Tennessee in 1929 were Mary for girls (2,027 babies) and James for boys (2,309). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 50,028 babies born in Tennessee in 1929 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Tennessee in 1929

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

Girls

Dimple: 15 babies, 10.7× the national rate
Robbie: 67 babies, 8.8× the national rate
Rubye: 26 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Bettye: 111 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Artie: 15 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Reba: 87 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Freddie: 29 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Birdie: 24 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Nannie: 45 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Dorris: 25 babies, 4.7× the national rate

Boys

Kyle: 19 babies, 10.5× the national rate
Buford: 36 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Hoyt: 22 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Hershel: 26 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Will: 32 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Houston: 15 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Everette: 18 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Odis: 15 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Wilburn: 22 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Claud: 18 babies, 4.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Tennessee, 1929

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1928	US rank
1	Mary	2,027	–	1
2	Betty	1,060	↑1	2
3	Dorothy	932	↓1	3
4	Margaret	571	↑2	5
5	Helen	556	↓1	4
6	Martha	449	↑1	27
7	Mildred	421	↓2	18
8	Virginia	395	↑1	11
9	Ruby	383	↑1	36
10	Frances	360	↓2	16
11	Ruth	347	–	8
12	Doris	289	↑3	6
13	Elizabeth	286	↑1	15
14	Annie	276	↓2	37
15	Evelyn	271	↓2	19
16	Thelma	258	↑7	41
17	Willie	254	↑1	76
18	Anna	223	↓2	20
19	Barbara	220	↑11	7
20	Jean	211	↑11	12
21	Edna	205	↓1	51
22	Louise	205	↓5	31
23	Gladys	202	↓4	44
24	Hazel	200	–	64
25	Wilma	194	↑1	66
26	Sarah	181	↓4	68
27	Juanita	176	↓6	60
28	Billie	169	↑8	79
29	Marie	164	–	22
30	Pauline	164	↓5	50
31	Peggy	161	↑13	70
32	Clara	160	↑1	65
33	Lois	157	↓5	17
34	Edith	155	↓7	59
35	Emma	153	↓1	69
36	Joyce	149	new	23
37	Mattie	146	↓5	>100
38	Nancy	142	↑5	32
39	Alma	138	↑2	>100
40	Katherine	136	↓5	84
41	Georgia	130	↑6	>100
42	Alice	129	↓4	21
43	Bobbie	129	new	>100
44	Bessie	125	↑6	>100
45	Marjorie	124	↓3	30
46	Lillian	123	↓7	40
47	Ethel	122	↓1	56
48	Christine	121	new	>100
49	Geneva	116	↓9	>100
50	Eva	114	↓2	83

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1928	US rank
1	James	2,309	–	2
2	William	1,520	–	4
3	Robert	1,244	↑1	1
4	John	1,099	↓1	3
5	Charles	1,013	–	5
6	Billy	525	↑2	23
7	George	496	↓1	8
8	Thomas	453	↓1	11
9	Joe	372	–	30
10	Jack	335	–	14
11	Herbert	320	↑2	25
12	Willie	313	↑2	29
13	Paul	305	↓1	13
14	Edward	273	↓3	10
15	Roy	272	–	35
16	Harold	246	↑6	16
17	Walter	241	↑4	19
18	Frank	240	–	12
19	Richard	230	↓2	6
20	Carl	228	↓4	28
21	Bobby	226	↑14	50
22	Henry	218	↓3	21
23	David	215	↑9	17
24	Joseph	203	–	9
25	Fred	200	↑3	34
26	Kenneth	200	↓6	18
27	Raymond	196	↓1	15
28	Donald	191	↑2	7
29	Eugene	186	↑2	20
30	Clarence	179	↓5	37
31	Ralph	173	↓8	26
32	Earl	171	↓5	36
33	Howard	165	↓4	31
34	Albert	156	↓1	24
35	Ernest	141	↑7	43
36	Ray	134	↑5	57
37	Harry	129	↑1	27
38	Clyde	128	↓1	74
39	Charlie	123	↑1	87
40	Samuel	115	↓6	53
41	Herman	113	↑9	75
42	Arthur	112	↓3	22
43	Floyd	105	↓7	58
44	Jessie	99	↓1	>100
45	Billie	97	new	>100
46	Leonard	94	new	42
47	Sam	92	new	>100
48	Curtis	86	new	99
49	Gene	86	new	68
50	Bill	85	↓1	63

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