Popular baby names in Tennessee, 1946

The most popular baby names in Tennessee in 1946 were Mary for girls (1,875 babies) and James for boys (2,959). Social Security records list 73,287 babies born in Tennessee in 1946 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Tennessee in 1946

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

Girls

Jewell: 48 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Reba: 70 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Robbie: 40 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Wanda: 589 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Imogene: 22 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Delois: 28 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Wilma: 185 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Bettye: 66 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Jewel: 29 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Patsy: 349 babies, 3.8× the national rate

Boys

Buford: 22 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Will: 24 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Doyle: 49 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Millard: 21 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Hollis: 19 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Junior: 31 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Jackie: 151 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Donnie: 110 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Billy: 569 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Bobby: 481 babies, 3.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Tennessee, 1946

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	Mary	1,875	–	1
2	Linda	1,826	–	2
3	Patricia	1,156	↑2	3
4	Barbara	1,151	↓1	4
5	Brenda	1,080	↑2	24
6	Carolyn	983	–	12
7	Betty	982	↓3	14
8	Judy	908	↑1	11
9	Sandra	737	↑1	6
10	Shirley	721	↓2	18
11	Nancy	636	↑1	7
12	Wanda	589	↑3	59
13	Martha	505	↑1	32
14	Janice	491	↑4	22
15	Margaret	484	↑1	17
16	Joyce	466	↓5	20
17	Dorothy	451	↓4	23
18	Peggy	416	↓1	43
19	Carol	414	↑1	5
20	Patsy	349	↑2	85
21	Donna	318	↑5	13
22	Sharon	312	↑8	9
23	Judith	309	↑6	10
24	Elizabeth	303	↓3	25
25	Helen	292	↓6	36
26	Phyllis	281	↑10	41
27	Virginia	276	↓4	31
28	Glenda	271	↓3	99
29	Beverly	255	↑15	30
30	Susan	248	↑13	8
31	Doris	247	↓7	51
32	Frances	246	↓5	39
33	Gloria	233	↓5	26
34	Jo	228	↓3	53
35	Rebecca	216	↑10	68
36	Charlotte	210	↓4	64
37	Alice	202	↓4	44
38	Wilma	185	↓3	>100
39	Anna	171	↑11	87
40	Evelyn	167	↓2	65
41	Sarah	163	–	92
42	Janet	157	new	21
43	Ruby	155	↓9	>100
44	Marilyn	154	new	29
45	Mildred	152	↓6	>100
46	Ruth	152	↓4	38
47	Ann	151	↑2	40
48	Bonnie	149	↓2	33
49	Norma	147	↓12	77
50	Connie	142	new	45

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1945	US rank
1	James	2,959	–	1
2	William	1,657	–	4
3	Robert	1,579	–	2
4	John	1,414	–	3
5	Charles	1,380	–	9
6	Larry	1,065	↑2	11
7	Jerry	1,024	↓1	20
8	David	978	↓1	6
9	Thomas	734	–	8
10	Richard	696	↑1	5
11	Gary	631	↑4	12
12	Donald	603	↑1	13
13	Ronald	585	↑5	10
14	Billy	569	↓2	45
15	Jimmy	523	↓5	42
16	George	519	↓2	16
17	Kenneth	491	–	15
18	Bobby	481	↓2	53
19	Michael	458	↑4	7
20	Johnny	453	↑1	47
21	Paul	436	↓1	18
22	Joe	392	↓3	37
23	Ronnie	388	↑5	54
24	Danny	320	↑9	46
25	Roy	318	↓3	43
26	Joseph	312	↑5	14
27	Harold	299	↓1	33
28	Willie	297	↓4	40
29	Edward	286	↓4	19
30	Tommy	272	↓3	77
31	Terry	255	↑4	26
32	Roger	243	↓2	23
33	Walter	241	↓1	30
34	Carl	235	↓5	39
35	Raymond	228	↑1	25
36	Wayne	210	↑3	29
37	Frank	201	↓3	22
38	Dennis	200	↑5	17
39	Eddie	195	↓1	85
40	Fred	193	↑7	51
41	Jack	186	↓4	35
42	Howard	179	–	55
43	Ralph	178	↑1	48
44	Don	175	new	79
45	Samuel	167	↑4	70
46	Henry	159	↓6	41
47	Harry	158	↑1	50
48	Gerald	156	new	27
49	Jackie	151	↓4	>100
50	Douglas	149	new	34

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