Popular baby names in Texas, 1940

The most popular baby names in Texas in 1940 were Mary for girls (3,376 babies) and James for boys (2,971). Social Security records list 122,330 babies born in Texas in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Texas in 1940

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

Girls

Estela: 43 babies, 17× the national rate
Oralia: 76 babies, 16.8× the national rate
Santos: 44 babies, 16.4× the national rate
Elida: 72 babies, 16.3× the national rate
Genoveva: 34 babies, 16.2× the national rate
Concepcion: 36 babies, 15.9× the national rate
Manuela: 71 babies, 15.7× the national rate
Dominga: 46 babies, 15.6× the national rate
Francisca: 66 babies, 15.1× the national rate
Guadalupe: 231 babies, 15× the national rate

Boys

Guadalupe: 159 babies, 15.3× the national rate
Rogelio: 50 babies, 15.3× the national rate
Santos: 64 babies, 14.9× the national rate
Rodolfo: 94 babies, 14.4× the national rate
Gregorio: 38 babies, 14.4× the national rate
Ramiro: 59 babies, 14.3× the national rate
Margarito: 43 babies, 14.3× the national rate
Domingo: 92 babies, 14× the national rate
Marcos: 36 babies, 14× the national rate
Reyes: 32 babies, 13.9× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Texas, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	3,376	–	1
2	Barbara	1,678	–	2
3	Betty	1,463	–	5
4	Linda	1,277	↑7	8
5	Maria	1,260	↓1	>100
6	Patricia	1,191	–	3
7	Shirley	921	↓2	9
8	Dorothy	829	↓1	12
9	Carolyn	704	↑6	15
10	Sandra	701	↑9	10
11	Martha	676	↓1	26
12	Nancy	675	↓3	7
13	Patsy	669	↓5	57
14	Joyce	667	↓2	13
15	Gloria	651	↑1	30
16	Virginia	630	↑1	21
17	Margaret	577	↓3	11
18	Wanda	573	↓5	52
19	Frances	533	↓1	28
20	Helen	526	↑2	18
21	Carol	520	↑3	6
22	Doris	509	↓1	31
23	Peggy	472	↓3	37
24	Alice	424	↑1	32
25	Judy	423	↑6	16
26	Elizabeth	419	–	20
27	Jo	393	↓4	72
28	Juanita	374	↓1	78
29	Judith	364	↑17	4
30	Ruby	344	↓2	66
31	Brenda	325	new	42
32	Bobbie	324	–	>100
33	Glenda	316	↓3	>100
34	Norma	313	↓5	43
35	Janice	312	↓1	22
36	Beverly	279	↓1	27
37	Billie	277	↓4	>100
38	Annie	267	↓1	56
39	Ruth	264	↓1	24
40	Sylvia	258	↓4	62
41	Sharon	254	new	17
42	Ann	250	↑1	35
43	Rosa	249	↓2	>100
44	Evelyn	245	↓5	48
45	Emma	240	↑2	94
46	Sue	233	new	81
47	Anita	232	↓5	87
48	Guadalupe	231	new	>100
49	Rose	231	–	44
50	Eva	230	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	2,971	–	1
2	Robert	2,152	–	2
3	John	2,109	–	3
4	Charles	1,844	–	6
5	William	1,549	–	4
6	Jerry	1,401	–	14
7	Joe	1,260	–	28
8	David	1,084	↑1	7
9	Billy	1,079	↓1	27
10	Richard	967	↑1	5
11	Donald	907	↓1	9
12	Bobby	801	–	30
13	George	800	↑3	11
14	Thomas	777	–	8
15	Jose	755	–	>100
16	Kenneth	734	↓3	15
17	Jimmy	709	–	44
18	Larry	596	–	13
19	Johnny	537	↑1	51
20	Frank	493	↓1	20
21	Juan	486	–	>100
22	Edward	477	–	16
23	Roy	442	↑1	42
24	Raymond	426	↑3	22
25	Manuel	420	↑3	>100
26	Henry	411	↓1	31
27	Ronald	408	↑5	10
28	Willie	400	↓5	35
29	Tommy	387	–	76
30	Don	386	↓4	62
31	Gary	380	new	19
32	Paul	378	↓2	17
33	Jack	374	↓2	29
34	Michael	354	↑2	18
35	Walter	353	–	25
36	Harold	350	↓3	23
37	Joseph	319	↑6	12
38	Jesus	316	↑3	>100
39	Daniel	310	↑1	34
40	Jesse	297	↓3	93
41	Gerald	289	↓7	21
42	Albert	280	–	41
43	Carl	278	↑2	32
44	Jimmie	275	↓5	86
45	Antonio	255	↑5	>100
46	Arthur	255	↓8	33
47	Fred	252	↓3	40
48	Bill	235	new	67
49	Louis	231	↓1	50
50	Eddie	224	↓3	81

← Texas 1939 Texas: all years · US 1940 Texas 1941 →