Popular baby names in Virginia, 1931

The most popular baby names in Virginia in 1931 were Mary for girls (1,559 babies) and James for boys (1,552). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 43,681 babies born in Virginia in 1931 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Virginia in 1931

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

Girls

Nannie: 55 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Gracie: 48 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Lelia: 19 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Bertie: 20 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Sallie: 51 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Rosa: 142 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Queen: 19 babies, 4× the national rate
Cornelia: 22 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Virgie: 25 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Georgie: 18 babies, 3.6× the national rate

Boys

Junius: 25 babies, 15.6× the national rate
Linwood: 46 babies, 14.4× the national rate
Garland: 58 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Randolph: 34 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Hobert: 16 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Alphonso: 15 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Emory: 26 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Aubrey: 40 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Everette: 17 babies, 5× the national rate
Shirley: 22 babies, 4.5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Virginia, 1931

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Mary	1,559	–	1
2	Betty	818	↑1	2
3	Dorothy	637	↓1	3
4	Virginia	494	–	12
5	Helen	476	↑1	6
6	Margaret	468	↓1	7
7	Barbara	418	↑7	4
8	Doris	371	–	10
9	Frances	358	↓2	18
10	Mildred	324	↑3	26
11	Ruth	322	↓2	11
12	Elizabeth	318	↓1	16
13	Jean	314	↓3	13
14	Evelyn	298	↑1	24
15	Nancy	280	↓3	17
16	Shirley	277	↑2	9
17	Joyce	258	↑6	15
18	Ruby	256	↓2	39
19	Alice	240	↑3	21
20	Lois	223	↑6	20
21	Peggy	218	↑13	42
22	Thelma	218	↓3	53
23	Annie	210	↓6	41
24	Martha	200	↓4	28
25	Louise	194	↓4	33
26	Ann	178	↑2	35
27	Edith	174	↑4	65
28	Gladys	172	↓4	55
29	Hazel	171	↓4	74
30	Anna	169	↑2	25
31	Edna	164	↑4	52
32	Elsie	153	↑1	86
33	Lillian	149	↑6	47
34	Catherine	145	↓7	36
35	Ethel	145	↑1	67
36	Rosa	142	↑11	>100
37	Lucille	138	↑9	62
38	Sarah	133	↓8	71
39	Juanita	126	↓2	57
40	Marie	126	↓11	27
41	Pauline	121	↓1	56
42	Bernice	118	↑1	63
43	Phyllis	118	↓5	29
44	Bessie	115	new	>100
45	Geraldine	113	new	38
46	Irene	112	new	37
47	Gloria	110	new	23
48	Audrey	106	↓7	64
49	Nellie	102	new	>100
50	Jane	101	new	50

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	James	1,552	–	2
2	William	1,267	–	4
3	Robert	1,073	–	1
4	John	998	–	3
5	Charles	790	–	6
6	George	551	–	8
7	Thomas	376	–	10
8	Richard	345	–	5
9	Joseph	329	–	9
10	Edward	289	–	11
11	Donald	267	↑9	7
12	Walter	258	↓1	20
13	Raymond	234	↑4	17
14	Paul	222	↑5	12
15	Harold	221	↑9	18
16	David	216	↓1	13
17	Billy	212	↑8	19
18	Henry	210	↓5	22
19	Clarence	209	↓7	39
20	Harry	192	↓4	30
21	Frank	184	↓7	16
22	Willie	180	–	31
23	Jack	177	↓2	15
24	Kenneth	168	↑8	14
25	Roy	168	↓2	35
26	Herbert	166	↓8	41
27	Carl	162	↑4	28
28	Ralph	159	↓2	25
29	Eugene	158	↑5	21
30	Earl	156	↓3	40
31	Albert	152	↑11	24
32	Samuel	143	↓3	56
33	Fred	137	–	33
34	Melvin	136	↑5	51
35	Ernest	132	↓5	47
36	Howard	131	↓8	34
37	Bobby	129	↑11	32
38	Charlie	125	↓3	94
39	Arthur	124	↓2	23
40	Lewis	119	–	87
41	Joe	112	↑2	29
42	Alfred	108	↓6	50
43	Lawrence	106	↓5	38
44	Herman	104	↑2	83
45	Bernard	94	–	54
46	Cecil	94	new	>100
47	Marvin	94	↓6	45
48	Leroy	92	new	52
49	Floyd	90	new	66
50	Norman	89	new	36

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