Popular baby names in Virginia, 1936

The most popular baby names in Virginia in 1936 were Shirley for girls (1,403 babies) and James for boys (1,609). Shirley ranked #2 nationally for girls. James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 44,552 babies born in Virginia in 1936 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Virginia in 1936

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: 53 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Gracie: 40 babies, 4× the national rate
Rosa: 115 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Goldie: 26 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Shelby: 83 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Virgie: 23 babies, 3.3× the national rate
Bettie: 57 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Addie: 24 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Cornelia: 18 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Reva: 16 babies, 3.1× the national rate

Boys

Linwood: 41 babies, 12.5× the national rate
Beverly: 16 babies, 8.3× the national rate
Graham: 15 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Garland: 52 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Randolph: 35 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Shirley: 41 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Emory: 21 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Landon: 18 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Aubrey: 36 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Wilmer: 17 babies, 4.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Virginia, 1936

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Shirley	1,403	↑1	2
2	Mary	1,380	↓1	1
3	Betty	946	–	4
4	Barbara	773	–	3
5	Nancy	492	↑2	8
6	Dorothy	473	↓1	6
7	Margaret	388	↓1	9
8	Frances	358	↑3	19
9	Joyce	350	↑3	12
10	Virginia	334	↓2	14
11	Peggy	324	↑2	35
12	Doris	316	↓3	15
13	Helen	314	↓3	11
14	Jean	288	↑1	20
15	Elizabeth	265	↓1	18
16	Patricia	241	↑6	5
17	Ruth	225	–	16
18	Martha	224	↑5	24
19	Mildred	217	↓1	40
20	Evelyn	207	↓4	34
21	Alice	202	↓2	27
22	Joan	190	↑6	7
23	Ruby	187	↓2	51
24	Phyllis	184	↑1	25
25	Lois	183	↑1	26
26	Annie	179	↓6	45
27	Ann	161	↑2	28
28	Thelma	161	↓4	74
29	Sarah	151	↑5	63
30	Gladys	150	↓3	84
31	Edith	149	↑7	87
32	Carolyn	141	↑9	23
33	Norma	137	↑4	29
34	Charlotte	134	↓1	61
35	Anna	133	↓3	36
36	Louise	131	↓5	46
37	Gloria	129	↑7	32
38	Hazel	127	↓3	96
39	Catherine	123	↓3	44
40	Sylvia	122	new	53
41	Ethel	120	↑5	90
42	Edna	119	↓3	71
43	Rosa	115	↑4	>100
44	Lillian	114	↓4	79
45	Emma	106	↓3	85
46	Audrey	102	new	68
47	Patsy	98	new	52
48	June	97	↑2	62
49	Elsie	96	↓19	>100
50	Jane	95	new	42

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	James	1,609	–	2
2	William	1,198	–	4
3	Robert	1,129	–	1
4	John	965	–	3
5	Charles	814	–	6
6	George	515	–	9
7	Thomas	446	–	8
8	Donald	406	↑1	7
9	Richard	405	↓1	5
10	Joseph	306	–	11
11	Bobby	290	–	24
12	Edward	288	–	13
13	David	281	↑2	10
14	Raymond	246	↑7	17
15	Paul	226	↑1	15
16	Billy	224	↓3	22
17	Harold	224	↑3	21
18	Walter	211	↓4	26
19	Kenneth	193	↑4	14
20	Frank	192	↓2	16
21	Harry	183	↑3	39
22	Clarence	180	↓3	52
23	Willie	180	↓1	32
24	Carl	179	↑14	27
25	Henry	178	↓8	28
26	Joe	174	↑1	23
27	Roy	166	↓1	42
28	Ralph	165	↑3	31
29	Howard	160	↑4	40
30	Samuel	158	–	67
31	Earl	152	↓2	47
32	Jack	148	↓7	20
33	Ronald	145	↑3	12
34	Franklin	142	↑9	64
35	Charlie	138	–	>100
36	Eugene	137	↓8	29
37	Fred	133	↑11	36
38	Melvin	131	↓6	53
39	Ernest	120	↓5	55
40	Albert	117	↑1	34
41	Lawrence	112	↓2	37
42	Arthur	111	↓2	30
43	Curtis	106	new	>100
44	Jerry	105	new	18
45	Herbert	100	↓8	62
46	Clyde	97	↑1	89
47	Marvin	96	↓1	49
48	Leroy	95	new	57
49	Alfred	94	new	60
50	Cecil	94	new	>100

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