Popular baby names in Washington, 1940

The most popular baby names in Washington in 1940 were Sharon for girls (438 babies) and Robert for boys (681). Sharon ranked #17 nationally for girls. Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 24,117 babies born in Washington in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Washington in 1940

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

Girls

Tamara: 18 babies, 9.9× the national rate
Sharron: 31 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Laurel: 16 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Penny: 26 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Gretchen: 23 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Jill: 19 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Colleen: 31 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Sharon: 438 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Claudia: 34 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Lynne: 29 babies, 3.9× the national rate

Boys

Ron: 18 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Micheal: 19 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Lance: 16 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Dick: 51 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Dave: 39 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Mike: 74 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Daryl: 16 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Kenny: 15 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Bob: 85 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Loren: 24 babies, 3.8× the national rate

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

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Sharon	438	↑2	17
2	Judith	380	↑5	4
3	Mary	368	↑1	1
4	Patricia	350	↓2	3
5	Linda	349	↑6	8
6	Barbara	340	↓5	2
7	Carol	325	↓2	6
8	Judy	297	↑4	16
9	Sandra	281	–	10
10	Nancy	244	↓4	7
11	Donna	212	↓1	23
12	Karen	207	↑6	34
13	Marilyn	171	↓5	25
14	Janice	159	↑3	22
15	Janet	157	↓1	19
16	Betty	154	↓1	5
17	Joan	149	↓1	14
18	Susan	143	↑7	36
19	Margaret	140	↑8	11
20	Shirley	139	↓7	9
21	Carolyn	136	↑3	15
22	Darlene	116	↓3	79
23	Beverly	111	↓3	27
24	Diane	110	↑4	45
25	Bonnie	109	↑20	39
26	Joyce	101	↓3	13
27	Virginia	99	↑2	21
28	Joanne	95	↓2	54
29	Dorothy	94	↓8	12
30	Kathleen	87	↑13	40
31	Sally	87	↓9	61
32	Jean	86	↑4	29
33	Helen	74	↓3	18
34	Ann	73	↑10	35
35	Lois	73	↑3	38
36	Elizabeth	70	↑6	20
37	Gloria	68	↑9	30
38	Alice	66	↓1	32
39	Marlene	65	↑2	80
40	Ruth	63	↑9	24
41	Arlene	62	↓10	75
42	Gail	62	↓9	65
43	Phyllis	61	↓4	33
44	Carole	60	↓9	49
45	Roberta	59	↓5	71
46	Marjorie	57	↓12	64
47	Frances	53	↑3	28
48	Jacqueline	52	new	76
49	Elaine	51	new	50
50	Ellen	50	new	74

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	681	–	2
2	James	595	↑1	1
3	John	575	↓1	3
4	Richard	519	–	5
5	William	441	↑1	4
6	David	436	↓1	7
7	Gary	433	–	19
8	Larry	323	–	13
9	Michael	303	↑3	18
10	Ronald	285	–	10
11	Donald	281	↓2	9
12	Charles	241	↓1	6
13	Dennis	236	↑3	24
14	Jerry	195	↓1	14
15	Thomas	186	↑3	8
16	Gerald	185	↑1	21
17	Kenneth	177	↓3	15
18	George	164	↓3	11
19	Jack	162	–	29
20	Roger	123	↑2	26
21	Paul	122	–	17
22	Edward	113	↓2	16
23	Frank	111	↑3	20
24	Dale	100	↑15	57
25	Douglas	99	↑10	56
26	Bill	91	↑8	67
27	Jim	91	↓3	78
28	Don	90	↑8	62
29	Wayne	89	↓2	39
30	Bob	85	↑1	99
31	Raymond	83	↓8	22
32	Lawrence	82	↓2	36
33	Terry	81	↑4	73
34	Stephen	80	new	49
35	Walter	80	↑3	25
36	Fred	78	↓7	40
37	Harold	78	↓9	23
38	Joseph	75	↓13	12
39	Mike	74	↑1	>100
40	Bruce	72	↑7	55
41	Patrick	70	↑1	74
42	Daniel	67	↓10	34
43	Ralph	64	↑1	37
44	Melvin	63	new	53
45	Roy	63	↑4	42
46	Norman	62	↓13	48
47	Marvin	58	new	63
48	Tom	57	new	92
49	Carl	56	new	32
50	Gordon	54	↓9	91

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