Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1917

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1917 were Mary for girls (1,230 babies) and James for boys (705). James ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 28,155 babies born in West Virginia in 1917 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1917

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

Girls

Audra: 19 babies, 12.4× the national rate
Ocie: 17 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Glenna: 31 babies, 8.4× the national rate
Garnet: 28 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Jaunita: 17 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Belva: 18 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Orpha: 22 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Vada: 18 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Dorotha: 17 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Dessie: 21 babies, 5.5× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 25 babies, 56.5× the national rate
Denver: 36 babies, 18.4× the national rate
Denzil: 15 babies, 17.2× the national rate
Basil: 20 babies, 7× the national rate
Junior: 24 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Delbert: 46 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Harley: 25 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Alva: 18 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Orval: 16 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Roscoe: 24 babies, 3.9× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1917

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	Mary	1,230	–	1
2	Virginia	499	–	10
3	Helen	464	–	2
4	Ruth	383	–	5
5	Margaret	363	–	4
6	Mildred	310	↑1	6
7	Dorothy	282	↓1	3
8	Elizabeth	270	↑3	8
9	Ruby	223	↓1	27
10	Hazel	220	↑3	31
11	Anna	219	↓2	7
12	Pauline	202	↑5	33
13	Frances	190	↑5	9
14	Edith	188	↓4	28
15	Evelyn	187	↓1	11
16	Ethel	181	↑5	24
17	Thelma	179	↓5	32
18	Gladys	174	↑4	23
19	Martha	158	↑1	22
20	Edna	150	↓5	20
21	Lillian	140	↑6	15
22	Betty	127	↑19	34
23	Nellie	127	↑1	64
24	Opal	127	↓8	95
25	Alice	125	↑4	13
26	Irene	123	–	17
27	Marie	117	↓4	12
28	Lucille	114	↑3	29
29	Myrtle	113	↑5	58
30	Mabel	112	↓11	68
31	Louise	111	↓6	19
32	Juanita	110	–	87
33	Beulah	108	↓5	>100
34	Sarah	100	↑4	52
35	Elsie	98	↑7	50
36	Josephine	95	↑1	21
37	Bertha	93	↑10	51
38	Catherine	92	new	18
39	Grace	92	↓6	30
40	Emma	90	↓4	46
41	Genevieve	90	new	77
42	Stella	90	new	62
43	Bessie	89	↓8	61
44	Eva	89	↓14	54
45	Pearl	89	↓5	57
46	Alma	88	new	71
47	Kathleen	87	new	>100
48	Florence	84	new	14
49	Rose	83	↓5	16
50	Katherine	81	↓4	49

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	James	705	↑2	3
2	William	678	–	2
3	John	659	↓2	1
4	Charles	567	–	7
5	Robert	470	–	4
6	George	300	–	6
7	Paul	238	–	13
8	Harry	205	–	19
9	Frank	198	↑1	9
10	Joseph	196	↓1	5
11	Thomas	182	↑2	10
12	Edward	163	↓1	8
13	Harold	160	↓1	12
14	Carl	157	↑2	24
15	Roy	154	–	33
16	Walter	148	↑6	11
17	Howard	140	–	26
18	Richard	135	↑1	14
19	Raymond	124	↓1	16
20	Ralph	123	↑1	21
21	Clarence	120	↑3	25
22	Earl	120	↓2	32
23	Henry	114	↑5	15
24	Kenneth	109	↑3	27
25	Donald	102	↑12	20
26	Albert	100	↓3	18
27	Eugene	95	↑20	39
28	Jack	90	↑10	22
29	Lawrence	90	↑5	36
30	Clyde	88	↓4	64
31	David	86	↑9	28
32	Woodrow	84	↓18	73
33	Fred	80	↓8	29
34	Ernest	78	↓2	37
35	Samuel	76	↓4	42
36	Cecil	72	↑3	83
37	Willard	72	↓7	80
38	Herbert	71	↓3	40
39	Elmer	70	↑6	45
40	Joe	68	↓4	35
41	Arthur	63	↓12	17
42	Russell	62	–	52
43	Bernard	61	↑6	49
44	Chester	61	↑2	56
45	Virgil	61	↓4	>100
46	Leonard	60	↓2	41
47	Homer	59	↓4	>100
48	Gerald	54	new	69
49	Ray	54	↓16	74
50	Clifford	50	↓2	59

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