Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1920

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1920 were Mary for girls (1,379 babies) and James for boys (969). James ranked #4 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 33,698 babies born in West Virginia in 1920 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1920

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

Macel: 15 babies, 31.4× the national rate
Garnet: 46 babies, 11.9× the national rate
Garnett: 18 babies, 11.8× the national rate
Freeda: 15 babies, 11× the national rate
Audra: 18 babies, 10.9× the national rate
Glenna: 34 babies, 8.2× the national rate
Freda: 94 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Pansy: 21 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Goldie: 88 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Wilda: 29 babies, 5.7× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 21 babies, 61.2× the national rate
Denzil: 22 babies, 20.8× the national rate
Denver: 37 babies, 13.7× the national rate
Dorsey: 16 babies, 9.5× the national rate
Hobert: 19 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Basil: 25 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Arlie: 15 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Burl: 16 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Junior: 62 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Shirley: 16 babies, 5.7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1920

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919	US rank
1	Mary	1,379	–	1
2	Virginia	633	–	7
3	Helen	597	–	3
4	Margaret	438	↑1	4
5	Ruth	395	↓1	5
6	Dorothy	352	–	2
7	Mildred	349	–	6
8	Frances	256	↑3	9
9	Betty	253	↑6	11
10	Elizabeth	253	–	8
11	Anna	247	↓3	10
12	Ruby	239	–	26
13	Edith	217	↓4	32
14	Evelyn	217	↓1	12
15	Thelma	217	↑5	31
16	Pauline	197	↓2	36
17	Hazel	193	↑2	34
18	Gladys	192	↓2	22
19	Irene	186	↑5	17
20	Ethel	180	↓2	30
21	Lillian	174	↑4	18
22	Martha	172	–	23
23	Juanita	167	↑8	61
24	Edna	166	↓7	27
25	Marie	165	↓4	13
26	Louise	141	↑1	19
27	Lucille	140	↓4	29
28	Nellie	139	↓2	76
29	Alice	133	–	15
30	Violet	133	–	77
31	Opal	132	↓3	>100
32	Maxine	122	↑15	81
33	Mabel	120	–	83
34	Beulah	119	↑3	>100
35	Eva	113	–	58
36	Catherine	109	↑5	21
37	Geraldine	107	↑5	60
38	Josephine	107	↑2	28
39	Kathleen	104	↓1	91
40	Myrtle	101	↑4	68
41	Rose	100	↑7	20
42	Stella	98	new	82
43	Pearl	95	↑2	62
44	Freda	94	↓1	>100
45	Emma	93	↑1	46
46	Katherine	92	new	45
47	June	91	new	53
48	Elsie	90	↓14	51
49	Marjorie	90	new	24
50	Clara	89	↓11	44

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919	US rank
1	James	969	–	4
2	William	910	–	2
3	John	831	–	1
4	Charles	726	–	5
5	Robert	589	–	3
6	George	398	–	6
7	Paul	319	–	14
8	Harold	267	↑1	12
9	Edward	224	↓1	8
10	Joseph	222	–	7
11	Frank	220	↑1	9
12	Harry	217	↓1	21
13	Thomas	217	↑2	11
14	Carl	200	–	27
15	Ralph	191	↓2	22
16	Walter	185	↑2	13
17	Earl	163	↑2	31
18	Raymond	162	↓1	15
19	Clarence	153	↓3	26
20	Jack	151	↑4	20
21	Roy	150	–	32
22	Richard	148	↑1	10
23	Howard	139	↓3	24
24	Warren	137	new	39
25	Eugene	126	↑10	30
26	Albert	122	↑7	19
27	Donald	119	↓5	16
28	Kenneth	117	↓2	23
29	Arthur	114	↓4	18
30	Henry	104	↓3	17
31	Clyde	101	↑3	68
32	Fred	101	↓4	33
33	Samuel	100	↑5	44
34	David	96	↓5	25
35	Leonard	94	↑8	38
36	Herbert	92	↑1	41
37	Ray	91	↓5	67
38	Ernest	89	↓8	37
39	Lawrence	89	↓3	36
40	Joe	82	↑6	35
41	Cecil	80	↓2	77
42	Virgil	75	new	>100
43	Russell	72	↓3	51
44	Lewis	71	↑3	72
45	Elmer	70	↓14	45
46	Chester	68	new	55
47	Homer	65	↓6	100
48	Willard	64	↑2	88
49	Bernard	63	↓7	46
50	Clifford	63	↓6	59

← West Virginia 1919 West Virginia: all years · US 1920 West Virginia 1921 →