Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1926

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1926 were Mary for girls (1,437 babies) and James for boys (1,203). James ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 37,513 babies born in West Virginia in 1926 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1926

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

Garnet: 29 babies, 12.5× the national rate
Wilda: 51 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Emogene: 25 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Freda: 82 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Glenna: 43 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Dortha: 24 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Goldie: 65 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Pansy: 21 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Hester: 22 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Lorena: 19 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 19 babies, 50.1× the national rate
Denzil: 23 babies, 23.9× the national rate
Jennings: 24 babies, 13.4× the national rate
Denver: 29 babies, 11.4× the national rate
Lacy: 19 babies, 11.3× the national rate
Junior: 151 babies, 6× the national rate
Kermit: 27 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Forest: 18 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Andy: 17 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Woodrow: 20 babies, 4.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1926

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1925	US rank
1	Mary	1,437	–	1
2	Betty	1,036	–	3
3	Helen	635	–	4
4	Dorothy	488	↑1	2
5	Virginia	471	↓1	8
6	Margaret	426	–	5
7	Ruth	373	–	6
8	Anna	300	–	15
9	Mildred	281	–	9
10	Frances	257	↑2	10
11	Elizabeth	253	–	11
12	Ruby	218	↓2	30
13	Evelyn	198	↑2	13
14	Thelma	196	–	36
15	Martha	195	↑3	24
16	Doris	187	–	7
17	Alice	181	↑12	17
18	Pauline	179	↓5	39
19	Wanda	169	↑5	66
20	Edna	164	–	38
21	Hazel	164	↑5	48
22	Juanita	160	↓5	52
23	Louise	159	–	27
24	Jean	156	↑4	12
25	Norma	156	↑11	29
26	Edith	153	↓7	42
27	Irene	152	↓5	21
28	Ethel	142	↑4	41
29	Wilma	135	new	67
30	Phyllis	134	↑14	33
31	Gladys	131	↓10	35
32	Maxine	124	↓7	85
33	Marie	122	↓3	18
34	Nellie	118	new	>100
35	Lucille	117	↓2	43
36	Emma	114	↓5	59
37	Lillian	113	↓10	28
38	Geraldine	109	↑3	54
39	Kathleen	109	↓2	83
40	Violet	108	↑3	94
41	Josephine	106	new	37
42	Nancy	106	↑5	57
43	Marjorie	105	↓5	22
44	Clara	103	↑1	61
45	Eva	101	↓6	79
46	Opal	100	↑3	>100
47	Rose	100	new	25
48	Gloria	95	new	20
49	Barbara	94	new	16
50	Naomi	93	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1925	US rank
1	James	1,203	–	3
2	William	1,050	–	4
3	Robert	962	–	1
4	Charles	822	–	5
5	John	783	–	2
6	George	398	–	6
7	Paul	334	–	13
8	Donald	299	↑4	9
9	Harold	288	↓1	14
10	Jack	272	↑1	16
11	Richard	265	↓2	7
12	Thomas	243	↑1	11
13	Joseph	239	↓3	8
14	Harry	238	↑2	25
15	Carl	228	–	26
16	Edward	219	↓2	10
17	Frank	209	↑4	12
18	Roy	185	–	34
19	Howard	181	–	27
20	Billy	180	↑12	40
21	Ralph	178	↓4	24
22	Raymond	177	↓2	15
23	Eugene	175	↑1	23
24	Walter	154	↓1	17
25	Kenneth	152	↓3	18
26	Junior	151	↑3	>100
27	Clarence	148	↓2	29
28	Earl	146	↓2	32
29	Henry	129	↑2	19
30	David	118	–	22
31	Albert	117	↑4	21
32	Ray	116	↑2	57
33	Lawrence	114	↑9	36
34	Ernest	113	↓6	37
35	Russell	106	↑6	52
36	Fred	103	–	31
37	Arthur	102	↓4	20
38	Cecil	95	↑1	86
39	Bernard	91	↑6	49
40	Samuel	87	–	48
41	Joe	85	↓4	33
42	Elmer	80	↑7	61
43	Leonard	76	↑3	38
44	Lewis	75	↓1	82
45	Gerald	73	new	41
46	Herbert	71	↓2	44
47	Clyde	69	↓9	67
48	Clifford	68	↓1	62
49	Virgil	66	new	>100
50	Melvin	65	new	47

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