Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1928

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1928 were Mary for girls (1,413 babies) and James for boys (1,206). James ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 37,487 babies born in West Virginia in 1928 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1928

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: 26 babies, 13.1× the national rate
Glenna: 76 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Emogene: 29 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Freda: 77 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Vada: 18 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Hester: 19 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Goldie: 54 babies, 5× the national rate
Roxie: 16 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Wilda: 29 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Reva: 19 babies, 4× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 22 babies, 48.4× the national rate
Denzil: 26 babies, 21.7× the national rate
Denver: 33 babies, 12.6× the national rate
Hobert: 15 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Basil: 17 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Burl: 15 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Junior: 107 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Kermit: 16 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Forest: 15 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Boyd: 27 babies, 3.7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1928

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Mary	1,413	–	1
2	Betty	1,267	–	2
3	Helen	502	–	4
4	Dorothy	444	↑1	3
5	Virginia	403	↓1	9
6	Margaret	366	–	5
7	Ruth	363	–	6
8	Anna	299	–	16
9	Doris	266	↑2	7
10	Mildred	260	↓1	15
11	Elizabeth	228	↑1	14
12	Ruby	221	↑2	34
13	Frances	212	↓3	13
14	Evelyn	208	↓1	17
15	Phyllis	190	↑12	26
16	Thelma	183	↑4	40
17	Alice	175	↑2	19
18	Juanita	172	↓1	58
19	Martha	170	↓4	22
20	Norma	169	↑4	23
21	Wanda	165	↓5	63
22	Pauline	159	↓4	48
23	Barbara	155	↑13	8
24	Irene	151	↑8	28
25	Patricia	149	↑3	11
26	Edith	147	↓5	56
27	Lois	145	↓1	18
28	Jean	144	↓6	12
29	Maxine	130	↑8	84
30	Edna	124	↓1	45
31	Hazel	124	↓6	59
32	Nancy	122	↑14	43
33	Gladys	120	↓10	41
34	Ethel	119	–	55
35	Lillian	115	↑5	35
36	Wilma	112	↓3	69
37	Marie	109	↓6	21
38	Eleanor	107	new	36
39	Geraldine	105	↑5	50
40	Louise	105	↓10	31
41	Rose	105	↑1	24
42	Kathleen	102	↑1	82
43	Eva	98	↑7	79
44	Marjorie	97	↑1	29
45	Nellie	97	new	>100
46	Clara	96	new	65
47	Violet	94	↓12	>100
48	June	91	new	44
49	Emma	90	↓10	67
50	Lucille	90	↓9	51

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	James	1,206	–	3
2	William	994	–	4
3	Robert	992	–	1
4	Charles	951	–	5
5	John	768	–	2
6	Donald	391	↑2	7
7	George	380	↓1	8
8	Paul	324	↓1	13
9	Harold	307	↑2	14
10	Jack	297	↓1	15
11	Richard	291	↓1	6
12	Thomas	277	–	11
13	Edward	238	↑1	10
14	Harry	213	↓1	26
15	Billy	211	↑7	27
16	Joseph	202	–	9
17	Kenneth	201	↑2	17
18	Carl	200	↓3	28
19	Ralph	189	↑5	24
20	Herbert	187	↑20	25
21	Frank	177	↓3	12
22	Eugene	176	↓1	20
23	Howard	173	↑2	31
24	Roy	173	↓7	34
25	Raymond	171	↓2	16
26	David	163	↑2	19
27	Clarence	159	↓7	35
28	Earl	159	↓1	37
29	Walter	136	↑3	18
30	Ray	132	–	57
31	Fred	120	↑4	36
32	Albert	118	↓3	23
33	Ernest	116	↑3	43
34	Alfred	108	↑15	33
35	Junior	107	↓9	>100
36	Gene	104	↑7	62
37	Arthur	98	↓6	22
38	Henry	95	↓1	21
39	Lawrence	94	↓5	38
40	Joe	92	↓2	30
41	Bernard	88	↑6	49
42	Russell	88	↓1	55
43	Samuel	88	↓1	52
44	Leonard	85	new	42
45	Ronald	82	new	50
46	Cecil	80	↓13	97
47	Norman	78	new	39
48	Clifford	75	↓2	68
49	Clyde	75	↓10	74
50	Elmer	73	new	63

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