Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1929

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1929 were Mary for girls (1,287 babies) and James for boys (1,148). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 34,902 babies born in West Virginia in 1929 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1929

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, 11.5× the national rate
Vada: 16 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Wilda: 37 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Emogene: 20 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Freda: 68 babies, 6× the national rate
Dortha: 19 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Glenna: 36 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Goldie: 38 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Reva: 18 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Willa: 31 babies, 3.9× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 20 babies, 47.6× the national rate
Denzil: 23 babies, 22.4× the national rate
Denver: 37 babies, 15.1× the national rate
Dana: 21 babies, 11.1× the national rate
Basil: 20 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Jackson: 16 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Kermit: 21 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Junior: 108 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Emory: 16 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Forest: 16 babies, 4.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1929

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1928	US rank
1	Mary	1,287	–	1
2	Betty	1,182	–	2
3	Helen	472	–	4
4	Dorothy	425	–	3
5	Virginia	366	–	11
6	Margaret	356	–	5
7	Ruth	332	–	8
8	Doris	299	↑1	6
9	Anna	271	↓1	20
10	Evelyn	224	↑4	19
11	Mildred	221	↓1	18
12	Frances	209	↑1	16
13	Phyllis	195	↑2	24
14	Barbara	189	↑9	7
15	Patricia	186	↑10	10
16	Norma	181	↑4	25
17	Wanda	178	↑4	61
18	Elizabeth	175	↓7	15
19	Thelma	175	↓3	41
20	Ruby	162	↓8	36
21	Jean	150	↑7	12
22	Juanita	147	↓4	60
23	Martha	146	↓4	27
24	Lois	141	↑3	17
25	Edith	137	↑1	59
26	Edna	135	↑4	51
27	Pauline	134	↓5	50
28	Nancy	133	↑4	32
29	Wilma	129	↑7	66
30	Alice	126	↓13	21
31	Hazel	124	–	64
32	Geraldine	119	↑7	43
33	Joan	117	new	13
34	Emma	116	↑15	69
35	Gladys	110	↓2	44
36	Maxine	109	↓7	85
37	Louise	99	↑3	31
38	Marie	99	↓1	22
39	Kathleen	98	↑3	89
40	Violet	95	↑7	>100
41	June	94	↑7	48
42	Peggy	94	new	70
43	Irene	93	↓19	29
44	Clara	92	↑2	65
45	Lillian	89	↓10	40
46	Eva	88	↓3	83
47	Rose	87	↓6	26
48	Ethel	85	↓14	56
49	Geneva	83	new	>100
50	Dolores	81	new	14

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1928	US rank
1	James	1,148	–	2
2	Robert	1,044	↑1	1
3	William	974	↓1	4
4	Charles	819	–	5
5	John	691	–	3
6	Donald	361	–	7
7	George	325	–	8
8	Richard	316	↑3	6
9	Paul	289	↓1	13
10	Jack	275	–	14
11	Thomas	274	↑1	11
12	Billy	244	↑3	23
13	Harold	244	↓4	16
14	Edward	196	↓1	10
15	Carl	193	↑3	28
16	Harry	187	↓2	27
17	Joseph	184	↓1	9
18	Kenneth	179	↓1	18
19	Ralph	176	–	26
20	Herbert	171	–	25
21	David	159	↑5	17
22	Frank	157	↓1	12
23	Eugene	152	↓1	20
24	Raymond	149	↑1	15
25	Roy	146	↓1	35
26	Walter	145	↑3	19
27	Howard	129	↓4	31
28	Clarence	128	↓1	37
29	Earl	127	↓1	36
30	Bobby	122	new	50
31	Junior	108	↑4	>100
32	Albert	107	–	24
33	Henry	103	↑5	21
34	Arthur	100	↑3	22
35	Fred	100	↓4	34
36	Ray	91	↓6	57
37	Ernest	89	↓4	43
38	Joe	88	↑2	30
39	Clyde	85	↑10	74
40	Ronald	81	↑5	45
41	Lawrence	80	↓2	38
42	Russell	75	–	56
43	Alfred	74	↓9	41
44	Samuel	69	↓1	53
45	Cecil	67	↑1	>100
46	Lewis	67	new	84
47	Bernard	65	↓6	52
48	Clifford	63	–	72
49	Gerald	63	new	33
50	Melvin	62	new	49

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