Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1930

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1930 were Betty for girls (1,277 babies) and James for boys (1,238). Betty ranked #2 nationally for girls. James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 35,518 babies born in West Virginia in 1930 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1930

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: 19 babies, 11× the national rate
Emogene: 27 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Wilda: 39 babies, 7× the national rate
Vada: 20 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Glenna: 57 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Freda: 61 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Jaunita: 16 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Goldie: 44 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Lorena: 17 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Pansy: 17 babies, 4.3× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 29 babies, 54.6× the national rate
Denver: 25 babies, 11.8× the national rate
Dorsey: 15 babies, 10.8× the national rate
Arlie: 17 babies, 8.3× the national rate
Basil: 24 babies, 7× the national rate
Shirley: 26 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Dallas: 31 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Junior: 102 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Jackson: 16 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Delbert: 57 babies, 3.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1930

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1929	US rank
1	Betty	1,277	↑1	2
2	Mary	1,253	↓1	1
3	Helen	450	–	4
4	Dorothy	384	–	3
5	Margaret	344	↑1	5
6	Virginia	339	↓1	12
7	Ruth	302	–	10
8	Doris	269	–	9
9	Anna	242	–	23
10	Patricia	229	↑5	7
11	Barbara	222	↑3	6
12	Mildred	216	↓1	21
13	Norma	203	↑3	25
14	Wanda	197	↑3	56
15	Frances	196	↓3	16
16	Ruby	190	↑4	36
17	Phyllis	189	↓4	28
18	Nancy	188	↑10	24
19	Elizabeth	180	↓1	15
20	Evelyn	175	↓10	19
21	Martha	174	↑2	27
22	Juanita	150	–	57
23	Wilma	148	↑6	68
24	Alice	145	↑6	20
25	Jean	144	↓4	14
26	Thelma	140	↓7	45
27	Joan	132	↑6	8
28	Edith	129	↓3	61
29	Lois	128	↓5	17
30	Dolores	126	↑20	13
31	Louise	123	↑6	31
32	Edna	121	↓6	51
33	Geraldine	121	↓1	43
34	Pauline	121	↓7	52
35	Hazel	114	↓4	71
36	Maxine	113	–	93
37	Rose	106	↑10	29
38	Peggy	104	↑4	67
39	Gladys	102	↓4	48
40	Nellie	98	new	>100
41	Eva	88	↑5	86
42	Eleanor	86	new	39
43	Violet	86	↓3	>100
44	Irene	85	↓1	33
45	Joyce	85	new	18
46	Lucille	84	new	59
47	Marie	84	↓9	26
48	Clara	83	↓4	64
49	Shirley	83	new	11
50	Lillian	82	↓5	44

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1929	US rank
1	James	1,238	–	2
2	Robert	1,049	–	1
3	William	970	–	4
4	Charles	854	–	6
5	John	735	–	3
6	Donald	446	–	7
7	Richard	375	↑1	5
8	George	313	↓1	8
9	Jack	307	↑1	14
10	Paul	302	↓1	12
11	Thomas	255	–	11
12	Billy	228	–	20
13	Harold	217	–	18
14	Kenneth	214	↑4	17
15	Carl	211	–	26
16	Edward	203	↓2	10
17	Raymond	202	↑7	16
18	Harry	187	↓2	28
19	Joseph	184	↓2	9
20	Roy	175	↑5	33
21	David	163	–	15
22	Howard	163	↑5	31
23	Ralph	163	↓4	25
24	Clarence	154	↑4	39
25	Bobby	152	↑5	41
26	Frank	137	↓4	13
27	Eugene	135	↓4	21
28	Walter	132	↓2	19
29	Earl	115	–	38
30	Ray	114	↑6	57
31	Joe	112	↑7	27
32	Arthur	111	↑2	23
33	Herbert	111	↓13	35
34	Ernest	102	↑3	43
35	Junior	102	↓4	>100
36	Bernard	97	↑11	52
37	Fred	90	↓2	32
38	Cecil	88	↑7	99
39	Lawrence	87	↑2	36
40	Henry	85	↓7	22
41	Clyde	84	↓2	76
42	Samuel	84	↑2	55
43	Albert	80	↓11	24
44	Gene	79	new	70
45	Ronald	77	↓5	37
46	Leonard	74	new	45
47	Russell	74	↓5	60
48	Bill	64	new	59
49	Clifford	64	↓1	73
50	Marvin	60	new	48

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