Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1931

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1931 were Betty for girls (1,190 babies) and James for boys (1,068). Betty ranked #2 nationally for girls. James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 33,346 babies born in West Virginia in 1931 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1931

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: 22 babies, 12.6× the national rate
Emogene: 26 babies, 9.8× the national rate
Wilda: 33 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Freda: 69 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Glenna: 51 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Dortha: 16 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Lorena: 15 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Goldie: 35 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Dollie: 18 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Reva: 15 babies, 3.7× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 25 babies, 59.4× the national rate
Denzil: 25 babies, 21.7× the national rate
Jennings: 20 babies, 20.4× the national rate
Kyle: 15 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Denver: 20 babies, 10.7× the national rate
Hobert: 16 babies, 8.2× the national rate
Everette: 16 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Kermit: 20 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Junior: 76 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Emory: 15 babies, 4.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1931

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Betty	1,190	–	2
2	Mary	1,185	–	1
3	Helen	429	–	6
4	Dorothy	358	–	3
5	Virginia	312	↑1	12
6	Margaret	305	↓1	7
7	Ruth	294	–	11
8	Barbara	266	↑3	4
9	Patricia	247	↑1	8
10	Anna	240	↓1	25
11	Doris	231	↓3	10
12	Norma	225	↑1	22
13	Wanda	208	↑1	54
14	Phyllis	205	↑3	29
15	Frances	182	–	18
16	Nancy	182	↑2	17
17	Mildred	175	↓5	26
18	Ruby	174	↓2	39
19	Elizabeth	166	–	16
20	Evelyn	160	–	24
21	Martha	158	–	28
22	Alice	153	↑2	21
23	Jean	150	↑2	13
24	Joan	146	↑3	5
25	Juanita	142	↓3	57
26	Thelma	138	–	53
27	Wilma	129	↓4	69
28	Edna	127	↑4	52
29	Lois	116	–	20
30	Dolores	115	–	14
31	Peggy	111	↑7	42
32	Pauline	106	↑2	56
33	Shirley	106	↑16	9
34	Emma	105	new	76
35	Joyce	105	↑10	15
36	Clara	104	↑12	61
37	Edith	99	↓9	65
38	Geraldine	97	↓5	38
39	Ethel	94	new	67
40	June	92	new	44
41	Jo	88	new	>100
42	Maxine	86	↓6	>100
43	Rose	86	↓6	30
44	Lillian	82	↑6	47
45	Louise	81	↓14	33
46	Janet	80	new	45
47	Marjorie	80	new	34
48	Naomi	80	new	>100
49	Donna	77	new	32
50	Gladys	77	↓11	55

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	James	1,068	–	2
2	Robert	1,022	–	1
3	William	800	–	4
4	Charles	787	–	6
5	John	623	–	3
6	Donald	487	–	7
7	Richard	378	–	5
8	Paul	300	↑2	12
9	George	299	↓1	8
10	Jack	298	↓1	15
11	Harold	261	↑2	18
12	Billy	256	–	19
13	Thomas	225	↓2	10
14	Kenneth	208	–	14
15	Edward	192	↑1	11
16	Joseph	189	↑3	9
17	David	182	↑4	13
18	Carl	160	↓3	28
19	Harry	158	↓1	30
20	Howard	148	↑2	34
21	Ralph	148	↑2	25
22	Raymond	148	↓5	17
23	Eugene	147	↑4	21
24	Bobby	143	↑1	32
25	Frank	139	↑1	16
26	Roy	128	↓6	35
27	Clarence	123	↓3	39
28	Walter	115	–	20
29	Ronald	113	↑16	27
30	Earl	111	↓1	40
31	Ray	109	↓1	60
32	Fred	94	↑5	33
33	Joe	94	↓2	29
34	Ernest	89	–	47
35	Henry	88	↑5	22
36	Lawrence	88	↑3	38
37	Albert	83	↑6	24
38	Arthur	81	↓6	23
39	Herbert	78	↓6	41
40	Junior	76	↓5	>100
41	Bill	74	↑7	57
42	Russell	72	↑5	63
43	Clyde	71	↓2	77
44	Samuel	71	↓2	56
45	Gene	68	↓1	64
46	Norman	67	new	36
47	Don	66	new	59
48	Melvin	65	new	51
49	Bernard	63	↓13	54
50	Gerald	63	new	26

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