Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1939

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1939 were Mary for girls (1,026 babies) and James for boys (1,210). James ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 37,741 babies born in West Virginia in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1939

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

Drema: 17 babies, 55.2× the national rate
Dreama: 18 babies, 39× the national rate
Shelva: 16 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Wilda: 25 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Twila: 16 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Freda: 53 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Reva: 19 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Glenna: 44 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Goldie: 25 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Patty: 90 babies, 5× the national rate

Boys

Denzil: 16 babies, 18.3× the national rate
Jennings: 15 babies, 14.8× the national rate
Denver: 28 babies, 12.1× the national rate
Dana: 18 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Basil: 16 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Shirley: 24 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Emory: 18 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Jackie: 159 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Harrison: 15 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Boyd: 26 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	1,026	–	1
2	Betty	700	–	4
3	Barbara	640	–	2
4	Patricia	569	↑1	3
5	Shirley	551	↓1	5
6	Nancy	472	–	7
7	Carol	332	↑1	6
8	Phyllis	319	↓1	30
9	Janet	296	↑2	17
10	Margaret	281	↓1	10
11	Carolyn	280	↓1	14
12	Helen	262	↑1	16
13	Judith	246	↑17	8
14	Joyce	245	↑7	12
15	Ruth	239	↓3	22
16	Linda	236	↑10	15
17	Dorothy	226	↓3	9
18	Janice	218	↑6	24
19	Sandra	218	↑8	13
20	Norma	204	↓5	38
21	Donna	196	↑1	20
22	Peggy	196	↓3	34
23	Martha	193	↓5	27
24	Virginia	193	↓7	21
25	Wanda	193	↓9	50
26	Frances	187	↑3	26
27	Anna	164	↓4	43
28	Elizabeth	154	–	18
29	Doris	138	↓9	29
30	Loretta	138	↑1	65
31	Alice	129	↓6	31
32	Joan	115	↑16	11
33	Ruby	113	↑7	67
34	Jo	112	↑4	70
35	Lois	112	↓3	35
36	Charlotte	111	↓3	66
37	Judy	111	new	28
38	Juanita	109	↑5	77
39	Bonnie	106	↑7	61
40	Wilma	103	↑1	87
41	Delores	102	↓6	79
42	Mildred	101	↑2	55
43	Evelyn	99	↓7	40
44	Emma	92	new	89
45	Sylvia	92	–	62
46	Thelma	91	↓4	88
47	Patty	90	↓13	>100
48	Sharon	87	new	23
49	Eleanor	84	↑1	63
50	Gloria	80	new	36

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	James	1,210	–	2
2	Robert	1,048	–	1
3	Charles	859	–	6
4	William	842	–	4
5	John	775	–	3
6	David	485	↑2	7
7	Donald	477	↓1	8
8	Richard	432	↓1	5
9	Ronald	394	–	10
10	Thomas	364	–	9
11	Paul	339	↑1	17
12	George	325	↓1	11
13	Larry	313	–	14
14	Kenneth	295	↑1	13
15	Jerry	286	↓1	16
16	Harold	244	–	23
17	Joseph	208	↑4	12
18	Carl	207	↑4	30
19	Gary	199	↓1	21
20	Billy	185	↓3	24
21	Bobby	176	↑2	29
22	Edward	176	↓2	15
23	Jack	174	↓4	26
24	Ralph	163	↑5	35
25	Jackie	159	↑1	>100
26	Harry	147	↓1	45
27	Roy	143	↑4	42
28	Frank	132	↓1	20
29	Howard	127	↓1	47
30	Raymond	121	↓6	22
31	Clarence	116	↑4	60
32	Earl	107	↑4	50
33	Michael	107	↑10	18
34	Franklin	104	↓4	>100
35	Gerald	102	↑2	19
36	Roger	102	↑6	28
37	Walter	102	↓4	25
38	Arthur	96	↑2	32
39	Eugene	94	↓5	37
40	Lawrence	92	↓2	36
41	Joe	91	↓9	27
42	Jimmy	89	↑7	43
43	Fred	84	↓2	40
44	Melvin	84	new	51
45	Samuel	82	↓6	63
46	Marvin	81	new	52
47	Gene	78	–	69
48	Leonard	78	new	54
49	Daniel	77	new	38
50	Ernest	76	↓4	55

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