Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1940

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1940 were Mary for girls (1,046 babies) and James for boys (1,332). Social Security records list 38,310 babies born in West Virginia in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1940

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: 21 babies, 52.8× the national rate
Garnet: 19 babies, 12.3× the national rate
Dottie: 25 babies, 7.6× the national rate
Shelba: 22 babies, 7.6× the national rate
Wilda: 23 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Glenna: 49 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Freda: 51 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Patty: 91 babies, 5× the national rate
Opal: 41 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Rosalee: 15 babies, 4.5× the national rate

Boys

Okey: 15 babies, 40.8× the national rate
Jennings: 17 babies, 23.1× the national rate
Denver: 29 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Dana: 26 babies, 11× the national rate
Basil: 19 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Kennith: 22 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Kermit: 27 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Jackie: 151 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Shirley: 17 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Teddy: 32 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	1,046	–	1
2	Betty	624	–	5
3	Barbara	609	–	2
4	Patricia	558	–	3
5	Shirley	480	–	9
6	Nancy	462	–	7
7	Linda	412	↑9	8
8	Carolyn	348	↑3	15
9	Judith	346	↑4	4
10	Carol	309	↓3	6
11	Sandra	307	↑8	10
12	Phyllis	294	↓4	33
13	Janet	276	↓4	19
14	Margaret	272	↓4	11
15	Helen	240	↓3	18
16	Joyce	231	↓2	13
17	Dorothy	229	–	12
18	Wanda	226	↑7	52
19	Ruth	225	↓4	24
20	Anna	193	↑7	51
21	Frances	192	↑5	28
22	Norma	191	↓2	43
23	Virginia	183	↑1	21
24	Elizabeth	179	↑4	20
25	Doris	176	↑4	31
26	Brenda	174	new	42
27	Judy	170	↑10	16
28	Janice	167	↓10	22
29	Martha	162	↓6	26
30	Donna	161	↓9	23
31	Bonnie	159	↑8	39
32	Alice	152	↓1	32
33	Peggy	139	↓11	37
34	Lois	136	↑1	38
35	Charlotte	130	↑1	55
36	Loretta	126	↓6	69
37	Sharon	125	↑11	17
38	Gloria	117	↑12	30
39	Juanita	109	↓1	78
40	Delores	98	↑1	83
41	Joan	98	↓9	14
42	Jo	97	↓8	72
43	Rebecca	96	new	96
44	Jean	94	new	29
45	Thelma	93	↑1	>100
46	Evelyn	91	↓3	48
47	Mildred	91	↓5	58
48	Patty	91	↓1	>100
49	Connie	89	new	88
50	Eleanor	87	↓1	68

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	James	1,332	–	1
2	Robert	974	–	2
3	William	896	↑1	4
4	Charles	825	↓1	6
5	John	797	–	3
6	Donald	466	↑1	9
7	David	459	↓1	7
8	Richard	459	–	5
9	Larry	437	↑4	13
10	Thomas	405	–	8
11	Ronald	392	↓2	10
12	Jerry	318	↑3	14
13	George	310	↓1	11
14	Paul	294	↓3	17
15	Gary	253	↑4	19
16	Kenneth	237	↓2	15
17	Carl	209	↑1	32
18	Harold	209	↓2	23
19	Joseph	208	↓2	12
20	Billy	187	–	27
21	Edward	187	↑1	16
22	Roger	163	↑14	26
23	Jack	160	–	29
24	Bobby	157	↓3	30
25	Franklin	155	↑9	87
26	Jackie	151	↓1	>100
27	Roy	141	–	42
28	Harry	138	↓2	47
29	Ralph	137	↓5	37
30	Walter	132	↑7	25
31	Frank	130	↓3	20
32	Raymond	129	↓2	22
33	Howard	127	↓4	45
34	Michael	121	↓1	18
35	Clarence	103	↓4	64
36	Lawrence	103	↑4	36
37	Joe	99	↑4	28
38	Fred	95	↑5	40
39	Gerald	95	↓4	21
40	Daniel	94	↑9	34
41	Earl	93	↓9	52
42	Arthur	88	↓4	33
43	Norman	88	new	48
44	Johnny	86	new	51
45	Russell	85	new	72
46	Melvin	82	↓2	53
47	Eugene	81	↓8	38
48	Samuel	81	↓3	65
49	Gene	76	↓2	70
50	Jimmy	75	↓8	44

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