Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1949

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1949 were Linda for girls (1,634 babies) and James for boys (1,562). Social Security records list 48,805 babies born in West Virginia in 1949 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1949

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: 82 babies, 60× the national rate
Dreama: 38 babies, 47× the national rate
Dottie: 20 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Dolly: 23 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Glenna: 45 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Freda: 33 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Opal: 20 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Patty: 68 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Shelia: 51 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Beverley: 16 babies, 4.3× the national rate

Boys

Jennings: 18 babies, 29.1× the national rate
Delmas: 20 babies, 24.5× the national rate
Denzil: 17 babies, 16.8× the national rate
Denver: 29 babies, 13.4× the national rate
Basil: 16 babies, 10.2× the national rate
Dannie: 17 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Teddy: 37 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Grover: 15 babies, 4× the national rate
Freddy: 22 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Garland: 21 babies, 3.7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1949

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1948	US rank
1	Linda	1,634	–	1
2	Mary	957	–	2
3	Brenda	789	↑1	13
4	Sharon	685	↑1	10
5	Barbara	651	↓2	4
6	Patricia	643	–	3
7	Sandra	640	–	6
8	Nancy	484	↑1	7
9	Carolyn	457	↓1	17
10	Donna	437	–	12
11	Karen	427	↑1	11
12	Judy	387	↑1	20
13	Betty	333	↑1	22
14	Judith	331	↑1	16
15	Deborah	306	↑18	15
16	Carol	304	↓5	8
17	Shirley	298	↓1	18
18	Susan	298	–	5
19	Joyce	290	↓2	26
20	Connie	264	↓1	43
21	Rebecca	261	↑6	40
22	Margaret	242	↓2	14
23	Janet	238	↓2	23
24	Pamela	230	↑1	21
25	Elizabeth	226	↑1	25
26	Diana	225	↓2	48
27	Wanda	202	↑1	56
28	Beverly	194	↓6	31
29	Bonnie	189	↑7	35
30	Virginia	173	↑7	39
31	Peggy	167	↓1	38
32	Phyllis	165	↓9	50
33	Gloria	156	↑8	29
34	Ruth	155	–	47
35	Helen	154	↓4	46
36	Janice	154	↓1	24
37	Martha	152	↑2	34
38	Charlotte	136	↓9	71
39	Alice	135	↑4	53
40	Frances	133	↓8	49
41	Dorothy	132	↓3	32
42	Anna	130	–	91
43	Kathy	127	new	42
44	Cynthia	114	–	27
45	Rita	112	new	54
46	Lois	108	new	73
47	Cheryl	107	↓7	28
48	Doris	105	↓2	69
49	Sherry	103	↓4	68
50	Wilma	102	new	>100

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1948	US rank
1	James	1,562	–	1
2	Robert	1,112	–	2
3	David	1,092	↑2	6
4	John	1,049	↓1	3
5	William	1,025	↓1	4
6	Charles	972	–	9
7	Larry	763	–	10
8	Michael	659	↑4	5
9	Gary	592	↑2	12
10	Roger	568	↓2	25
11	Thomas	564	↓1	8
12	Richard	541	↓3	7
13	Ronald	497	–	11
14	Donald	462	–	13
15	Jerry	403	–	23
16	George	347	↑1	18
17	Joseph	329	↑3	14
18	Kenneth	315	↓2	15
19	Paul	308	↓1	17
20	Danny	296	↓1	40
21	Stephen	293	–	19
22	Daniel	226	↑3	22
23	Edward	226	–	21
24	Terry	210	↓2	28
25	Harold	204	↓1	42
26	Dennis	187	–	16
27	Steven	176	↑4	20
28	Carl	172	–	43
29	Ralph	154	↑7	50
30	Douglas	148	↑8	29
31	Harry	142	↓2	59
32	Jack	142	↑2	47
33	Raymond	141	↑4	30
34	Johnny	138	↑1	49
35	Billy	137	↓5	57
36	Roy	129	↓9	51
37	Samuel	129	↑8	62
38	Frank	123	↓5	27
39	Darrell	115	↑9	>100
40	Gregory	114	↓1	31
41	Gerald	110	↑3	33
42	Walter	107	↓1	37
43	Lawrence	106	↑6	32
44	Earl	102	new	91
45	Mark	102	new	24
46	Rodney	102	↓3	87
47	Jackie	99	new	>100
48	Randall	99	new	79
49	Wayne	99	new	35
50	Bruce	98	new	26

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