Popular baby names in West Virginia, 1950

The most popular baby names in West Virginia in 1950 were Linda for girls (1,379 babies) and James for boys (1,435). Social Security records list 47,221 babies born in West Virginia in 1950 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in West Virginia in 1950

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: 61 babies, 60× the national rate
Dreama: 41 babies, 47.2× the national rate
Goldie: 18 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Dottie: 18 babies, 8.5× the national rate
Freda: 35 babies, 6× the national rate
Glenna: 40 babies, 5× the national rate
Shelby: 15 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Etta: 17 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Wilma: 86 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Patty: 47 babies, 3.9× the national rate

Boys

Denver: 25 babies, 14.1× the national rate
Dallas: 26 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Woodrow: 20 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Orville: 15 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Delbert: 28 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Garland: 18 babies, 3.6× the national rate
Roger: 579 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Dewey: 18 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Virgil: 34 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Jackie: 81 babies, 3.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in West Virginia, 1950

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1949	US rank
1	Linda	1,379	–	1
2	Mary	889	–	2
3	Brenda	736	–	14
4	Patricia	665	↑2	3
5	Sharon	602	↓1	11
6	Barbara	595	↓1	4
7	Sandra	564	–	8
8	Deborah	471	↑7	7
9	Nancy	441	↓1	6
10	Karen	429	↑1	12
11	Donna	428	↓1	13
12	Carolyn	415	↓3	20
13	Susan	322	↑5	5
14	Carol	315	↑2	9
15	Joyce	308	↑4	27
16	Judy	298	↓4	25
17	Judith	288	↓3	21
18	Betty	282	↓5	26
19	Pamela	276	↑5	17
20	Shirley	269	↓3	19
21	Rebecca	267	–	36
22	Janet	260	↑1	18
23	Margaret	245	↓1	15
24	Connie	239	↓4	44
25	Diana	209	↑1	47
26	Beverly	208	↑2	31
27	Elizabeth	208	↓2	24
28	Wanda	170	↓1	52
29	Bonnie	169	–	33
30	Martha	162	↑7	32
31	Kathy	158	↑12	38
32	Peggy	153	↓1	41
33	Virginia	151	↓3	43
34	Helen	145	↑1	50
35	Phyllis	138	↓3	53
36	Ruth	134	↓2	49
37	Charlotte	133	↑1	80
38	Janice	132	↓2	22
39	Rita	125	↑6	56
40	Gloria	124	↓7	30
41	Cheryl	117	↑6	29
42	Dorothy	116	↓1	35
43	Cynthia	113	↑1	23
44	Kathryn	112	new	46
45	Frances	108	↓5	51
46	Alice	106	↓7	57
47	Sherry	104	↑2	62
48	Debra	102	new	59
49	Anna	100	↓7	93
50	Sheila	98	new	70

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1949	US rank
1	James	1,435	–	1
2	Robert	1,119	–	2
3	John	1,098	↑1	3
4	William	1,028	↑1	6
5	David	1,012	↓2	5
6	Charles	871	–	9
7	Michael	810	↑1	4
8	Larry	718	↓1	11
9	Gary	626	–	10
10	Richard	583	↑2	7
11	Roger	579	↓1	27
12	Thomas	539	↓1	8
13	Ronald	460	–	12
14	Donald	427	–	14
15	Jerry	383	–	24
16	George	351	–	20
17	Paul	324	↑2	18
18	Kenneth	310	–	15
19	Danny	296	↑1	39
20	Joseph	293	↓3	13
21	Stephen	279	–	19
22	Steven	239	↑5	16
23	Terry	235	↑1	30
24	Edward	226	↓1	22
25	Daniel	223	↓3	21
26	Dennis	173	–	17
27	Harold	158	↓2	45
28	Gregory	155	↑12	25
29	Roy	142	↑7	51
30	Harry	137	↑1	61
31	Jack	134	↑1	48
32	Johnny	131	↑2	50
33	Billy	129	↑2	57
34	Carl	129	↓6	44
35	Ralph	127	↓6	52
36	Raymond	127	↓3	31
37	Frank	120	↑1	29
38	Douglas	119	↓8	28
39	Randall	107	↑9	70
40	Ronnie	105	new	76
41	Lawrence	104	↑2	33
42	Samuel	101	↓5	62
43	Walter	100	↓1	40
44	Clarence	99	new	95
45	Darrell	97	↓6	>100
46	Gerald	95	↓5	34
47	Mark	94	↓2	23
48	Timothy	94	new	32
49	Wayne	91	–	35
50	Howard	90	new	63

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