State name profile
Most Popular Baby Names in West Virginia
The boys' and girls' names most often given in West Virginia, ranked by total recorded births in Social Security Administration state data, 1910–2025.
- James
- #1 boy name
- Mary
- #1 girl name
- 1,435,284
- Births recorded
- 1910–2025
- Years covered
West Virginia's all-time #1 names are James for boys and Mary for girls, based on 1,435,284 SSA birth registrations since 1910.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, West Virginia has recorded 1,435,284 births across its top 50 boy and top 50 girl names since 1910. James leads all boys with 76,421 births, while Mary tops the girls with 58,569. This profile covers decade-by-decade leaders and the full top-50 rankings for both sexes.
- James #1 boy name
- Mary #1 girl name
- 1,435,284 births recorded
Where West Virginia sits by recorded name volume
West Virginia: 3,118,003 SSA name registrations (SPARSE · rank 33/51). Inventory signal only, orthogonal to the top-50 lists below.
West Virginia vs all states by SSA name registrations
Where this state's disclosed SSA name-state registration total sits among every tracked jurisdiction
3,118,003 33rd of 51 higher than 18 of 51 states
Jurisdictions, banded by SSA name-registration count
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Social Security Administration state baby-name files · 2026-08-11
West Virginia naming snapshot
According to SSA state files through 2025, Mary is #1 of 58,569 cumulative SSA births in West Virginia ≠ Charlotte #1 of 372 2025 girl names at all-time rank #51; James is #1 of 76,421 cumulative SSA births in West Virginia ≠ Waylon #1 of 373 2025 boy names at all-time rank #51.
- Charlotte
- 2025 girls #1, all-time #51
- Mary
- all-time girls #1, 2025 #51
- Waylon
- 2025 boys #1, all-time #51
- James
- all-time boys #1, 2025 #11
Both sexes in West Virginia already split latest-year vs all-time leaders, cumulative totals since 1910 and 2025 use different denominators.
Data updated Aug 2026
Both sexes trend-led
Where West Virginia's latest-year leaders split from the all-time book
West Virginia stamps SPARSE on disclosed SSA name-state volume (3,118,003 · #33/51). Cumulative top-50 leaders are James (76,421 boy births) and Mary (58,569 girl births) across 1,435,284 top-50 registrations since 1910. Both sexes are TREND-LED: the latest 2025 #1 differs from the all-time cumulative #1 on each side. Boy top-50 share 861,314 vs 573,970 for girls.
In West Virginia, the latest SSA year #1 differs from the all-time cumulative #1 for both boys and girls, a dual trend split against the long book.
Decade shifts, SSA coverage, and comparability
Decade-by-decade data for West Virginia extends back to 1910. In the 1910s, the #1 boy name was James and the #1 girl name was Mary. By the 2020s, the top names had shifted to Waylon for boys and Amelia for girls.
SSA state files include any name appearing five or more times in a given state-year; lower-frequency names are suppressed for privacy. Figures are comparable across all 50 states and DC. Alternate spellings (Sophia vs Sofia) are separate names; middle names are not tracked. This page is for informational and research purposes.
Choose a different state
Top 10 girls' names in West Virginia, 2025
Single-year SSA state registrations (372 names reported)
- Charlotte
Charlotte
84 births
- Amelia
Amelia
82 births
- Lainey
Lainey
68 births
- Harper
Harper
62 births
- Willow
Willow
61 births
- Violet
Violet
54 births
- Sophia
Sophia
54 births
- Oaklynn
Oaklynn
53 births
- Paisley
Paisley
53 births
- Ava
Ava
52 births
What this shows Charlotte leads 2025 girls in West Virginia; Mary remains the all-time cumulative #1 at rank #51 in 2025.
Top 10 boys' names in West Virginia, 2025
Single-year SSA state registrations (373 names reported)
- Waylon
Waylon
115 births
- Hudson
Hudson
106 births
- Oliver
Oliver
96 births
- Noah
Noah
85 births
- Wyatt
Wyatt
70 births
- Cooper
Cooper
68 births
- Asher
Asher
67 births
- Weston
Weston
63 births
- Liam
Liam
60 births
- Theodore
Theodore
60 births
What this shows Waylon leads 2025 boys in West Virginia; James remains the all-time cumulative #1 at rank #51 in 2025.
Top 10 girls' names in West Virginia
Cumulative births recorded in state SSA files (1910–2025)
- Mary
Mary
58,569 births
- Betty
Betty
26,469 births
- Linda 20,697
Linda
20,697 births
- Patricia 19,462
Patricia
19,462 births
- Barbara 18,977
Barbara
18,977 births
- Helen 16,083
Helen
16,083 births
- Elizabeth 15,661
Elizabeth
15,661 births
- Virginia 15,642
Virginia
15,642 births
- Margaret 15,354
Margaret
15,354 births
- Nancy 13,689
Nancy
13,689 births
What this shows Mary leads West Virginia girls with 58,569 recorded births.
Top 10 boys' names in West Virginia
Cumulative births recorded in state SSA files (1910–2025)
- James
James
76,421 births
- Robert
Robert
57,473 births
- William
William
56,310 births
- John
John
54,787 births
- Charles
Charles
46,002 births
- David
David
40,367 births
- Michael
Michael
34,691 births
- Richard 26,449
Richard
26,449 births
- Thomas 23,630
Thomas
23,630 births
- Joseph 21,149
Joseph
21,149 births
What this shows James leads West Virginia boys with 76,421 recorded births.
Decade-by-Decade Leaders
The #1 boy and girl name in West Virginia for each decade
How we calculated this
For each decade, we sum every year's SSA state-level birth count per name, then take the single name with the highest ten-year total for each sex. A name can lead a decade with a strong single peak year or with steady, moderate demand across all ten years, the total treats both the same way.
| Decade | Top Boy | Births | Top Girl | Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | James | 4,969 | Mary | 8,620 |
| 1920s | James | 11,185 | Mary | 14,734 |
| 1930s | James | 12,141 | Mary | 11,373 |
| 1940s | James | 14,577 | Linda | 10,113 |
| 1950s | James | 11,805 | Linda | 7,442 |
| 1960s | James | 7,630 | Lisa | 4,911 |
| 1970s | Michael | 6,493 | Jennifer | 4,367 |
| 1980s | Joshua | 5,110 | Jessica | 4,527 |
| 1990s | Joshua | 2,719 | Ashley | 2,165 |
| 2000s | Jacob | 2,439 | Madison | 1,984 |
| 2010s | Mason | 1,272 | Emma | 1,253 |
| 2020s | Waylon | 568 | Amelia | 519 |
Boy Top 50 Boy Names
| # | Name | Total Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 76,421 |
| 2 | Robert | 57,473 |
| 3 | William | 56,310 |
| 4 | John | 54,787 |
| 5 | Charles | 46,002 |
| 6 | David | 40,367 |
| 7 | Michael | 34,691 |
| 8 | Richard | 26,449 |
| 9 | Thomas | 23,630 |
| 10 | Joseph | 21,149 |
| 11 | Donald | 20,605 |
| 12 | Paul | 18,404 |
| 13 | George | 17,355 |
| 14 | Larry | 15,899 |
| 15 | Christopher | 15,265 |
| 16 | Kenneth | 15,224 |
| 17 | Ronald | 14,721 |
| 18 | Gary | 14,227 |
| 19 | Timothy | 12,495 |
| 20 | Mark | 12,350 |
| 21 | Roger | 11,915 |
| 22 | Daniel | 11,687 |
| 23 | Matthew | 11,603 |
| 24 | Edward | 11,547 |
| 25 | Joshua | 11,121 |
| 26 | Jerry | 10,905 |
| 27 | Harold | 10,835 |
| 28 | Steven | 10,495 |
| 29 | Carl | 10,034 |
| 30 | Jack | 9,490 |
| 31 | Jason | 9,374 |
| 32 | Brian | 9,262 |
| 33 | Jeffrey | 9,162 |
| 34 | Billy | 8,616 |
| 35 | Andrew | 8,435 |
| 36 | Stephen | 8,426 |
| 37 | Roy | 8,375 |
| 38 | Harry | 8,248 |
| 39 | Samuel | 8,112 |
| 40 | Frank | 8,080 |
| 41 | Raymond | 8,012 |
| 42 | Ralph | 7,576 |
| 43 | Gregory | 7,536 |
| 44 | Kevin | 7,376 |
| 45 | Jacob | 7,256 |
| 46 | Terry | 7,080 |
| 47 | Anthony | 7,072 |
| 48 | Justin | 6,640 |
| 49 | Walter | 6,615 |
| 50 | Howard | 6,605 |
Girl Top 50 Girl Names
| # | Name | Total Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 58,569 |
| 2 | Betty | 26,469 |
| 3 | Linda | 20,697 |
| 4 | Patricia | 19,462 |
| 5 | Barbara | 18,977 |
| 6 | Helen | 16,083 |
| 7 | Elizabeth | 15,661 |
| 8 | Virginia | 15,642 |
| 9 | Margaret | 15,354 |
| 10 | Nancy | 13,689 |
| 11 | Ruth | 13,104 |
| 12 | Dorothy | 12,451 |
| 13 | Brenda | 12,299 |
| 14 | Sandra | 12,073 |
| 15 | Donna | 11,961 |
| 16 | Anna | 11,784 |
| 17 | Shirley | 10,971 |
| 18 | Rebecca | 10,909 |
| 19 | Sharon | 10,612 |
| 20 | Jennifer | 10,539 |
| 21 | Carolyn | 10,178 |
| 22 | Sarah | 10,163 |
| 23 | Karen | 10,021 |
| 24 | Carol | 9,004 |
| 25 | Deborah | 9,002 |
| 26 | Lisa | 8,981 |
| 27 | Kimberly | 8,958 |
| 28 | Susan | 8,712 |
| 29 | Frances | 8,490 |
| 30 | Martha | 8,330 |
| 31 | Jessica | 8,179 |
| 32 | Melissa | 8,137 |
| 33 | Janet | 8,034 |
| 34 | Pamela | 7,922 |
| 35 | Amanda | 7,913 |
| 36 | Joyce | 7,868 |
| 37 | Mildred | 7,771 |
| 38 | Phyllis | 7,599 |
| 39 | Debra | 7,307 |
| 40 | Angela | 7,256 |
| 41 | Wanda | 7,197 |
| 42 | Evelyn | 7,160 |
| 43 | Ruby | 6,901 |
| 44 | Alice | 6,856 |
| 45 | Amy | 6,652 |
| 46 | Emma | 6,625 |
| 47 | Judith | 6,428 |
| 48 | Doris | 6,422 |
| 49 | Ashley | 6,402 |
| 50 | Teresa | 6,196 |
Read with West Virginia
Nearest ABS(SSA name-registration volume) peers for West Virginia (SPARSE · TREND-LED).
SPARSE TREND-LED
Oregon · SPARSE
3,035,930 SSA registrations (near-scale with West Virginia; ABS Δ 82,073). Leader lane may differ from West Virginia's TREND-LED.
Utah · SPARSE
2,749,892 SSA registrations (near-scale with West Virginia; ABS Δ 368,111). Leader lane may differ from West Virginia's TREND-LED.
Kansas · SPARSE
3,531,180 SSA registrations (near-scale with West Virginia; ABS Δ 413,177). Leader lane may differ from West Virginia's TREND-LED.
Arkansas · SPARSE
3,623,589 SSA registrations (near-scale with West Virginia; ABS Δ 505,586). Leader lane may differ from West Virginia's TREND-LED.
Oklahoma (volume-lane contrast)
Near West Virginia on SSA registration volume yet stamps DENSE vs SPARSE.
Why names rise and fall
West Virginia stamps SPARSE · TREND-LED - read the matching SSA methodology before quoting state leaders.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files, 1910–2025 (ssa.gov).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
According to the Social Security Administration, as of June 2026 this profile draws directly on the agency's state-level public-use files, which document 6,696,687 state-level records across all 51 reporting jurisdictions spanning 1910-2025.
