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Baby names in Alabama in the 1940s

In Alabama in the 1940s the most given names were James (26,822 boys) and Mary (21,268 girls), of 681,847 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in Alabama each year, the 1940s shaded
Alabama births by year and sex10k20k30k40k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Alabama births by year and sex10k20k30k40k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Alabama births by year and sex10k20k30k40k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Alabama births by year and sex10k20k30k40k19101950199020251940-1949BoysGirls

Births under names given to 5 or more babies of one sex in the state that year.

Alabama, 1940-1949: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in Alabama, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1Mary21,268
2Linda12,541
3Barbara10,142
4Betty9,721
5Patricia8,565
6Dorothy6,553
7Shirley6,497
8Carolyn6,414
9Martha5,827
10Annie5,761
11Brenda5,582
12Sandra4,995
13Judy4,307
14Margaret4,208
15Peggy3,635
16Joyce3,486
17Elizabeth3,485
18Doris3,316
19Janice3,191
20Nancy3,151
Boys, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1James26,822
2William14,350
3John14,035
4Robert13,636
5Charles11,614
6Willie9,628
7Jerry7,485
8Larry6,811
9Thomas6,300
10David5,993
11Billy5,532
12George5,427
13Jimmy5,355
14Bobby4,822
15Donald4,815
16Richard4,349
17Johnny4,189
18Joseph3,931
19Joe3,845
20Ronald3,736

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Alabama in the 1940s

Each figure is the name’s births in the state in the decade against the births its national share, year by year, would predict (names with at least 100 births in the state).

Girls

Boys

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1940-1949.

More about names in Alabama

  1. The 1940s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
  2. Alabama: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
  3. Alabama in the 1950sThe next decade in the state.
  4. The top names of 1940The first year of the decade, nationally.
  5. Every state’s most given namesEach state since 1910.
  6. Look up any nameIts rank, births since 1880 and the people alive with it.

Back to Alabama: 2025 and every year since 1910