Baby names in Kentucky in the 1940s

In Kentucky in the 1940s the most given names were James (23,297 boys) and Mary (16,761 girls), of 623,792 births recorded.

1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Babies SSA recorded in Kentucky each year, the 1940s shaded

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

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

The top names in Kentucky, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	Mary	16,761
2	Linda	12,625
3	Barbara	9,119
4	Betty	8,638
5	Patricia	8,195
6	Brenda	7,315
7	Carolyn	5,992
8	Shirley	5,875
9	Joyce	5,225
10	Judy	5,021
11	Wanda	4,681
12	Nancy	4,626
13	Sandra	4,573
14	Donna	4,008
15	Phyllis	3,997
16	Sharon	3,940
17	Carol	3,874
18	Janice	3,644
19	Martha	3,636
20	Judith	3,632

Boys, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	James	23,297
2	William	14,820
3	Robert	11,918
4	Charles	11,661
5	John	11,144
6	Larry	8,528
7	David	8,080
8	Donald	6,959
9	Jerry	6,144
10	Ronald	5,613
11	Thomas	5,590
12	Michael	5,031
13	Richard	4,870
14	Kenneth	4,824
15	Gary	4,611
16	Paul	4,502
17	George	4,396
18	Billy	4,365
19	Bobby	3,961
20	Joseph	3,939

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Kentucky 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

Oma · 5.9×Nannie · 5.8×Maudie · 5.3×Reva · 5.2×Imogene · 5.1×Ima · 5.1×

Boys

Estill · 32.8×Rondal · 13.5×Garnett · 10.2×Hobert · 9.5×Denver · 8.0×Randell · 7.2×

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1940-1949.

More about names in Kentucky

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

Back to Kentucky: 2025 and every year since 1910