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Baby names in North Dakota in the 1940s

In North Dakota in the 1940s the most given names were James (2,926 boys) and Mary (2,554 girls), of 121,107 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in North Dakota each year, the 1940s shaded
North Dakota births by year and sex2k4k6k8k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
North Dakota births by year and sex2k4k6k8k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
North Dakota births by year and sex2k4k6k8k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
North Dakota births by year and sex2k4k6k8k19101950199020251940-1949BoysGirls

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

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

The top names in North Dakota, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1Mary2,554
2Linda2,338
3Sharon1,879
4Carol1,859
5Karen1,555
6Patricia1,350
7Sandra1,345
8Barbara1,163
9Judith1,125
10Janice1,105
11Judy1,067
12Shirley1,014
13Diane999
14Donna932
15Susan874
16Kathleen866
17Betty857
18Bonnie718
19Darlene673
20Margaret673
Boys, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1James2,926
2Robert2,758
3Richard2,436
4David2,273
5Gary2,145
6John2,104
7Larry1,916
8Dennis1,809
9Ronald1,738
10Donald1,588
11Kenneth1,326
12William1,232
13Roger1,135
14Thomas1,116
15Michael1,116
16Gerald1,053
17Charles883
18Paul755
19Wayne753
20Duane747

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in North Dakota 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 North Dakota

  1. The 1940s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
  2. North Dakota: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
  3. North Dakota 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 North Dakota: 2025 and every year since 1910