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Baby names in Tennessee in the 1930s

In Tennessee in the 1930s the most given names were James (22,985 boys) and Mary (19,022 girls), of 523,293 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in Tennessee each year, the 1930s shaded
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251930-1939BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251930-1939BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251930-1939BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101950199020251930-1939BoysGirls

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

Tennessee, 1930-1939: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in Tennessee, 1930s

Girls, 1930-1939
#NameBirths
1Mary19,022
2Betty14,277
3Dorothy7,617
4Barbara7,359
5Shirley5,825
6Martha4,631
7Margaret4,522
8Helen4,311
9Peggy4,002
10Virginia3,253
11Nancy3,199
12Joyce3,175
13Frances3,168
14Ruby3,080
15Mildred2,968
16Doris2,885
17Wilma2,529
18Elizabeth2,495
19Ruth2,444
20Patricia2,418
Boys, 1930-1939
#NameBirths
1James22,985
2William13,179
3Robert12,194
4Charles11,592
5John10,041
6Billy8,053
7Bobby6,181
8Thomas4,689
9Joe4,523
10George4,486
11Donald3,647
12Paul3,201
13Kenneth3,050
14David3,044
15Harold2,922
16Richard2,777
17Jerry2,764
18Jack2,762
19Willie2,653
20Jimmy2,626

Births summed over 1930-1939, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Tennessee in the 1930s

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, 1930-1939.

More about names in Tennessee

  1. The 1930s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
  2. Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
  3. Tennessee in the 1940sThe next decade in the state.
  4. The top names of 1930The 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 Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910