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Baby names in Tennessee in the 1940s

In Tennessee in the 1940s the most given names were James (28,265 boys) and Mary (18,212 girls), of 676,305 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in Tennessee each year, the 1940s shaded
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101930195019701990201020251940-1949BoysGirls
Tennessee births by year and sex10k20k30k40k50k19101950199020251940-1949BoysGirls

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

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

The top names in Tennessee, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1Mary18,212
2Linda16,314
3Barbara10,563
4Betty9,860
5Patricia9,239
6Brenda8,387
7Carolyn7,962
8Shirley7,090
9Judy6,467
10Sandra5,970
11Nancy5,517
12Joyce4,960
13Wanda4,866
14Martha4,859
15Dorothy4,634
16Margaret4,431
17Peggy4,351
18Janice3,494
19Elizabeth3,168
20Patsy3,111
Boys, 1940-1949
#NameBirths
1James28,265
2William15,936
3Robert14,607
4Charles12,991
5John12,863
6Jerry9,008
7Larry8,729
8David8,679
9Thomas6,992
10Billy5,926
11Richard5,357
12Donald5,143
13Bobby5,086
14George4,954
15Ronald4,903
16Jimmy4,841
17Kenneth4,631
18Gary4,129
19Joe3,889
20Paul3,796

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Tennessee 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 Tennessee

  1. The 1940s 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 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 Tennessee: 2025 and every year since 1910