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Baby names in West Virginia in the 1920s

In West Virginia in the 1920s the most given names were James (11,185 boys) and Mary (14,734 girls), of 371,800 births recorded.

Babies SSA recorded in West Virginia each year, the 1920s shaded
West Virginia births by year and sex10k20k30k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
West Virginia births by year and sex10k20k30k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
West Virginia births by year and sex10k20k30k19101930195019701990201020251920-1929BoysGirls
West Virginia births by year and sex10k20k30k19101950199020251920-1929BoysGirls

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

West Virginia, 1920-1929: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in West Virginia, 1920s

Girls, 1920-1929
#NameBirths
1Mary14,734
2Betty8,181
3Helen6,080
4Virginia5,447
5Dorothy4,677
6Margaret4,438
7Ruth4,211
8Mildred3,077
9Anna3,044
10Elizabeth2,473
11Frances2,460
12Ruby2,342
13Evelyn2,267
14Thelma2,073
15Martha1,907
16Pauline1,876
17Juanita1,840
18Edith1,828
19Doris1,808
20Hazel1,715
Boys, 1920-1929
#NameBirths
1James11,185
2William10,163
3Robert8,807
4Charles8,378
5John8,152
6George4,071
7Paul3,368
8Harold2,854
9Thomas2,569
10Donald2,550
11Jack2,419
12Joseph2,413
13Richard2,399
14Harry2,256
15Edward2,251
16Carl2,095
17Frank2,037
18Ralph1,833
19Roy1,731
20Raymond1,700

Births summed over 1920-1929, per sex.

The names most over-represented in West Virginia in the 1920s

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, 1920-1929.

More about names in West Virginia

  1. The 1920s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
  2. West Virginia: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
  3. West Virginia in the 1930sThe next decade in the state.
  4. The top names of 1920The 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 West Virginia: 2025 and every year since 1910