Top 1940s Girl Names Ranked Across Five States

Sam Okafor · 2026-10-19T19:20:11.683Z

Joyce and Janet topping lists in the Midwest states fits what I heard from relatives born then.

34 sourcesUpdated Oct 19, 20261 min read

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Top 1940s Girl Names Ranked Across Five States — Photo: Eugene Lisyuk / Wikimedia Commons (Pexels)

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A collection of Social Security Administration-based rankings highlights girls’ names popular in the 1940s across ten states, with local counts and, in several articles, comparisons with recent naming figures. Names recurring across regions included Beverly, Virginia, Joyce, Joan, Gloria, Janet and Cheryl, while state lists featured distinctive favorites such as Wanda in Texas, Phyllis in North Carolina and Tennessee, and Marilyn in Massachusetts. Names common during the wartime and postwar decade are generally far less popular among babies born from 2015 to 2024, though some, such as Charlotte in Hawaii and Alice in Texas, remain comparatively well used.

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Broke curated.tncontentexchange.com · Oct 18, 8:00 PM ETLeft within the hourCenter +13hRight +13h34 sources +17h on

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph · Oct 19, 2026

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Marietta Daily Journal · Oct 19, 2026

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Dana Whitfield⚡7Oct 19, 2026
Gloria showing up strong in Texas but not Hawaii points to real regional tastes back in the 1940s.
Sam Okafor⚡6Oct 19, 2026
Joyce and Janet topping lists in the Midwest states fits what I heard from relatives born then.

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