Name Legacy

Baby names in Illinois, 1940s

1940–1949 · 1,475,238 recorded births

Robert was the most common name given in Illinois across the 1940s, with 45,582 births in the decade. The state recorded 1,475,238 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Illinois in the 1940s

Names given far more often here than nationally in these years. The multiplier is conservative — it is the low end of the plausible range, so a name carried by a handful of births does not outrank one carried by hundreds.

NameBirthsvs national
Sherwin114
Casimir71
Charmaine209
Marge154
Linnea152
Terrence1,167
Melodee50
Ellyn85

Top 25 in the 1940s

RankNameBirths
#1Robert45,582
#2James43,498
#3John41,645
#4Mary33,070
#5William30,442
#6Richard30,426
#7Linda27,087
#8Patricia24,647
#9Barbara24,128
#10Michael23,425
#11Thomas22,989
#12David22,478
#13Carol20,409
#14Ronald19,460
#15Judith17,647
#16Charles17,530
#17Sharon17,321
#18Sandra16,864
#19Nancy16,209
#20Donald15,025
#21Susan14,476
#22Larry14,223
#23Karen13,541
#24Kenneth12,930
#25Dennis12,032

Other decades in Illinois

All Illinois names, 2025

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org