1940–1949 · 499,342 recorded births
James was the most common name given in South Carolina across the 1940s, with 20,889 births in the decade. The state recorded 499,342 births in total over those years.
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.
| Name | Births | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| Heyward | 222 | 36× |
| Thomasena | 93 | 31× |
| Eartha | 279 | 27× |
| Vermell | 79 | 26× |
| Azalee | 86 | 24× |
| Albertha | 331 | 24× |
| Vertell | 12 | 24× |
| Francena | 76 | 23× |
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | James | 20,889 |
| #2 | Mary | 16,284 |
| #3 | John | 11,790 |
| #4 | William | 11,202 |
| #5 | Robert | 10,335 |
| #6 | Willie | 8,082 |
| #7 | Linda | 7,870 |
| #8 | Charles | 7,511 |
| #9 | Betty | 7,353 |
| #10 | Barbara | 6,619 |
| #11 | Patricia | 5,577 |
| #12 | Thomas | 5,388 |
| #13 | David | 5,281 |
| #14 | George | 4,720 |
| #15 | Shirley | 4,570 |
| #16 | Dorothy | 4,460 |
| #17 | Brenda | 4,211 |
| #18 | Carolyn | 3,976 |
| #19 | Richard | 3,890 |
| #20 | Margaret | 3,873 |
| #21 | Larry | 3,831 |
| #22 | Joseph | 3,633 |
| #23 | Martha | 3,568 |
| #24 | Annie | 3,554 |
| #25 | Sandra | 3,362 |
All South Carolina 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