Name Legacy

Baby names in Washington, 1940s

1940–1949 · 404,688 recorded births

Robert was the most common name given in Washington across the 1940s, with 10,547 births in the decade. The state recorded 404,688 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Washington 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
Ron540
Kristi75
Rod93
Doug193
Dick566
Merrilee52
Rick391
Marilee120

Top 25 in the 1940s

RankNameBirths
#1Robert10,547
#2John9,956
#3James9,823
#4Linda9,684
#5Richard8,134
#6David7,674
#7Michael7,625
#8William6,557
#9Mary6,447
#10Gary6,126
#11Sharon5,725
#12Patricia5,644
#13Barbara5,238
#14Carol5,160
#15Susan4,976
#16Larry4,822
#17Ronald4,593
#18Sandra4,510
#19Karen4,332
#20Donald4,131
#21Nancy4,125
#22Dennis3,975
#23Judy3,965
#24Thomas3,926
#25Judith3,672

Other decades in Washington

All Washington 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