Most popular baby names in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — What have been the most popular baby names in Tennessee?

The Social Security Administration publishes annual data about the most popular baby names in the country and by state. Tennessee's data has been recorded every year since 1910.

News 2 conducted an analysis to see what the most popular baby name is in Tennessee. The most popular name of all time was James. Nearly 3,300 people were named James in 1947.

James stayed popular throughout the 1940s, with over 2,900 James' born in 1942, 1943, 1946, and 1948.

James was the third most popular name for boys in 2023, which is the most recent year for which the administration has released data.

The ten names from 2023 appeared consistently in the top 10 most popular names for the past five years. But things looked very different a century ago.

In 1924, the 10 most popular names included the following for girls:

1. Mary
2. Dorothy
3. Margaret
4. Mildred
5. Helen

For boys:

1. James
2. William
3. John
4. Robert
5. Charles