This list combines 1,982 spelling variations into 1,019 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1940 is James, given to 62,480 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Darrell has the most spelling variations with 22 different spellings, while Jerrell has the highest confusion index at 80.8%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Arlen showed the biggest improvement, moving up 147 positions from 418 to 271, while Eugene had the largest drop, falling 7 positions from 37 to 44.

Looking at trends, Tyrone shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1938–1940 are 2020.61% higher compared to 1931–1940), while Seymour shows the steepest decline (64.39% lower). Compared to 1939, Windell had the largest rank improvement, moving up 79 positions to rank #366, while Doris fell 32 positions to rank #399.