The Most Popular Baby Names in Missouri

The year Chesterfield's new mayor, Bob Nation, was born, there were 2,018 babies named "Robert" born in Missouri. The only year with more Missouri "Roberts" was just a few years earlier in 1947, with 2,163.

The name "Chester" has been a bit more rare in Missouri. The high water mark for Chester was 1919, when 130 boys were christened with that name.

Sarah's Cake Shop is a popular spot for sweets in the city. In the most recent year we have records, 61 Sarahs were born in Missouri—far below the high of 887 in 1981.

Those little tidbits come from our searchable database of Missouri baby names from 1910 to 2011. You can use the tools above to search by name, year or gender to explore questions such as:

• How many Missouri babies got my name the year I was born?
• What was the most popular year for my name in Missouri?
• Any babies of the opposite sex get my name?

The data comes from the Social Security Administration, which released baby name data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the same period.

The government excluded names used fewer than five times in a year in order to protect privacy.

The information comes from people who applied for Social Security cards and were born in the United States after 1879. As the SSA notes, "many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data. For others who did apply, our records may not show the place of birth, and again their names are not included in our data."

So, what did Missouri moms and dads most often dub their babies in 1910, the first year of this database? Well, that would be William and Mary. And 101 years later, in 2011? Happy birthday to Mason and Emma.

(NOTE: Viewing this on a mobile device and can't see the search tools above? Click here instead.)