Most Popular Baby Names in Iowa
A 113-year retrospective of how Iowa parents named their children, drawn from 3,527,377 US Social Security Administration state-level records (1910–2025). Top 20 all-time, latest-year top 10, signature names most distinctly associated with the state, and the complete year-by-year #1 history.
3,527,377
US births tracked
2,598
Distinct names
116
Years covered
Across 116 years of records, Robert
leads Iowa's all-time boys' list with 71,196 in-state births;
Mary leads the girls' with 61,938.
The single longest #1 streak in the state's recorded history belongs to Mary
(girls),
which held #1 for 41 years from 1912 to 1960 — a dominance that's increasingly rare in today's fragmenting name pool.
The state's most distinctive signature is Duane — 1,061.5%
of all national births of that name occurred in Iowa.
Top 20 All-Time in Iowa
Aggregate Iowa births across all years 1910–2025. Source: SSA state-level records.
Across the full 113-year record, Robert has more aggregate
Iowa births than any other boys' name —
13% ahead of #2 John.
On the girls' side, Mary leads
with a 152% margin over Linda.
These all-time totals are weighted heavily toward names that were dominant during the high-volume mid-20th-century baby boom — when Iowa's state-level birth records were at their thickest — so the list reflects an era when single names captured a much larger share of newborns than they do today.
Boys (top 20)
| #1 | Robert | 71,196 |
| #2 | John | 62,948 |
| #3 | James | 61,105 |
| #4 | Michael | 53,944 |
| #5 | David | 52,776 |
| #6 | William | 44,237 |
| #7 | Richard | 43,867 |
| #8 | Donald | 34,210 |
| #9 | Thomas | 30,176 |
| #10 | Charles | 27,344 |
| #11 | Steven | 25,504 |
| #12 | Mark | 24,109 |
| #13 | Daniel | 23,698 |
| #14 | Joseph | 23,159 |
| #15 | Matthew | 21,764 |
| #16 | Paul | 20,875 |
| #17 | Kenneth | 20,863 |
| #18 | Ronald | 20,769 |
| #19 | Gary | 20,162 |
| #20 | Larry | 19,990 |
Girls (top 20)
| #1 | Mary | 61,938 |
| #2 | Linda | 24,619 |
| #3 | Patricia | 21,983 |
| #4 | Barbara | 21,845 |
| #5 | Jennifer | 19,768 |
| #6 | Betty | 19,463 |
| #7 | Dorothy | 19,268 |
| #8 | Susan | 18,944 |
| #9 | Elizabeth | 18,020 |
| #10 | Margaret | 17,252 |
| #11 | Karen | 16,752 |
| #12 | Nancy | 15,800 |
| #13 | Helen | 15,590 |
| #14 | Ruth | 15,309 |
| #15 | Donna | 14,816 |
| #16 | Carol | 14,789 |
| #17 | Julie | 14,047 |
| #18 | Sandra | 13,672 |
| #19 | Lisa | 13,468 |
| #20 | Shirley | 13,077 |
Latest Year — Iowa Top 10 in 2025
Most popular names in Iowa for the most recent year of SSA records.
In 2025, Iowa's top 5 girls' picks
(Charlotte, Evelyn, Emma, Amelia, Eleanor) overlapped with the national top 5 on
3 of 5 names; the boys' top 5
(Oliver, Liam, Henry, Theodore, Cooper) overlapped on 4 of 5.
Evelyn, Eleanor
appeared in Iowa's top 5 girls' list but
not in the national top 5 — the state's most visible departure from the national consensus this year.
On the boys' side, Cooper
held a top-5 spot in the state but not nationally.
How Concentrated Is Naming in Iowa?
Top-10 names as a share of state births in 2025, compared to the US national average. A higher percentage means parents in the state pile onto fewer mainstream names; a lower percentage means more diverse, fragmented choices.
Iowa top-10 share, 2025
Girls' top 109.51%
Boys' top 1010.46%
National top-10 share, 2025
Girls' top 1011.11%
Boys' top 1011.17%
Iowa is more diverse than the national average in 2025:
girls' top-10 captured only 9.51% of state births (vs 11.11% nationally),
boys' only 10.46% (vs 11.17%).
Lower concentration usually reflects a more demographically diverse population pulling from a wider pool of cultural traditions.
For full historical context, see the state distinctiveness atlas.
Signature Names — Most Distinctly Iowa
Names whose Iowa share is unusually high relative to the national total. A high "state share" means a disproportionate fraction of all US babies given that name were born in Iowa.
These signature names tell the cultural story of Iowa's naming geography
more sharply than any top-20 list. The list below is ordered by the state-share ratio: how big a
slice of all US births of that name happened in Iowa.
The strongest signature is Duane
(boys) — 1,061.5%
of all US births of that name occurred in Iowa, on
5,732 in-state births.
Other state-defining picks include Maxine and
Dean.
Many of these are surnames, nicknames, or cultural-tradition names that survived as concentrated regional markers
even as the broader American naming pool fragmented.
| Name | Gender | Iowa births | National births | State share |
| Duane | Boys | 5,732 | 540 | 1,061.5% |
| Maxine | Girls | 4,505 | 54,351 | 8.3% |
| Dean | Boys | 6,943 | 99,362 | 7.0% |
| Jon | Boys | 4,413 | 73,148 | 6.0% |
| Dale | Boys | 10,434 | 230,035 | 4.5% |
| Connie | Girls | 8,207 | 207,147 | 4.0% |
| Chad | Boys | 7,831 | 202,623 | 3.9% |
| Marvin | Boys | 6,451 | 173,935 | 3.7% |
| Jill | Girls | 5,599 | 153,994 | 3.6% |
| Marilyn | Girls | 10,579 | 313,674 | 3.4% |
| Todd | Boys | 8,025 | 242,749 | 3.3% |
| Randall | Boys | 4,215 | 130,854 | 3.2% |
Iowa Then vs Now — 1950 vs 2025
Side-by-side top 5 from a 70+ year window. Names that disappear entirely between 1950 and 2025 are typical of how dramatically American naming taste has reset across three generations.
On the girls' side, 1950's Iowa top 5 was
Linda, Mary, Susan, Patricia, Barbara;
in 2025 it became
Charlotte, Evelyn, Emma, Amelia, Eleanor.
None of the 1950 top 5 girls' names remained in the 2025 top 5 — total turnover.
Boys went from David, James, Michael, John, Robert
to Oliver, Liam, Henry, Theodore, Cooper
— no overlap at all.
Longest #1 Streaks in Iowa
Names that held the state-level #1 spot for the most consecutive (or non-consecutive) years over the full 113-year record. The early-1900s entries reflect an era when single names dominated for decades; modern entries reflect today's much shorter top-1 reigns.
Mary (girls)
held Iowa's #1 spot for 41 years
between 1912 and 1960 — by far the longest dominance in the state's recorded history.
Second-longest is Robert
(boys) at 29 years.
For comparison, today's #1 names typically hold the spot for 1–4 years before being displaced — a structural shift driven by the fragmenting modern name pool.
| Name | Sex | Years at #1 | First year | Last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary | Girls | 41 | 1912 | 1960 |
| Robert | Boys | 29 | 1916 | 1944 |
| Jacob | Boys | 15 | 1991 | 2009 |
| Jennifer | Girls | 14 | 1970 | 1983 |
| David | Boys | 13 | 1950 | 1964 |
| Michael | Boys | 12 | 1951 | 1990 |
| Emma | Girls | 11 | 2002 | 2015 |
| Ashley | Girls | 10 | 1984 | 1993 |
Year-by-Year #1 in Iowa
Who held #1 each year. Names listed alphabetically by year with US birth counts in Iowa.
The full year-by-year scroll below shows every Iowa #1 boy and girl from 2025 back to 1910.
Click any year to drill into that year's full top-20 with year-over-year movement, signature names, and decade context.
Patterns to watch: the long mid-century plateaus when the same name held #1 for decades; the
1970s–1990s transition when American naming fragmented and #1 reigns shortened to single-digit years;
and the 2010s–present era when even #1 names rarely hold the top spot for more than a few years.
| Year | #1 boy | Births | #1 girl | Births |
| 2025 → | Oliver | 198 | Charlotte | 158 |
| 2023 → | Oliver | 195 | Charlotte | 162 |
| 2022 → | Oliver | 196 | Olivia | 175 |
| 2021 → | Oliver | 203 | Charlotte | 173 |
| 2020 → | Oliver | 213 | Olivia | 169 |
| 2019 → | Oliver | 234 | Charlotte | 179 |
| 2018 → | Oliver | 185 | Harper | 161 |
| 2017 → | Oliver | 211 | Harper | 173 |
| 2016 → | Oliver | 201 | Olivia | 207 |
| 2015 → | Liam | 215 | Emma | 200 |
| 2014 → | Liam | 222 | Emma | 197 |
| 2013 → | Liam | 220 | Emma | 204 |
| 2012 → | Liam | 200 | Emma | 246 |
| 2011 → | Carter | 196 | Emma | 204 |
| 2010 → | Mason | 183 | Ava | 208 |
| 2009 → | Jacob | 208 | Ava | 215 |
| 2008 → | Ethan | 237 | Emma | 250 |
| 2007 → | Ethan | 261 | Ava | 282 |
| 2006 → | Ethan | 253 | Emma | 317 |
| 2005 → | Ethan | 287 | Emma | 318 |
| 2004 → | Jacob | 298 | Emma | 355 |
| 2003 → | Jacob | 333 | Emma | 384 |
| 2002 → | Jacob | 378 | Emma | 319 |
| 2001 → | Jacob | 436 | Madison | 329 |
| 2000 → | Jacob | 484 | Madison | 296 |
| 1999 → | Jacob | 481 | Emily | 329 |
| 1998 → | Jacob | 509 | Emily | 318 |
| 1997 → | Jacob | 513 | Emily | 298 |
| 1996 → | Jacob | 553 | Emily | 375 |
| 1995 → | Jacob | 541 | Emily | 332 |
| 1994 → | Jacob | 525 | Emily | 372 |
| 1993 → | Jacob | 550 | Ashley | 355 |
| 1992 → | Jacob | 517 | Ashley | 406 |
| 1991 → | Jacob | 525 | Ashley | 501 |
| 1990 → | Michael | 525 | Ashley | 573 |
| 1989 → | Michael | 555 | Ashley | 551 |
| 1988 → | Matthew | 573 | Ashley | 603 |
| 1987 → | Michael | 588 | Ashley | 732 |
| 1986 → | Matthew | 612 | Ashley | 655 |
| 1985 → | Matthew | 690 | Ashley | 692 |
| 1984 → | Matthew | 738 | Ashley | 708 |
| 1983 → | Matthew | 823 | Jennifer | 713 |
| 1982 → | Matthew | 857 | Jennifer | 776 |
| 1981 → | Matthew | 824 | Jennifer | 812 |
| 1980 → | Joshua | 828 | Jennifer | 880 |
| 1979 → | Matthew | 829 | Jennifer | 948 |
| 1978 → | Jason | 815 | Jennifer | 937 |
| 1977 → | Jason | 914 | Jennifer | 938 |
| 1976 → | Jason | 920 | Jennifer | 996 |
| 1975 → | Jason | 930 | Jennifer | 1,002 |
| 1974 → | Jason | 1,019 | Jennifer | 1,052 |
| 1973 → | Jason | 973 | Jennifer | 1,045 |
| 1972 → | Jason | 850 | Jennifer | 1,068 |
| 1971 → | Michael | 919 | Jennifer | 929 |
| 1970 → | Michael | 1,088 | Jennifer | 769 |
| 1969 → | Michael | 1,137 | Michelle | 609 |
| 1968 → | Michael | 1,112 | Lisa | 708 |
| 1967 → | Michael | 1,201 | Lisa | 743 |
| 1966 → | Michael | 1,104 | Lisa | 810 |
| 1965 → | Michael | 1,128 | Lisa | 879 |
| 1964 → | David | 1,171 | Lisa | 805 |
| 1963 → | David | 1,296 | Lisa | 859 |
| 1962 → | David | 1,292 | Lisa | 800 |
| 1961 → | David | 1,426 | Lori | 786 |
| 1960 → | David | 1,441 | Mary | 789 |
| 1959 → | David | 1,424 | Mary | 833 |
| 1958 → | David | 1,396 | Mary | 830 |
| 1957 → | David | 1,466 | Mary | 966 |
| 1956 → | David | 1,492 | Debra | 1,171 |
| 1955 → | David | 1,604 | Debra | 1,239 |
| 1954 → | David | 1,527 | Mary | 1,275 |
| 1953 → | David | 1,442 | Mary | 1,219 |
| 1952 → | Michael | 1,446 | Mary | 1,217 |
| 1951 → | Michael | 1,516 | Mary | 1,361 |
| 1950 → | David | 1,412 | Linda | 1,476 |
| 1949 → | James | 1,335 | Linda | 1,854 |
| 1948 → | James | 1,298 | Linda | 2,145 |
| 1947 → | James | 1,428 | Linda | 2,365 |
| 1946 → | James | 1,351 | Mary | 1,297 |
| 1945 → | James | 995 | Mary | 1,079 |
| 1944 → | Robert | 1,105 | Mary | 1,173 |
| 1943 → | Robert | 1,156 | Mary | 1,243 |
| 1942 → | Robert | 1,147 | Mary | 1,193 |
| 1941 → | Robert | 1,097 | Mary | 1,091 |
| 1940 → | Robert | 1,095 | Mary | 1,099 |
| 1939 → | Robert | 1,116 | Mary | 1,028 |
| 1938 → | Robert | 1,128 | Mary | 1,087 |
| 1937 → | Robert | 1,164 | Mary | 1,100 |
| 1936 → | Robert | 1,185 | Mary | 1,072 |
| 1935 → | Robert | 1,109 | Shirley | 1,098 |
| 1934 → | Robert | 1,083 | Mary | 1,092 |
| 1933 → | Robert | 1,149 | Mary | 1,059 |
| 1932 → | Robert | 1,272 | Mary | 1,077 |
| 1931 → | Robert | 1,351 | Mary | 1,118 |
| 1930 → | Robert | 1,384 | Mary | 1,140 |
| 1929 → | Robert | 1,409 | Mary | 1,025 |
| 1928 → | Robert | 1,405 | Mary | 1,100 |
| 1927 → | Robert | 1,497 | Mary | 1,170 |
| 1926 → | Robert | 1,575 | Betty | 1,054 |
| 1925 → | Robert | 1,596 | Mary | 1,122 |
| 1924 → | Robert | 1,667 | Mary | 1,160 |
| 1923 → | Robert | 1,583 | Mary | 1,204 |
| 1922 → | Robert | 1,644 | Mary | 1,144 |
| 1921 → | Robert | 1,591 | Mary | 1,215 |
| 1920 → | Robert | 1,389 | Mary | 1,213 |
| 1919 → | Robert | 1,132 | Mary | 1,076 |
| 1918 → | Robert | 1,069 | Mary | 1,070 |
| 1917 → | Robert | 961 | Mary | 1,077 |
| 1916 → | Robert | 861 | Mary | 982 |
| 1915 → | John | 812 | Mary | 867 |
| 1914 → | John | 592 | Mary | 624 |
| 1913 → | John | 461 | Mary | 480 |
| 1912 → | John | 342 | Mary | 403 |
| 1911 → | John | 120 | Helen | 281 |
| 1910 → | John | 124 | Helen | 249 |
Related Resources
- All states 1910–2025 — index of all 51 state pages
- The State of Baby Naming 2026 — flagship 145-year retrospective
- Baby Names by Decade — 15 standalone decade pages
- Origins of American Baby Naming — 145-year tradition atlas
- Methodology · Press kit
Methodology
All figures derived from the US Social Security Administration's state-level baby-names dataset (1910–2025), public domain (CC0). State-level data starts in 1910 (rather than 1880 like the national data) because pre-1910 SSN records lack state granularity. SSA suppresses any name-state-year-gender combination with fewer than 5 occurrences for privacy. The "all-time" rankings on this page are computed across all years available; signature-name share percentages compare state-level totals to the national totals from our companion table. See the full methodology page for complete details.
Citation: Tang, M. (2026). Most Popular Baby Names in Iowa. 9BabyNames. https://9babynames.com/reports/state/iowa