Popular baby names in Iowa, 1912

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1912 were Mary for girls (403 babies) and John for boys (342). Social Security records list 16,113 babies born in Iowa in 1912 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1912

Names given at least 15 times in Iowa that year and at least twice as common as in the US as a whole.

Girls

Bernadine: 20 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Maxine: 81 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Neva: 17 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Wilma: 80 babies, 4× the national rate
Luella: 31 babies, 4× the national rate
Marcella: 30 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Arlene: 16 babies, 3× the national rate
Lorraine: 26 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Carol: 15 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Leona: 74 babies, 2.8× the national rate

Boys

Darrell: 16 babies, 10.4× the national rate
Dale: 49 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Eldon: 18 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Merle: 30 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Dwight: 18 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Loren: 19 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Keith: 16 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Wayne: 52 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Lyle: 27 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Orville: 36 babies, 4.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1912

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	Mary	403	↑1	1
2	Helen	398	↓1	2
3	Dorothy	323	–	3
4	Mildred	271	↑2	6
5	Margaret	267	–	4
6	Ruth	258	↓2	5
7	Frances	151	↑4	9
8	Marie	150	–	10
9	Alice	145	↑4	11
10	Gladys	124	–	19
11	Esther	120	↑6	33
12	Irene	119	↑2	22
13	Florence	117	↓6	12
14	Evelyn	115	↓2	13
15	Hazel	112	↑1	25
16	Edna	110	↓7	16
17	Lucille	110	↓2	32
18	Anna	106	↑7	7
19	Bernice	103	↑3	51
20	Grace	101	↑3	24
21	Thelma	100	↓1	26
22	Marjorie	95	↓1	56
23	Martha	90	↑16	29
24	Elizabeth	88	↓6	8
25	Gertrude	84	↑5	30
26	Lillian	81	↑9	14
27	Maxine	81	↑19	>100
28	Virginia	81	↑21	20
29	Wilma	80	↑7	99
30	Ethel	79	↓11	18
31	Louise	79	↓4	17
32	Doris	77	↓3	48
33	Lois	75	↓1	63
34	Ruby	75	↑3	23
35	Leona	74	↓9	76
36	Edith	72	↓2	31
37	Agnes	69	↓4	40
38	Mabel	68	↓10	46
39	Elsie	65	↓1	42
40	Viola	64	↓16	52
41	Velma	63	–	88
42	Vera	62	↑5	68
43	Pauline	61	↓3	38
44	Vivian	55	new	84
45	Kathryn	52	new	71
46	Emma	51	↑4	35
47	Catherine	50	↓5	21
48	Marguerite	49	new	79
49	Clara	48	↓18	34
50	Beulah	47	new	80

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	John	342	–	1
2	Robert	236	↑1	4
3	William	232	↓1	2
4	James	203	↑1	3
5	George	199	↓1	6
6	Harold	190	↑1	13
7	Charles	172	↓1	7
8	Donald	168	–	27
9	Raymond	137	–	18
10	Paul	129	↑3	14
11	Kenneth	119	↑1	33
12	Joseph	115	↓2	5
13	Clarence	109	↓2	21
14	Arthur	106	↑2	15
15	Edward	105	↑2	8
16	Carl	102	↑6	24
17	Ralph	93	↑9	23
18	Richard	92	↑1	19
19	Frank	87	↑1	9
20	Henry	83	↑10	12
21	Earl	80	–	34
22	Walter	74	↓7	11
23	Harry	71	↑4	16
24	Howard	70	↓10	25
25	Lawrence	67	–	38
26	Albert	66	↓8	17
27	Fred	66	↓3	26
28	Leonard	64	↑1	45
29	Francis	63	↑11	35
30	Elmer	61	↑4	47
31	Roy	61	↑2	31
32	Thomas	60	↑9	10
33	Glenn	58	↑15	84
34	Floyd	57	↓3	59
35	Gerald	53	↓3	87
36	Leo	53	↑9	49
37	Wayne	52	new	>100
38	Russell	51	↑8	56
39	Lester	50	↓4	58
40	Lloyd	50	↓17	70
41	Melvin	50	↓4	71
42	Clifford	49	↓14	62
43	Dale	49	new	>100
44	Ernest	49	↑3	32
45	Herbert	44	↓2	39
46	Marvin	42	new	83
47	Edwin	40	↑3	54
48	Everett	39	↑1	96
49	Alfred	37	↓11	40
50	Arnold	37	new	99

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