Popular baby names in Iowa, 1916

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1916 were Mary for girls (982 babies) and Robert for boys (861). Robert ranked #4 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 38,746 babies born in Iowa in 1916 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1916

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

Girls

Lavonne: 23 babies, 14.7× the national rate
Darlene: 25 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Ferne: 34 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Ardis: 15 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Gretchen: 32 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Deloris: 17 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Leone: 25 babies, 5× the national rate
Maxine: 226 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Arlene: 103 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Gail: 18 babies, 4.6× the national rate

Boys

Laverne: 37 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Milo: 28 babies, 7.2× the national rate
Dale: 138 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Dick: 25 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Lavern: 16 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Lyle: 89 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Merle: 66 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Dean: 50 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Cletus: 17 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Gail: 15 babies, 4.9× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1916

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1915	US rank
1	Mary	982	–	1
2	Dorothy	874	–	3
3	Helen	824	–	2
4	Ruth	628	–	5
5	Margaret	601	–	4
6	Mildred	448	–	6
7	Evelyn	384	–	11
8	Frances	318	–	9
9	Alice	285	–	13
10	Marjorie	278	↑2	37
11	Virginia	264	↑10	10
12	Marie	261	↓2	12
13	Lucille	248	↑2	30
14	Florence	247	↓3	14
15	Esther	244	↓1	34
16	Lois	236	↑6	43
17	Gladys	231	↓1	22
18	Elizabeth	230	↑2	8
19	Irene	228	↓6	17
20	Maxine	226	↑5	96
21	Doris	220	↓3	32
22	Wilma	197	↑4	82
23	Edna	185	↓6	19
24	Hazel	185	–	31
25	Bernice	173	↓2	42
26	Pauline	168	↑3	33
27	Grace	164	↑4	26
28	Anna	155	↓9	7
29	Gertrude	154	↑13	35
30	Lillian	145	–	16
31	Ruby	145	↑16	23
32	Louise	140	↑6	18
33	Martha	140	↑4	24
34	Kathryn	138	↓1	60
35	Thelma	137	↓8	29
36	Vivian	134	new	77
37	Ethel	132	↑4	25
38	Eleanor	131	↓4	27
39	Edith	129	↑1	28
40	Vera	128	↓8	66
41	Leona	126	↓13	75
42	Marian	123	↓3	72
43	Viola	123	↓7	59
44	Elsie	120	↓9	48
45	Velma	120	↓2	99
46	Clara	118	↑2	39
47	Catherine	117	↓1	20
48	June	116	new	86
49	Betty	111	new	44
50	Mabel	110	↓6	65

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1915	US rank
1	Robert	861	↑1	4
2	John	827	↓1	1
3	William	673	–	2
4	Donald	494	↑1	20
5	Harold	471	↓1	13
6	George	464	↑2	7
7	Charles	454	↓1	6
8	James	451	↓1	3
9	Paul	377	↑2	12
10	Richard	318	↑2	15
11	Kenneth	306	↓2	27
12	Edward	270	↑2	8
13	Raymond	262	↓3	16
14	Joseph	254	↓1	5
15	Ralph	213	↑1	21
16	Arthur	211	↑2	18
17	Carl	205	–	23
18	Walter	200	↓3	11
19	Clarence	189	↑3	24
20	Frank	188	↑1	9
21	Earl	187	↑3	32
22	Howard	186	↓2	25
23	Henry	168	↑2	14
24	Lawrence	164	↑7	38
25	Harry	161	↓2	19
26	Jack	157	↑16	26
27	Francis	156	↓8	31
28	Leonard	153	↓1	42
29	Gerald	151	↑12	76
30	Wayne	151	↑9	98
31	Elmer	149	↓5	45
32	Roy	140	↑1	33
33	Dale	138	↑3	>100
34	Albert	137	↓6	17
35	Lloyd	135	↑2	58
36	Thomas	135	↓6	10
37	Leo	134	↓5	47
38	Russell	129	–	51
39	Marvin	125	↓4	66
40	Melvin	120	↑3	57
41	Vernon	119	↑5	75
42	Lester	118	↓13	59
43	Edwin	113	↑7	53
44	Floyd	113	↓10	60
45	Glenn	106	↑3	84
46	Fred	104	↓6	29
47	Clifford	101	↑2	61
48	Herbert	101	↓3	40
49	Louis	101	new	22
50	Eugene	100	new	39

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