Popular baby names in Iowa, 1918

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1918 were Mary for girls (1,070 babies) and Robert for boys (1,069). Robert ranked #4 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 42,210 babies born in Iowa in 1918 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1918

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: 31 babies, 12.4× the national rate
Darlene: 42 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Gretchen: 25 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Velda: 22 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Verla: 19 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Berniece: 50 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Leone: 25 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Maurine: 29 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Ferne: 22 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Berneice: 15 babies, 5.1× the national rate

Boys

Milo: 26 babies, 7× the national rate
Merle: 106 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Darrell: 33 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Lavern: 24 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Gail: 21 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Verne: 18 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Merlin: 32 babies, 6× the national rate
Dale: 167 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Lyle: 103 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Eldon: 54 babies, 5.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1918

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1917	US rank
1	Mary	1,070	–	1
2	Dorothy	913	–	3
3	Helen	857	–	2
4	Ruth	643	–	5
5	Margaret	621	–	4
6	Mildred	467	–	6
7	Evelyn	377	–	11
8	Virginia	339	–	7
9	Frances	321	↑1	8
10	Maxine	299	↑3	87
11	Alice	288	↑5	13
12	Marjorie	287	↓3	34
13	Doris	268	↓2	19
14	Marie	258	↓2	12
15	Florence	245	↑2	14
16	Irene	243	↓1	16
17	Lucille	237	↓3	29
18	Betty	228	↑9	21
19	Lois	226	↓1	42
20	Esther	221	↓1	38
21	Anna	211	↑4	10
22	Elizabeth	210	↓1	9
23	Gladys	203	↓3	22
24	Wilma	194	–	82
25	Edna	192	↓3	23
26	Bernice	172	↓3	41
27	Viola	171	↑9	59
28	Hazel	165	–	33
29	Eleanor	158	↑1	26
30	Pauline	157	↑2	35
31	Edith	154	↑9	30
32	Thelma	151	↓3	32
33	Grace	148	↓7	31
34	Jean	147	↑11	37
35	Lillian	145	↓4	15
36	Louise	145	↓1	18
37	Leona	144	↑1	79
38	Ethel	140	↑4	28
39	June	139	↑7	66
40	Vera	136	↓1	68
41	Geraldine	133	new	77
42	Gertrude	130	↑1	39
43	Kathryn	130	↑1	63
44	Arlene	127	↓3	>100
45	Ruby	127	↓11	27
46	Marian	126	↓9	76
47	Phyllis	121	new	80
48	Elsie	118	new	49
49	Martha	118	↓16	25
50	Lorraine	117	new	69

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1917	US rank
1	Robert	1,069	–	4
2	John	937	–	1
3	William	692	–	2
4	Donald	581	–	18
5	James	533	–	3
6	Charles	532	–	5
7	Harold	488	–	13
8	George	450	–	6
9	Raymond	382	↑1	15
10	Richard	367	↓1	12
11	Kenneth	334	↑1	27
12	Paul	332	↓1	14
13	Edward	320	–	8
14	Ralph	250	–	22
15	Joseph	233	↑1	7
16	Walter	231	↑6	11
17	Clarence	222	↑3	23
18	Carl	221	–	25
19	Arthur	218	↑2	17
20	Earl	207	↑4	31
21	Jack	207	↑2	21
22	Harry	197	↓5	20
23	Lloyd	197	↑2	51
24	Howard	194	↓9	26
25	Francis	186	↑5	30
26	Frank	184	↓7	9
27	Thomas	179	↓1	10
28	Dale	167	↑6	>100
29	Albert	166	↑11	19
30	Elmer	165	↓1	44
31	Vernon	158	↑17	66
32	Lawrence	156	↓5	38
33	Leonard	155	↓5	41
34	Henry	153	↓3	16
35	Wayne	149	↑3	91
36	Gerald	141	↓4	72
37	Leo	141	↓2	48
38	Russell	136	↑4	50
39	Lester	134	↑2	62
40	Marvin	129	↓4	68
41	Floyd	128	↑6	61
42	Melvin	127	↓9	56
43	Clifford	126	↑3	60
44	Eugene	124	↓1	35
45	Fred	119	–	33
46	Roy	118	↓9	32
47	Herbert	116	↓3	40
48	Leroy	111	new	57
49	Louis	108	new	24
50	Bernard	106	–	47

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