Popular baby names in Iowa, 1928

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1928 were Mary for girls (1,100 babies) and Robert for boys (1,405). Social Security records list 38,312 babies born in Iowa in 1928 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1928

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

Girls

Darlene: 263 babies, 13.6× the national rate
Lavonne: 68 babies, 12.2× the national rate
Marlys: 27 babies, 10.3× the national rate
Verla: 26 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Madonna: 18 babies, 8.6× the national rate
Ardith: 15 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Ardis: 23 babies, 7× the national rate
Lavon: 16 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Donald: 17 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Donna: 306 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Boys

Daryl: 31 babies, 16.6× the national rate
Verle: 16 babies, 15.7× the national rate
Claire: 15 babies, 13.5× the national rate
Arlo: 15 babies, 10.9× the national rate
Milo: 26 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Merlin: 50 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Vern: 25 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Dean: 147 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Laverne: 48 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Darwin: 28 babies, 6.3× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1928

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Mary	1,100	–	1
2	Betty	960	–	2
3	Dorothy	666	–	3
4	Shirley	520	↑1	10
5	Helen	419	↓1	4
6	Ruth	347	–	6
7	Doris	342	↑1	7
8	Lois	339	↓1	18
9	Patricia	338	↑2	11
10	Margaret	335	↓1	5
11	Phyllis	322	↓1	26
12	Donna	306	↑5	61
13	Barbara	300	–	8
14	Norma	294	–	23
15	Marjorie	285	–	29
16	Beverly	279	↑5	46
17	Virginia	277	↓5	9
18	Darlene	263	↓2	>100
19	Marilyn	254	↑1	38
20	Jean	232	↓2	12
21	Evelyn	217	↓2	17
22	Joyce	189	↑2	30
23	Alice	181	–	19
24	Frances	178	↑1	13
25	Mildred	168	↓3	15
26	Dolores	167	↑4	20
27	Arlene	165	↓1	>100
28	Bonnie	162	↓1	89
29	Maxine	154	↓1	84
30	Joan	138	↑1	27
31	Geraldine	133	↑12	50
32	Elizabeth	129	↑1	14
33	Anna	128	↓4	16
34	Delores	128	new	94
35	Marian	120	↓1	71
36	Wilma	119	↑5	69
37	Wanda	110	–	63
38	Rose	108	↑12	24
39	Gladys	104	↑5	41
40	June	104	new	44
41	Elaine	99	↓2	68
42	Martha	97	↑4	22
43	Florence	96	↓7	32
44	Carol	95	new	77
45	Bernice	94	new	53
46	Kathryn	94	new	99
47	Eleanor	93	new	36
48	Pauline	93	new	48
49	Audrey	91	↓11	60
50	Esther	91	↓1	66

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Robert	1,405	–	1
2	Donald	977	–	7
3	John	878	–	2
4	Richard	838	↑1	6
5	James	714	↑1	3
6	William	686	↓2	4
7	Charles	493	–	5
8	Kenneth	389	↑1	17
9	Harold	373	↓1	14
10	Paul	313	↑1	13
11	George	308	↑1	8
12	Jack	302	↓2	15
13	Dale	231	↑4	75
14	Raymond	227	↓1	16
15	Marvin	208	↑5	46
16	Wayne	207	↑3	69
17	Edward	206	↓2	10
18	Eugene	204	↓4	20
19	Gerald	203	↓3	41
20	Thomas	174	↓2	11
21	David	147	↑5	19
22	Dean	147	↑11	>100
23	Joseph	145	↑1	9
24	Ralph	144	↓2	24
25	Ronald	142	↑3	50
26	Francis	141	↑16	40
27	Earl	139	↓2	37
28	Carl	136	↓5	28
29	Howard	135	↓8	31
30	Duane	133	↑5	>100
31	Walter	132	↑3	18
32	Roger	130	↑7	71
33	Melvin	128	↑3	48
34	Arthur	124	↓5	22
35	Gene	124	↑13	62
36	Norman	124	↑4	39
37	Leonard	116	↑9	42
38	Harry	113	↓11	26
39	Vernon	112	↑2	70
40	Lawrence	109	↓2	38
41	Herbert	108	new	25
42	Frank	105	↓5	12
43	Russell	105	↓12	55
44	Keith	103	new	>100
45	Glenn	102	↑5	76
46	Lloyd	102	↓16	59
47	Bernard	98	new	49
48	Clarence	98	↓16	35
49	Bob	97	new	95
50	Louis	90	new	32

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