Popular baby names in Iowa, 1931

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1931 were Mary for girls (1,118 babies) and Robert for boys (1,351). Social Security records list 37,266 babies born in Iowa in 1931 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1931

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

Girls

Madonna: 23 babies, 10.1× the national rate
Lavonne: 66 babies, 9.6× the national rate
Marlys: 38 babies, 8× the national rate
Darlene: 247 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Ladonna: 18 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Ardis: 19 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Ardith: 17 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Colleen: 59 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Gretchen: 15 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Margery: 23 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Boys

Marlyn: 19 babies, 12.1× the national rate
Arlo: 15 babies, 11× the national rate
Merlyn: 24 babies, 10.3× the national rate
Daryl: 23 babies, 10.2× the national rate
Dewayne: 21 babies, 8.8× the national rate
Lavern: 30 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Merlin: 43 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Keith: 143 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Eldon: 57 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Darwin: 26 babies, 5.5× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1931

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Mary	1,118	–	1
2	Betty	758	–	2
3	Shirley	509	↑1	9
4	Marilyn	476	↑2	19
5	Dorothy	456	↓2	3
6	Donna	450	↑1	32
7	Patricia	429	↓2	8
8	Barbara	399	↑1	4
9	Beverly	366	↑1	31
10	Joan	322	↑6	5
11	Margaret	316	↑6	7
12	Norma	312	↑2	22
13	Helen	306	↓5	6
14	Phyllis	304	↓2	29
15	Lois	296	↓4	20
16	Doris	262	↓1	10
17	Darlene	247	↑1	>100
18	Joyce	232	↑5	15
19	Virginia	225	–	12
20	Ruth	219	↓7	11
21	Bonnie	189	↑6	73
22	Marjorie	187	↓2	34
23	Delores	185	↓1	58
24	Jean	183	↓3	13
25	Evelyn	180	↓1	24
26	Dolores	171	↓1	14
27	Alice	170	↓1	21
28	Frances	145	–	18
29	Joann	144	↑8	90
30	Nancy	138	↑9	17
31	Elizabeth	137	↑9	16
32	Joanne	129	↑13	68
33	Arlene	123	–	77
34	Gloria	119	↑7	23
35	Carol	118	↓6	46
36	Elaine	114	↓1	72
37	Janet	113	new	45
38	Charlotte	105	↑11	75
39	Wanda	104	↑4	54
40	Maxine	102	↑7	>100
41	Anna	98	↓10	25
42	Mildred	98	↓12	26
43	Carolyn	94	new	60
44	Rose	94	↓10	30
45	Janice	89	new	>100
46	Martha	88	–	28
47	Wilma	87	↓15	69
48	Geraldine	86	↓10	38
49	Lorraine	84	↑1	49
50	Marian	84	↓6	84

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Robert	1,351	–	1
2	Donald	1,029	–	7
3	Richard	910	–	5
4	James	775	↑1	2
5	John	760	↓1	3
6	William	601	–	4
7	Charles	458	–	6
8	Kenneth	376	–	14
9	Harold	308	–	18
10	Jack	305	–	15
11	Paul	267	↑1	12
12	George	262	↓1	8
13	Gerald	255	↑2	26
14	Thomas	227	↑5	10
15	Dale	222	↓2	62
16	Ronald	217	↑4	27
17	Marvin	205	–	45
18	Raymond	204	↓2	17
19	David	203	↓1	13
20	Roger	195	↑6	53
21	Edward	181	–	11
22	Eugene	174	↓8	21
23	Duane	169	–	>100
24	Wayne	165	↓2	58
25	Howard	147	↑3	34
26	Jerry	145	↑6	43
27	Keith	143	↑7	>100
28	Norman	138	↑1	36
29	Joseph	136	↓4	9
30	Dean	128	↓6	>100
31	Carl	127	↑6	28
32	Don	126	↑17	59
33	Ralph	125	↓6	25
34	Lawrence	112	↑11	38
35	Earl	111	↓5	40
36	Harry	106	↑4	30
37	Arthur	104	↑6	23
38	Leroy	100	↑12	52
39	Clarence	99	↑5	39
40	Bill	98	new	57
41	Larry	98	new	88
42	Francis	97	↑6	42
43	Gene	96	new	64
44	Melvin	96	↓11	51
45	Frank	95	↑2	16
46	Leo	95	↓7	69
47	Vernon	93	↓11	74
48	Stanley	91	new	49
49	Lloyd	88	↓14	68
50	Walter	87	↓19	20

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