Popular baby names in Iowa, 1932

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1932 were Mary for girls (1,077 babies) and Robert for boys (1,272). Social Security records list 36,040 babies born in Iowa in 1932 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1932

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

Girls

Marlys: 43 babies, 10.8× the national rate
Lavonne: 71 babies, 10.2× the national rate
Marvel: 15 babies, 8.7× the national rate
Madonna: 19 babies, 8.4× the national rate
Lavon: 18 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Darlene: 227 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Ardis: 20 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Gretchen: 19 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Deloris: 67 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Donna: 513 babies, 4.2× the national rate

Boys

Merlyn: 27 babies, 14.2× the national rate
Arlo: 17 babies, 12.6× the national rate
Daryl: 25 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Donovan: 17 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Cletus: 21 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Darwin: 36 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Merrill: 28 babies, 6.6× the national rate
Harlan: 50 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Laverne: 41 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Dwayne: 18 babies, 6.3× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1932

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1931	US rank
1	Mary	1,077	–	1
2	Betty	707	–	2
3	Donna	513	↑3	29
4	Marilyn	506	–	16
5	Shirley	478	↓2	9
6	Barbara	462	↑2	3
7	Patricia	454	–	6
8	Beverly	432	↑1	28
9	Dorothy	399	↓4	4
10	Joan	355	–	5
11	Norma	292	↑1	22
12	Ruth	292	↑8	11
13	Lois	291	↑2	20
14	Margaret	285	↓3	7
15	Joyce	269	↑3	12
16	Phyllis	268	↓2	30
17	Helen	249	↓4	8
18	Darlene	227	↓1	>100
19	Doris	214	↓3	10
20	Delores	202	↑3	56
21	Marjorie	189	↑1	37
22	Virginia	189	↓3	14
23	Nancy	186	↑7	13
24	Jean	184	–	15
25	Bonnie	176	↓4	64
26	Alice	174	↑1	21
27	Joann	168	↑2	79
28	Carol	167	↑7	32
29	Dolores	158	↓3	18
30	Evelyn	155	↓5	23
31	Janet	129	↑6	35
32	Frances	123	↓4	19
33	Joanne	113	↓1	62
34	Gloria	111	–	25
35	Arlene	109	↓2	80
36	Mildred	109	↑6	26
37	Elizabeth	108	↓6	17
38	Marlene	108	new	78
39	Janice	99	↑6	94
40	Anna	94	↑1	24
41	Wilma	94	↑6	65
42	Carolyn	92	↑1	46
43	Geraldine	88	↑5	42
44	Marian	87	↑6	86
45	Rose	85	↓1	33
46	Martha	83	–	27
47	June	79	new	44
48	Maxine	77	↓8	>100
49	Rita	76	new	53
50	Charlotte	75	↓12	74

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1931	US rank
1	Robert	1,272	–	1
2	Donald	960	–	7
3	Richard	901	–	5
4	James	820	–	2
5	John	789	–	3
6	William	552	–	4
7	Charles	479	–	6
8	Kenneth	319	–	14
9	Ronald	307	↑7	16
10	Harold	283	↓1	18
11	Jack	271	↓1	17
12	George	254	–	8
13	Paul	253	↓2	13
14	Gerald	214	↓1	24
15	Thomas	206	↓1	10
16	Raymond	201	↑2	19
17	David	192	↑2	12
18	Wayne	187	↑6	57
19	Marvin	180	↓2	46
20	Dale	176	↓5	61
21	Eugene	173	↑1	22
22	Duane	167	↑1	>100
23	Jerry	161	↑3	34
24	Roger	159	↓4	50
25	Joseph	157	↑4	9
26	Edward	153	↓5	11
27	Norman	142	↑1	37
28	Dean	140	↑2	>100
29	Bill	123	↑11	58
30	Don	123	↑2	55
31	Ralph	117	↑2	27
32	Carl	116	↓1	28
33	Howard	115	↓8	36
34	Keith	110	↓7	>100
35	Frank	109	↑10	15
36	Gene	109	↑7	64
37	Larry	108	↑4	65
38	Russell	105	new	63
39	Earl	102	↓4	41
40	Lyle	101	new	>100
41	Darrell	94	new	>100
42	Melvin	93	↑2	51
43	Arthur	92	↓6	25
44	Lawrence	92	↓10	35
45	Walter	91	↑5	21
46	Francis	87	↓4	43
47	Leo	87	↓1	74
48	Bob	84	new	79
49	Harry	83	↓13	32
50	Billy	82	new	20

← Iowa 1931 Iowa: all years · US 1932 Iowa 1933 →