Popular baby names in Iowa, 1940

The most popular baby names in Iowa in 1940 were Mary for girls (1,099 babies) and Robert for boys (1,095). Robert ranked #2 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 40,762 babies born in Iowa in 1940 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Iowa in 1940

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

Girls

Sheryl: 33 babies, 12.3× the national rate
Marlys: 53 babies, 10.4× the national rate
Karon: 17 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Lavonne: 46 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Madonna: 18 babies, 7.6× the national rate
Karla: 15 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Karen: 718 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Ladonna: 16 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Cheryl: 26 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Jolene: 15 babies, 4.7× the national rate

Boys

Laverne: 31 babies, 7.4× the national rate
Merlin: 28 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Darwin: 33 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Harlan: 29 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Merle: 42 babies, 5× the national rate
Dean: 105 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Lavern: 15 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Dwayne: 19 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Duane: 112 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Dick: 72 babies, 4.4× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Iowa, 1940

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Mary	1,099	–	1
2	Karen	718	–	34
3	Sharon	673	↑2	17
4	Judith	578	↑3	4
5	Patricia	572	↓2	3
6	Sandra	547	↑2	10
7	Carol	523	↓1	6
8	Barbara	508	↓4	2
9	Judy	473	↑7	16
10	Janice	423	↑5	22
11	Nancy	407	↑1	7
12	Linda	389	↑9	8
13	Donna	384	↓2	23
14	Marilyn	355	↓1	25
15	Shirley	335	↓6	9
16	Janet	330	↑1	19
17	Joyce	320	↓3	13
18	Betty	290	↓8	5
19	Carolyn	263	↑1	15
20	Beverly	258	↓2	27
21	Margaret	226	↑1	11
22	Joan	223	↓3	14
23	Dorothy	198	↑2	12
24	Jean	194	↑11	29
25	Phyllis	185	↑1	33
26	Ruth	183	↓2	24
27	Lois	173	↑3	38
28	Kay	158	↓5	77
29	Bonnie	156	↑10	39
30	Susan	151	↑7	36
31	Virginia	138	↑1	21
32	Helen	136	↓1	18
33	Marlene	128	↓4	80
34	Jane	122	↑2	47
35	Joann	118	↓7	63
36	Kathleen	118	↑14	40
37	Carole	117	↑9	49
38	Connie	117	↑4	88
39	Darlene	112	↓12	79
40	Doris	112	–	31
41	Norma	109	↓8	43
42	Alice	107	↓1	32
43	Elaine	105	↑4	50
44	Elizabeth	104	↓10	20
45	Marjorie	98	↓2	64
46	Ann	97	new	35
47	Diane	96	↑2	45
48	Sally	94	↓10	61
49	Charlotte	89	new	55
50	Gloria	89	new	30

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1939	US rank
1	Robert	1,095	–	2
2	James	1,077	↑1	1
3	Larry	1,076	↓1	13
4	Richard	932	–	5
5	John	879	–	3
6	Gary	719	↑2	19
7	David	682	↑3	7
8	Ronald	671	↓2	10
9	Donald	585	↓2	9
10	William	536	↓1	4
11	Jerry	513	–	14
12	Charles	427	–	6
13	Dennis	391	↑2	24
14	Kenneth	372	–	15
15	Thomas	359	↑1	8
16	Roger	358	↓3	26
17	Michael	267	↑2	18
18	Gerald	264	↓1	21
19	Paul	258	↓1	17
20	George	183	↑1	11
21	Harold	182	↑1	23
22	Dale	170	↑2	57
23	Wayne	169	↑4	39
24	Jack	162	↓4	29
25	Raymond	152	↑3	22
26	Edward	141	–	16
27	Joseph	136	↓2	12
28	Terry	131	↑1	73
29	Jim	127	↑1	78
30	Marvin	123	↓7	63
31	Bill	118	↑2	67
32	Duane	112	↑2	>100
33	Lawrence	110	↑5	36
34	Dean	105	↑2	>100
35	Eugene	105	–	38
36	Keith	103	↓5	>100
37	Leroy	98	new	66
38	Don	94	↓6	62
39	Norman	93	↓2	48
40	Darrell	91	↑2	>100
41	Douglas	91	↓1	56
42	Ralph	90	new	37
43	Tom	89	↑7	92
44	Frank	88	↓3	20
45	Fred	86	↓2	40
46	Ronnie	86	↑3	>100
47	Russell	86	–	72
48	Stanley	83	new	59
49	Allen	80	new	71
50	Carl	79	↓11	32

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