Girls' name · since 1880
Iola
9,659 babies named Iola in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,712 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,940 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 9,659
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Iola currently ranks #11940 among girls' names in America, with 9,659 babies recorded since 1880.
Iola has 9,659 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11940 as of the latest data, more common than 31% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,712 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #11,940 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 9,659 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Iola ranks #1,712 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,940 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 9,659 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,712 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,940 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 9,659
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Iola's 9,659 recorded births place it above 97.63% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
39 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Alabama.
How Iola compares
9,659 Top 10% higher than 90% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Iola's all-time total is 26x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Iola | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 9,659 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 368 | 21 | 19,840 |
Iola's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Iola's full recorded timeline at 1942, 14% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 86% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1968, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 368 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Iola popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 368
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Iola by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (2,546 births, 26% of the file).
1920s was Iola's strongest decade.
2,546 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 26% of all-time use.
Iola births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 233
1880s
233 births
- 1890s 471
1890s
471 births
- 1900s 953
1900s
953 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,525 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,546 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,367 births
- 1940s 692
1940s
692 births
- 1950s 437
1950s
437 births
- 1960s 164
1960s
164 births
- 1970s 79
1970s
79 births
- 1980s 40
1980s
40 births
- 2000s 19
2000s
19 births
- 2010s 78
2010s
78 births
- 2020s 55
2020s
55 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 2,546 births (26% of all-time use).
How Iola compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Iola's total volume
Iola by state
Where Iola concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Alabama | | 435 | 4.5% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 367 | 3.8% |
| #3 | Texas | | 334 | 3.5% |
| #4 | Mississippi | | 304 | 3.1% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 296 | 3.1% |
| #6 | Iowa | | 294 | 3.0% |
| #7 | South Carolina | | 270 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Louisiana | | 247 | 2.6% |
435 of 9,659 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 39 reporting states.
Iola appears in 39 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Iola? ▼
Where does Iola sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Iola most popular? ▼
Where is Iola most popular? ▼
How long has the name Iola been used? ▼
What names are similar to Iola? ▼
What to do with Iola's data
- Iola's decade-level peak was the 1920s (2,546 total births); usage has since declined to 55 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Alabama records the most Iolas (435 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Alabama names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Iola
Nearby Names Like Iola
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Iola
Compare Iola side by side: Iola vs Iolana Iola vs Iolani Iola vs Iolanda
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Iola
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Iola: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Iola draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.