Girls' name · since 1890
Iowa
79 babies named Iowa in U.S. Social Security records since 1890, with the highest year being 1899. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #29,746 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 79
- born since 1890
- 1910s
- peak decade
Iowa is not among the current top-ranked girls names; 79 have been recorded since 1890.
Iowa has 79 recorded births among girls since 1890, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, busiest in the 1910s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1890 to 1921.
- #29,746 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 79 born since 1890
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Iowa ranks #29,746 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 79 born since 1890, peaking in the 1910s.
- #29,746 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 79
- born since 1890
- 1910s
- peak decade
Iowa's 79 recorded births place it above 58.75% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Iowa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Iowa splits its recorded history at 1912: 53% of all births land in the more recent half, 47% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1896 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1899 peak of 8 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Iowa popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1890–1921
- Peak year (1899)
- 8
- Annual births at peak, across 32 years of records
Iowa by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (37 births, 47% of the file).
1910s was Iowa's strongest decade.
37 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 47% of all-time use.
Iowa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s
1890s
25 births
- 1900s 12
1900s
12 births
- 1910s
1910s
37 births
- 1920s 5
1920s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 37 births (47% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Iowa? ▼
Where does Iowa sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Iowa most popular? ▼
How long has the name Iowa been used? ▼
What to do with Iowa's data
- Iowa's decade-level peak was the 1910s (37 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1920s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Iowa
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Iowa: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1899)
Similar record span (~31 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, 1890–1921 (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 Iowa 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.