Total births
79
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.
- 79
- total births
- 1890–1921
- years on record
- 1910s
- peak decade
- 47%
- born in that 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.
- 79 total births
- 1890–1921 years on record
- 1910s peak decade
- 47% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
79 girls have been named Iowa since 1890, peaking in the 1910s, last recorded in 1921.
- 79
- total births
- 1890–1921
- years on record
- 1910s
- peak decade
- 47%
- born in that decade
1910s
Peak decade
47% of everyone ever named Iowa was born in this single decade.
1899
Single peak year
8 babies were named Iowa in 1899 - its busiest year on record.
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 at a glance
Last recorded 1921Peak year
1899
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1890
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
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
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? ▼
Since 1890, Social Security records show 79 babies named Iowa. The most recent recorded year was 1921. Its busiest year on record was 1899, with 8 births.
When was Iowa most popular? ▼
Iowa was most popular in the 1910s decade with 37 total births. The single peak year was 1899.
How long has the name Iowa been used? ▼
Records for Iowa go back to 1890, giving 32 years of history through 1921.
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.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
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
Data Sources
Data as of June 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).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Iowa: Baby Name Since 1890 - 79 Births, Peak 1899." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/iowa. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 June 2026.