Baby names in Iowa in the 1940s

In Iowa in the 1940s the most given names were James (11,870 boys) and Mary (12,216 girls), of 474,287 births recorded.

1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Babies SSA recorded in Iowa each year, the 1940s shaded

Births under names given to 5 or more babies of one sex in the state that year.

Iowa, 1940-1949: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in Iowa, 1940s

Girls, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	Mary	12,216
2	Linda	11,769
3	Sharon	6,383
4	Barbara	6,131
5	Karen	6,005
6	Patricia	5,911
7	Sandra	5,538
8	Carol	5,508
9	Judy	5,223
10	Nancy	5,081
11	Judith	4,536
12	Susan	4,366
13	Donna	3,958
14	Janet	3,632
15	Janice	3,513
16	Connie	2,961
17	Marilyn	2,948
18	Joyce	2,892
19	Carolyn	2,815
20	Shirley	2,675

Boys, 1940-1949
#	Name	Births
1	James	11,870
2	Robert	11,660
3	John	10,557
4	Richard	9,643
5	David	9,513
6	Larry	8,707
7	Gary	7,760
8	Ronald	7,071
9	Dennis	7,058
10	Michael	6,635
11	William	6,378
12	Donald	5,454
13	Thomas	5,441
14	Charles	4,357
15	Jerry	4,201
16	Kenneth	3,986
17	Roger	3,875
18	Steven	3,291
19	Paul	2,983
20	Terry	2,745

Births summed over 1940-1949, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Iowa in the 1940s

Each figure is the name’s births in the state in the decade against the births its national share, year by year, would predict (names with at least 100 births in the state).

Girls

Marlys · 9.3×Jolene · 6.2×Lavonne · 5.6×Madonna · 5.4×Karla · 4.3×Sheryl · 4.3×

Boys

Merlyn · 9.1×Laverne · 6.6×Merlin · 5.5×Darwin · 5.3×Harlan · 5.2×Lavern · 4.6×

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1940-1949.

More about names in Iowa

The 1940s across the U.S.The most given names of the decade nationally.
Iowa: 2025 and every year since 1910The state’s top names now and its number ones by year.
Iowa in the 1950sThe next decade in the state.
The top names of 1940The first year of the decade, nationally.
Every state’s most given namesEach state since 1910.
Look up any nameIts rank, births since 1880 and the people alive with it.

Back to Iowa: 2025 and every year since 1910