Baby names in Iowa in the 1950s

In Iowa in the 1950s the most given names were David (14,679 boys) and Mary (11,251 girls), of 589,668 births recorded.

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

Babies SSA recorded in Iowa each year, the 1950s shaded

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

Iowa, 1950-1959: SSA state baby-name file, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s state data.

The top names in Iowa, 1950s

Girls, 1950-1959
#	Name	Births
1	Mary	11,251
2	Linda	8,951
3	Susan	7,988
4	Debra	7,960
5	Patricia	6,019
6	Barbara	5,839
7	Nancy	5,635
8	Cynthia	5,067
9	Karen	5,018
10	Deborah	4,824
11	Pamela	4,691
12	Diane	4,474
13	Sandra	4,160
14	Julie	4,061
15	Carol	4,039
16	Kathleen	3,575
17	Janet	3,224
18	Rebecca	3,216
19	Kathy	3,167
20	Connie	3,124

Boys, 1950-1959
#	Name	Births
1	David	14,679
2	Michael	13,925
3	James	11,381
4	John	10,659
5	Robert	10,596
6	Steven	10,514
7	Mark	9,064
8	Richard	8,323
9	Thomas	7,784
10	Dennis	6,977
11	William	6,936
12	Gary	6,282
13	Daniel	5,160
14	Douglas	4,825
15	Ronald	4,794
16	Kevin	4,695
17	Timothy	4,617
18	Larry	4,435
19	Randy	4,431
20	Jeffrey	4,431

Births summed over 1950-1959, per sex.

The names most over-represented in Iowa in the 1950s

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 · 9.1×Joleen · 8.2×Jolene · 7.0×Leann · 4.5×Deann · 4.3×Kristy · 4.1×

Boys

Merlin · 6.2×Darwin · 5.7×Harlan · 4.2×Merle · 4.2×Galen · 3.9×Lyle · 3.7×

Ratios: observed over predicted births, 1950-1959.

More about names in Iowa

The 1950s 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 1960sThe next decade in the state.
The top names of 1950The 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