Name Legacy

Baby names in Iowa, 1970s

1970–1979 · 387,424 recorded births

Jennifer was the most common name given in Iowa across the 1970s, with 9,695 births in the decade. The state recorded 387,424 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Iowa in the 1970s

Names given far more often here than nationally in these years. The multiplier is conservative — it is the low end of the plausible range, so a name carried by a handful of births does not outrank one carried by hundreds.

NameBirthsvs national
Darci119
Kory156
Bradly92
Chad5,241
Renae148
Trent309
Darin403
Cory1,236

Top 25 in the 1970s

RankNameBirths
#1Jennifer9,695
#2Jason8,593
#3Michael8,255
#4Matthew6,436
#5Amy5,838
#6Brian5,633
#7Christopher5,615
#8Chad5,241
#9David5,014
#10Angela4,716
#11James4,379
#12Scott4,183
#13John4,155
#14Ryan4,073
#15Michelle4,051
#16Heather4,002
#17Melissa3,997
#18Robert3,854
#19Jeffrey3,648
#20Daniel3,570
#21Eric3,469
#22Jeremy3,389
#23Lisa3,208
#24Joshua3,171
#25Mark3,020

Other decades in Iowa

All Iowa names, 2025

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org