Name Legacy

Baby names in Iowa, 1980s

1980–1989 · 372,166 recorded births

Matthew was the most common name given in Iowa across the 1980s, with 6,933 births in the decade. The state recorded 372,166 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Iowa in the 1980s

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
Abby663
Renae132
Abbie134
Tanner281
Jill1,022
Darci76
Lucas1,055
Trent281

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Matthew6,933
#2Michael6,617
#3Joshua6,094
#4Jessica5,836
#5Amanda5,637
#6Jennifer5,594
#7Ryan5,105
#8Christopher5,025
#9Andrew4,987
#10Ashley4,888
#11Justin4,451
#12Nicholas4,416
#13Adam4,400
#14Sarah4,348
#15Daniel3,665
#16Jason3,595
#17David3,464
#18Joseph3,455
#19Megan3,347
#20Jacob3,148
#21Nicole3,115
#22Benjamin3,090
#23Brandon3,003
#24Emily2,964
#25Eric2,957

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