What baby names are unique to Iowa?

Unkown is the name most distinctive to Iowa, given about 65 times more often there than in the United States as a whole. Loras, Kinnick and Janaan follow.

How is a distinctive name measured?

Each name's share of births in Iowa is compared with its share nationally. The multiplier shown is the conservative low end of that ratio, so a name carried by a handful of births cannot outrank one carried by hundreds.

Name Legacy

Names unique to Iowa

The most distinctive Iowa baby names, 1910–2025

These are the names given far more often in Iowa than anywhere else in the country, across the whole record from 1910 to 2025. Unkown leads: it is given about 65× more often here than across the United States as a whole.

The multiplier compares each name's share of Iowa births with its share nationally, and reports the conservative low end of that comparison — so a name carried by a handful of births cannot outrank one carried by hundreds.

Across the whole record, 1910–2025

#	Name	Births	vs national
1	Unkown	90	65×
2	Loras	191	60×
3	Kinnick	366	53×
4	Janaan	26	35×
5	Marlys	1,444	13×
6	Cael	552	11×
7	Ivanelle	13	11×
8	Lavonne	1,894	9×
9	Verle	260	9×
10	Lafaun	5	8×
11	Merlyn	552	8×
12	Burdette	198	8×
13	Darlys	43	8×
14	Merlin	1,331	7×
15	Madonna	774	6×
16	Verlyn	166	6×
17	Luverne	164	6×
18	Ferne	308	6×
19	Gerrit	225	6×
20	Lyle	4,192	6×
21	Eldon	1,789	5×
22	Verla	428	5×
23	Ardith	413	5×
24	Carver	241	5×
25	Dick	1,920	5×
26	Joleen	464	5×
27	Marvel	409	5×
28	Merle	2,640	5×
29	Harlan	1,652	5×
30	Ardis	470	5×
31	Cletus	465	5×
32	Darwin	1,491	4×
33	Berniece	521	4×
34	Luann	868	4×
35	Treyton	192	4×
36	Duane	6,095	4×
37	Leota	466	4×
38	Vern	593	4×
39	Arlys	71	4×
40	Lavern	873	4×

Right now, in 2025

A different list from the one above, and not a contradiction: these are the names distinctive to Iowa in a single recent year rather than across the whole record.

Name	Births	vs national
Carver	15	15×
Arlow	5	13×
Dorcas	5	13×
Furaha	5	13×
Kipton	6	8×
Bennet	8	7×
Layken	6	7×
Bauer	5	7×
Bodin	5	7×
Marnie	6	6×

Decade by decade

The single most distinctive name of each decade.

Decade	Name	vs national
1910s	Lavonne	11×
1920s	Loras	19×
1930s	Loras	28×
1940s	Loras	46×
1950s	Loras	38×
1960s	Loras	35×
1970s	Darci	4×
1980s	Abby	5×
1990s	Unkown	93×
2000s	Kinnick	84×
2010s	Kinnick	85×
2020s	Kinnick	30×

Explore further

See Iowa on the interactive map

Names unique to other states

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