Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2017 & 2018

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

I publish a set of name rankings every week, but I don’t post many U.S. state-released rankings anymore. Why? Because the SSA’s yearly dataset always includes a state-by-state breakdown, and the SSA’s data tends to be basically equivalent to what each state releases.

Except for…Iowa! I totally forgot last year to check up on Iowa, the only state I know of to release full sets of baby name data. (Bravo, Iowa!) The last Iowa rankings I posted were for 2016, so, in this post, to catch up, I’ll be covering two years at once.

First up, 2017.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2017 were Emma and Oliver.

Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names, 2017

  1. Emma, 175 baby girls
  2. Harper, 172
  3. Olivia, 168
  4. Evelyn, 158
  5. Charlotte, 157
  6. Ava, 139
  7. Amelia & Nora, tied, 127 each
  8. Sophia, 94
  9. Scarlett, 92
  10. Elizabeth, 90

Boy Names, 2017

  1. Oliver, 219 baby boys
  2. Henry, 181
  3. Liam, 179
  4. Lincoln, 160
  5. William, 155
  6. Owen & Wyatt, tied, 151 each
  7. Noah, 135
  8. James, 129
  9. Logan, 124
  10. Benjamin, 118

In the girls’ top 10, Scarlett and Elizabeth replaced Addison and Grace. (The SSA’s data for 2017 was similar, but had Harper in first place.)

In the boys’ top 10, James and Logan replaced Jackson.

And here are some of the names bestowed just once in Iowa in 2017:

Unique Girl Names, 2017Unique Boy Names, 2017
Adelheid Brunnhilde, Axsys, Bergamot, Calladee, Dellaveene, Exaucee Nitocris, Focus, Graxceldie, Hawthorne, Iowa, Ixamara, Jeggsley, Kalaivani, Lahpoe, MellowBelle, Nyantut, Onolinne, Prairie, Prynne, Quebella, Rieslyn, Shelter, Tracieux, Vjosa, Wave, Yatzlimar, ZuzuAknowlegde, Bray Ole, Carefree, Dockerty, Dovahkiin, Essolabina, Frantzley, Gamachis, Helgenberger, Igneous, Jake Lasi Flex, Kellz, Lyrics, Mattavion, Novum, Oracle, Pradyumna, Quintelle, Rinidi, Salix, Sundayboy, Thwin, Tritium, Vindrix, Wattney, Yaeger, Zollie

Possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

Now, on to 2018…

The most popular baby names in the state in 2018 were Evelyn and Oliver. Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names, 2018

  1. Evelyn, 167 baby girls
  2. Harper, 158
  3. Charlotte, 155
  4. Emma, 153
  5. Olivia, 142
  6. Amelia, 126
  7. Ava, 119
  8. Sophia, 113
  9. Nora, 106
  10. Isabella, 103

Boy Names, 2018

  1. Oliver, 183 baby boys
  2. Henry, 176
  3. Liam, 174
  4. William, 170
  5. Owen, 161
  6. Wyatt, 143
  7. Noah, 137
  8. Lincoln, 130
  9. Jackson, 124
  10. Hudson, 120

In the girls’ top 10, Isabella replaced Scarlett and Elizabeth. (Yet again: the SSA’s rankings were similar, but had Harper in first place.)

In the boys’ top 10, Jackson and Hudson replaced James, Logan, and Benjamin.

And here are some of the names bestowed just once in Iowa in 2018:

Unique Girl Names, 2018Unique Boy Names, 2018
Avocent, Brklyn, Callalily, Currence, Dacheline, Emcee, Ever-After, Frisquette, Granuaile, Hallow, Hladini, Izanami, Jariahlexa, Kelaviene, Lotus Lou, Mighty, Neshbly, Opry, Plu, Qori, Rexha, Samadhi, Sinamika, Tamber, Ventica, Wildly, Ylsy, Ziggy-GreyActs Gabriel, Awnry, Braveheart, Corvinus, Drinian, Evenir, Festo, Flynnigan, Gypsum, Him-Henry, Isidore, Jongroor, Kipden, Kladge, Liamko, Mastajabu, Nuke, Ordie, Paddington, Questan, Rolex, Safe Haven, Thrusher, Vhett, Wrecker, Ychiari, Zallard, Zohnti

Possible explanations/associations for some of the above:

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal, frisquette – Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

5 thoughts on “Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2017 & 2018

  1. I wish little Aknowlegde’s parents had used spellcheck. That poor kid. Although Typo might be a cool nickname.

  2. @Ellyn – I double-checked that spelling, too…”Aknowlegde” really is how it appears in the data.

    @Clare – Could certainly have be inspired by the sound of her name. (I think it’s just “Lavigne” tho…?) The closest thing I can find in the SSA data is Delavina.

  3. Oh I see! She actually makes a lot of sense as an influence. (You are cooler than me — I never would have thought of her!)

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