In September of 2004, identical twin boys were born to Iowa City couple Brian and Amy Boelk, who met while attending the University of Iowa.
The boys’ names?
Kinnick and Carver — after the school’s Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Kinnick Stadium was named after Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick, while Carver-Hawkeye Arena was named (in part) after Iowa philanthropist Roy J. Carver.
The name Kinnick first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2004 — the year the twins were born, curiously. (Did news of their names have an influence on other expectant parents…?)
Unsurprisingly, most of the usage so far has been in the state of Iowa:
| Boys named Kinnick, U.S. | Boys named Kinnick, Iowa | |
| 2021 | 16 | 11 (69%) |
| 2020 | 23 | 14 (61%) |
| 2019 | 22 | 14 (64%) |
| 2018 | 18 | 10 (56%) |
| 2017 | 29 | 19 (66%) |
| 2016 | 37 | 25 (68%) |
| 2015 | 34 | 28 (82%) |
| 2014 | 36 | 25 (69%) |
| 2013 | 23 | 16 (70%) |
| 2012 | 35 | 28 (80%) |
| 2011 | 49 | 39 (80%) |
| 2010 | 40 | 36 (90%) |
| 2009 | 29 | 24 (83%) |
| 2008 | 22 | 17 (77%) |
| 2007 | 27 | 25 (93%) |
| 2006 | 21 | 16 (76%) |
| 2005 | 10 | 7 (70%) |
| 2004 | 8* | 7* (88%) |
Which of the two names, Kinnick or Carver, do you like more?
Source: “Twins Named after Hawkeye Buildings.” Telegraph-Herald 17 Sep. 2004: 2A.
Image: Adapted from New Meadowlands Stadium: Mezz Corner (cropped) by section215 under CC BY 2.0.
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