Did you know that Iowa is the only U.S. state bordered by two navigable rivers (i.e., rivers used for interstate commerce)? Its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River, and its western border is formed by the Missouri River (for the most part).
Last year, the state’s most popular baby names were Olivia and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
Here are Iowa’s top 20 girl names and top 20+ boy names of 2022:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 173 baby girls
- Charlotte, 155
- Ava, 130
- Emma, 122
- Amelia, 118
- Evelyn, 114
- Harper, 109
- Eleanor, 105
- Hazel, 94
- Nora, 93
- Scarlett, 91
- Ellie, 89
- Sophia, 85
- Avery, 84
- Ivy, 83
- Violet, 82
- Isabella, 78
- Grace, 74 (tie)
- Willow, 74 (tie)
- Aurora, 67
Boy Names
- Oliver, 198 baby boys
- Liam, 180
- Theodore, 163
- Henry, 156
- William, 127
- Leo, 122
- Hudson, 121
- Jack, 119 (tie)
- Owen, 119 (tie)
- James, 118
- Brooks, 115
- Asher, 112
- Wyatt, 108
- Elijah, 107
- Maverick, 101
- Noah, 98
- Bennett, 90 (tie)
- Cooper, 90 (tie)
- Jackson, 88
- Lincoln, 87 (tie)
- Lucas, 87 (tie)
The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are largely (though not exactly) the same.
Now for the fun part — unique names!
In total, 3,680 (67%) of the girl names and 2,801 (58%) of the boy names bestowed in Iowa last year were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names of 2022:
| Unique girl names | Unique boy names |
| Alini, Brillith, Clovianna, Demri, Eleen, Fienne, Giantra, Hinata, Idara, Jimmilah, Ketsia, Lithena, Meridia, Nashley, Prinsha, Quinlyn, Rencalina, Simrat, Tauren, Uniti, Velzy, Weaver, Xella, Yusali, Zevlyn | Ackley, Berrick, Clandson, Dazin, Eitan, Faron, Grayler, Hemby, Indie, Jefrin, Kindness, Lijah, Maiti, Noriel, Olten, Percy, Quineal, Raul, Solanus, Trendale, Ukiyo, Vaylor, Westlan, Xanthos, Yannick, Zario |
Some of the single-use noun-names I spotted were Fjord (boy), Badger (boy), Minnow (girl), Sparrow (girl), Lithium (boy), and Paprika (girl).
I also noticed the name Caladan (boy), which was likely inspired by the planet Caladan from the movie Dune: Part One, which was released in late 2021.
Speaking of 2021…here’s a link to Iowa’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Sources: Baby Names – Iowa Health & Human Services, Iowa – Wikipedia, Iowa’s Waterway System – Iowa DOT
Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)
