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Top baby names of the 1970s

Ten birth years · Jennifer · Michael lead

The 100 most-chosen girl and boy names in the US in the 1970s, from official Social Security birth records. Every name links to its full history and popularity chart. Then see which names rose and fell since and what is climbing now.

1960s1980sCompare two names
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The 1970s lists

Girls100

  1. 1Jennifer581,729
  2. 2Amy268,994
  3. 3Melissa253,267
  4. 4Michelle249,130
  5. 5Kimberly229,097
  6. 6Lisa228,690
  7. 7Angela225,262
  8. 8Heather203,902
  9. 9Stephanie160,468
  10. 10Nicole144,667
  11. 11Jessica143,492
  12. 12Elizabeth142,845
  13. 13Rebecca137,285
  14. 14Kelly133,545
  15. 15Mary126,254
  16. 16Christina125,747
  17. 17Amanda123,920
  18. 18Julie121,919
  19. 19Sarah118,823
  20. 20Laura118,204
  21. 21Shannon113,793
  22. 22Christine103,236
  23. 23Tammy98,830
  24. 24Tracy95,536
  25. 25Karen95,173
  26. 26Dawn92,446
  27. 27Susan88,308
  28. 28Andrea86,424
  29. 29Tina84,764
  30. 30Patricia81,111
  31. 31Cynthia80,196
  32. 32Lori77,777
  33. 33Rachel77,749
  34. 34April76,946
  35. 35Maria76,373
  36. 36Wendy74,185
  37. 37Crystal73,757
  38. 38Stacy69,901
  39. 39Erin67,888
  40. 40Jamie67,845
  41. 41Carrie66,825
  42. 42Tiffany65,158
  43. 43Tara65,072
  44. 44Sandra64,340
  45. 45Monica61,680
  46. 46Danielle60,918
  47. 47Stacey59,210
  48. 48Pamela58,039
  49. 49Tonya57,789
  50. 50Sara56,958
  51. 51Michele56,560
  52. 52Teresa56,037
  53. 53Denise55,868
  54. 54Jill55,070
  55. 55Katherine54,048
  56. 56Melanie53,323
  57. 57Dana51,358
  58. 58Holly50,464
  59. 59Erica49,595
  60. 60Brenda48,591
  61. 61Deborah47,855
  62. 62Tanya47,830
  63. 63Sharon47,768
  64. 64Donna47,342
  65. 65Amber47,063
  66. 66Emily46,839
  67. 67Robin45,943
  68. 68Linda45,900
  69. 69Kathleen44,847
  70. 70Leslie44,839
  71. 71Christy44,592
  72. 72Kristen44,206
  73. 73Catherine43,864
  74. 74Kristin42,384
  75. 75Misty42,375
  76. 76Barbara42,237
  77. 77Heidi42,219
  78. 78Nancy41,850
  79. 79Cheryl40,393
  80. 80Theresa40,076
  81. 81Brandy40,070
  82. 82Alicia39,253
  83. 83Veronica38,787
  84. 84Gina38,120
  85. 85Jacqueline37,962
  86. 86Rhonda37,946
  87. 87Anna37,813
  88. 88Renee37,591
  89. 89Megan37,355
  90. 90Tamara37,076
  91. 91Melinda36,438
  92. 92Kathryn36,434
  93. 93Debra34,605
  94. 94Sherry34,204
  95. 95Allison34,158
  96. 96Valerie33,810
  97. 97Diana33,348
  98. 98Paula32,724
  99. 99Kristina32,650
  100. 100Ann32,030

US babies given each name in the 1970s.

Boys100

  1. 1Michael707,327
  2. 2Christopher475,423
  3. 3Jason462,709
  4. 4David445,704
  5. 5James444,713
  6. 6John402,612
  7. 7Robert397,225
  8. 8Brian322,660
  9. 9William283,401
  10. 10Matthew277,727
  11. 11Joseph244,825
  12. 12Daniel244,454
  13. 13Kevin212,231
  14. 14Eric211,481
  15. 15Jeffrey202,850
  16. 16Richard202,804
  17. 17Scott194,520
  18. 18Mark194,260
  19. 19Steven188,078
  20. 20Thomas186,739
  21. 21Timothy181,260
  22. 22Anthony174,873
  23. 23Charles163,021
  24. 24Joshua140,318
  25. 25Ryan139,635
  26. 26Jeremy139,307
  27. 27Paul136,390
  28. 28Andrew132,929
  29. 29Gregory115,563
  30. 30Chad113,534
  31. 31Kenneth111,489
  32. 32Jonathan107,926
  33. 33Stephen107,804
  34. 34Shawn105,790
  35. 35Aaron101,487
  36. 36Adam91,739
  37. 37Patrick91,240
  38. 38Justin86,539
  39. 39Sean83,819
  40. 40Edward83,425
  41. 41Todd83,319
  42. 42Donald82,435
  43. 43Ronald81,730
  44. 44Benjamin81,332
  45. 45Keith76,689
  46. 46Bryan71,338
  47. 47Gary68,261
  48. 48Jose66,390
  49. 49Nathan65,857
  50. 50Douglas65,155
  51. 51Nicholas65,068
  52. 52Brandon65,047
  53. 53George64,757
  54. 54Travis64,103
  55. 55Peter62,320
  56. 56Craig58,787
  57. 57Bradley58,678
  58. 58Larry58,138
  59. 59Dennis50,552
  60. 60Shane50,279
  61. 61Raymond49,332
  62. 62Troy48,852
  63. 63Jerry48,351
  64. 64Samuel48,099
  65. 65Frank46,917
  66. 66Jesse44,886
  67. 67Jeffery44,565
  68. 68Juan43,404
  69. 69Terry42,426
  70. 70Corey41,000
  71. 71Phillip39,845
  72. 72Marcus39,464
  73. 73Derek38,310
  74. 74Rodney37,446
  75. 75Joel37,228
  76. 76Carlos36,949
  77. 77Randy36,545
  78. 78Jacob36,351
  79. 79Jamie36,296
  80. 80Tony35,676
  81. 81Russell35,469
  82. 82Brent35,380
  83. 83Antonio33,280
  84. 84Billy33,217
  85. 85Derrick32,860
  86. 86Kyle32,645
  87. 87Erik32,094
  88. 88Johnny32,024
  89. 89Marc31,837
  90. 90Carl31,370
  91. 91Philip31,367
  92. 92Roger29,714
  93. 93Bobby29,077
  94. 94Brett28,922
  95. 95Danny28,863
  96. 96Curtis28,808
  97. 97Jon28,690
  98. 98Vincent27,640
  99. 99Cory27,509
  100. 100Jimmy27,099

US babies given each name in the 1970s.

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Questions people ask

Frequently asked

What was the most popular girl name in the 1970s?
Jennifer was the #1 girl name in the US in the 1970s, given to 581,729 babies.
What was the most popular boy name in the 1970s?
Michael was the #1 boy name in the US in the 1970s, given to 707,327 babies.

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