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Top baby names of 1979

One birth year · Jennifer · Michael lead

The 100 most-chosen girl and boy names in the US in 1979, from official Social Security birth records. Every name links to its full history and popularity chart. See also the whole 1970s. Then see which names rose and fell after 1979 and what is climbing now.

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The 1979 lists

Girls100

  1. 1Jennifer56,712
  2. 2Melissa34,050
  3. 3Amanda31,924
  4. 4Jessica27,780
  5. 5Amy21,609
  6. 6Sarah21,015
  7. 7Heather20,834
  8. 8Angela20,256
  9. 9Nicole19,510
  10. 10Michelle19,266
  11. 11Elizabeth18,073
  12. 12Kimberly17,635
  13. 13Lisa17,286
  14. 14Christina16,454
  15. 15Stephanie16,204
  16. 16Kelly15,296
  17. 17Rebecca14,548
  18. 18Crystal13,467
  19. 19Jamie12,156
  20. 20Laura11,880
  21. 21Erin11,259
  22. 22Amber11,079
  23. 23April10,902
  24. 24Mary10,555
  25. 25Shannon10,370
  26. 26Andrea10,336
  27. 27Rachel10,230
  28. 28Tiffany9,611
  29. 29Julie9,254
  30. 30Sara8,654
  31. 31Megan8,293
  32. 32Erica8,178
  33. 33Danielle7,981
  34. 34Emily7,971
  35. 35Christine7,689
  36. 36Katherine7,464
  37. 37Maria7,339
  38. 38Tara6,806
  39. 39Brandy6,775
  40. 40Monica6,585
  41. 41Carrie6,354
  42. 42Misty5,785
  43. 43Stacy5,708
  44. 44Patricia5,650
  45. 45Lauren5,625
  46. 46Karen5,599
  47. 47Alicia5,547
  48. 48Holly5,488
  49. 49Tracy5,389
  50. 50Kathryn5,312
  51. 51Susan5,196
  52. 52Jill5,192
  53. 53Melanie5,021
  54. 54Dana4,948
  55. 55Cynthia4,931
  56. 56Kristy4,880
  57. 57Dawn4,725
  58. 58Tina4,677
  59. 59Anna4,670
  60. 60Stacey4,613
  61. 61Brandi4,609
  62. 62Kristen4,568
  63. 63Katie4,512
  64. 64Wendy4,500
  65. 65Leslie4,497
  66. 66Samantha4,461
  67. 67Ashley4,448
  68. 68Natalie4,445
  69. 69Lori4,432
  70. 70Allison4,406
  71. 71Courtney4,321
  72. 72Christy4,286
  73. 73Kristin4,264
  74. 74Kristina4,130
  75. 75Vanessa4,102
  76. 76Veronica4,062
  77. 77Sandra3,995
  78. 78Catherine3,878
  79. 79Tammy3,758
  80. 80Jacqueline3,740
  81. 81Mindy3,712
  82. 82Melinda3,705
  83. 83Heidi3,670
  84. 84Kathleen3,641
  85. 85Brooke3,505
  86. 86Tonya3,495
  87. 87Teresa3,481
  88. 88Lindsay3,466
  89. 89Valerie3,407
  90. 90Pamela3,365
  91. 91Erika3,316
  92. 92Denise3,267
  93. 93Tanya3,225
  94. 94Cheryl3,210
  95. 95Robin3,209
  96. 96Gina3,116
  97. 97Jaime3,086
  98. 98Leah3,075
  99. 99Katrina2,998
  100. 100Theresa2,995

US babies given each name in 1979.

Boys100

  1. 1Michael67,713
  2. 2Christopher50,659
  3. 3Jason50,369
  4. 4David42,053
  5. 5James39,351
  6. 6Matthew35,621
  7. 7John35,410
  8. 8Robert34,015
  9. 9Joshua31,120
  10. 10Brian28,659
  11. 11Joseph28,654
  12. 12Daniel28,521
  13. 13William24,676
  14. 14Ryan23,212
  15. 15Nicholas21,344
  16. 16Jeremy21,005
  17. 17Eric20,268
  18. 18Timothy19,077
  19. 19Kevin18,733
  20. 20Andrew18,618
  21. 21Anthony17,513
  22. 22Justin17,390
  23. 23Adam17,046
  24. 24Jeffrey16,865
  25. 25Richard16,713
  26. 26Thomas16,454
  27. 27Steven16,331
  28. 28Charles14,806
  29. 29Scott14,440
  30. 30Mark14,386
  31. 31Jonathan14,331
  32. 32Aaron13,076
  33. 33Benjamin12,512
  34. 34Paul11,630
  35. 35Brandon11,302
  36. 36Travis11,037
  37. 37Nathan10,719
  38. 38Chad10,161
  39. 39Patrick9,979
  40. 40Stephen9,903
  41. 41Kenneth9,236
  42. 42Gregory9,109
  43. 43Shawn7,910
  44. 44Jose7,848
  45. 45Jacob7,545
  46. 46Bryan7,441
  47. 47Bradley6,923
  48. 48Edward6,877
  49. 49Sean6,850
  50. 50Jesse6,679
  51. 51Donald6,508
  52. 52Keith6,186
  53. 53Peter6,079
  54. 54Ronald5,694
  55. 55Samuel5,687
  56. 56Kyle5,449
  57. 57George5,263
  58. 58Douglas5,167
  59. 59Gary5,038
  60. 60Todd4,984
  61. 61Juan4,946
  62. 62Dustin4,899
  63. 63Corey4,738
  64. 64Shaun4,736
  65. 65Jared4,670
  66. 66Erik4,640
  67. 67Shane4,482
  68. 68Phillip4,422
  69. 69Larry4,393
  70. 70Raymond4,335
  71. 71Joel4,216
  72. 72Derek4,200
  73. 73Carlos4,165
  74. 74Zachary4,156
  75. 75Dennis4,080
  76. 76Marcus4,048
  77. 77Craig4,029
  78. 78Frank3,928
  79. 79Antonio3,801
  80. 80Derrick3,729
  81. 81Jeremiah3,719
  82. 82Cory3,587
  83. 83Philip3,460
  84. 84Brent3,455
  85. 85Jerry3,446
  86. 86Randy3,416
  87. 87Jeffery3,357
  88. 88Jamie3,240
  89. 89Wesley3,237
  90. 90Gabriel3,235
  91. 91Curtis3,200
  92. 92Russell3,132
  93. 93Casey3,082
  94. 94Alexander3,058
  95. 95Nathaniel3,040
  96. 96Terry3,040
  97. 97Billy2,998
  98. 98Brett2,997
  99. 99Troy2,964
  100. 100Carl2,898

US babies given each name in 1979.

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Questions people ask

Frequently asked

What was the most popular girl name in 1979?
Jennifer was the #1 girl name in the US in 1979, given to 56,712 babies.
What was the most popular boy name in 1979?
Michael was the #1 boy name in the US in 1979, given to 67,713 babies.

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Lists built from the same records

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