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Top baby names of 1981

The 100 most-chosen girl and boy names in the US in 1981, from official Social Security birth records. Every name links to its full history and popularity chart. See also the whole 1980s.

Girls

  1. 1. Jennifer57,046
  2. 2. Jessica42,531
  3. 3. Amanda34,372
  4. 4. Sarah28,175
  5. 5. Melissa28,005
  6. 6. Amy20,345
  7. 7. Nicole20,310
  8. 8. Stephanie20,212
  9. 9. Elizabeth20,168
  10. 10. Heather17,946
  11. 11. Michelle17,781
  12. 12. Rebecca16,737
  13. 13. Kimberly16,689
  14. 14. Tiffany16,416
  15. 15. Angela15,924
  16. 16. Crystal15,888
  17. 17. Christina14,392
  18. 18. Lisa14,294
  19. 19. Erin13,853
  20. 20. Amber13,814
  21. 21. Laura13,292
  22. 22. Rachel12,590
  23. 23. Kelly11,873
  24. 24. Andrea11,686
  25. 25. April11,406
  26. 26. Sara11,359
  27. 27. Mary11,042
  28. 28. Jamie10,982
  29. 29. Emily10,799
  30. 30. Danielle10,038
  31. 31. Kristin9,737
  32. 32. Shannon9,226
  33. 33. Megan8,964
  34. 34. Ashley8,874
  35. 35. Lauren8,813
  36. 36. Erica8,626
  37. 37. Julie8,567
  38. 38. Kristen8,540
  39. 39. Katherine8,433
  40. 40. Maria7,681
  41. 41. Brandy6,898
  42. 42. Christine6,854
  43. 43. Courtney6,636
  44. 44. Katie6,600
  45. 45. Tara6,366
  46. 46. Alicia5,855
  47. 47. Lindsay5,843
  48. 48. Kathryn5,823
  49. 49. Monica5,782
  50. 50. Brandi5,527
  51. 51. Samantha5,516
  52. 52. Brooke5,328
  53. 53. Patricia5,284
  54. 54. Anna5,192
  55. 55. Carrie5,094
  56. 56. Leslie4,934
  57. 57. Allison4,904
  58. 58. Lindsey4,863
  59. 59. Cynthia4,859
  60. 60. Natalie4,858
  61. 61. Misty4,799
  62. 62. Vanessa4,749
  63. 63. Holly4,564
  64. 64. Karen4,539
  65. 65. Stacy4,479
  66. 66. Melanie4,475
  67. 67. Jacqueline4,334
  68. 68. Veronica4,313
  69. 69. Latoya4,266
  70. 70. Dana4,246
  71. 71. Susan4,244
  72. 72. Kristina4,061
  73. 73. Catherine4,057
  74. 74. Sandra4,037
  75. 75. Diana3,971
  76. 76. Pamela3,881
  77. 77. Tracy3,869
  78. 78. Jill3,857
  79. 79. Dawn3,839
  80. 80. Tina3,821
  81. 81. Leah3,808
  82. 82. Kathleen3,776
  83. 83. Stacey3,754
  84. 84. Heidi3,738
  85. 85. Natasha3,730
  86. 86. Candice3,698
  87. 87. Victoria3,689
  88. 88. Julia3,668
  89. 89. Valerie3,611
  90. 90. Wendy3,608
  91. 91. Lori3,479
  92. 92. Tanya3,408
  93. 93. Erika3,399
  94. 94. Kristy3,263
  95. 95. Katrina3,257
  96. 96. Denise3,201
  97. 97. Teresa3,121
  98. 98. Renee2,997
  99. 99. Christy2,943
  100. 100. Theresa2,943

Boys

  1. 1. Michael68,750
  2. 2. Christopher50,221
  3. 3. Matthew43,330
  4. 4. Jason41,927
  5. 5. David40,629
  6. 6. Joshua39,024
  7. 7. James38,283
  8. 8. John34,868
  9. 9. Robert34,395
  10. 10. Daniel30,985
  11. 11. Joseph30,761
  12. 12. Justin27,307
  13. 13. Ryan26,811
  14. 14. Brian26,583
  15. 15. William24,798
  16. 16. Jonathan22,588
  17. 17. Eric20,712
  18. 18. Andrew20,232
  19. 19. Brandon20,206
  20. 20. Adam20,044
  21. 21. Nicholas19,775
  22. 22. Jeremy19,113
  23. 23. Anthony18,569
  24. 24. Timothy18,228
  25. 25. Kevin17,454
  26. 26. Thomas17,159
  27. 27. Richard16,855
  28. 28. Steven16,482
  29. 29. Jeffrey15,931
  30. 30. Aaron14,694
  31. 31. Charles14,427
  32. 32. Benjamin14,360
  33. 33. Mark13,542
  34. 34. Scott12,719
  35. 35. Paul11,776
  36. 36. Nathan11,256
  37. 37. Jesse10,443
  38. 38. Patrick10,384
  39. 39. Stephen10,302
  40. 40. Travis10,109
  41. 41. Kenneth9,472
  42. 42. Dustin9,350
  43. 43. Jacob9,342
  44. 44. Sean8,893
  45. 45. Jose8,773
  46. 46. Gregory8,756
  47. 47. Chad8,412
  48. 48. Bryan7,215
  49. 49. Shawn7,076
  50. 50. Bradley6,895
  51. 51. Edward6,661
  52. 52. Kyle6,570
  53. 53. Derek6,481
  54. 54. Samuel6,036
  55. 55. Peter5,997
  56. 56. Donald5,910
  57. 57. Jared5,865
  58. 58. Keith5,621
  59. 59. Ronald5,538
  60. 60. Juan5,499
  61. 61. George5,157
  62. 62. Gary4,946
  63. 63. Zachary4,841
  64. 64. Douglas4,788
  65. 65. Joel4,540
  66. 66. Phillip4,539
  67. 67. Marcus4,510
  68. 68. Raymond4,367
  69. 69. Corey4,247
  70. 70. Alexander4,237
  71. 71. Carlos4,185
  72. 72. Craig4,097
  73. 73. Larry3,955
  74. 74. Todd3,953
  75. 75. Antonio3,926
  76. 76. Erik3,921
  77. 77. Jeremiah3,896
  78. 78. Derrick3,850
  79. 79. Brett3,775
  80. 80. Nathaniel3,719
  81. 81. Shane3,710
  82. 82. Frank3,638
  83. 83. Dennis3,634
  84. 84. Philip3,581
  85. 85. Casey3,518
  86. 86. Shaun3,383
  87. 87. Gabriel3,373
  88. 88. Brent3,371
  89. 89. Lucas3,371
  90. 90. Cory3,352
  91. 91. Randy3,343
  92. 92. Luis3,342
  93. 93. Jeffery3,334
  94. 94. Curtis3,198
  95. 95. Seth3,137
  96. 96. Tyler3,117
  97. 97. Jerry3,056
  98. 98. Russell3,048
  99. 99. Wesley3,040
  100. 100. Luke3,013

Frequently asked questions

What was the most popular girl name in 1981?
Jennifer was the #1 girl name in the US in 1981, given to 57,046 babies.
What was the most popular boy name in 1981?
Michael was the #1 boy name in the US in 1981, given to 68,750 babies.

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