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Top baby names of 1988

One birth year · Jessica · Michael lead

The 100 most-chosen girl and boy names in the US in 1988, from official Social Security birth records. Every name links to its full history and popularity chart. See also the whole 1980s. Then see which names rose and fell after 1988 and what is climbing now.

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The 1988 lists

Girls100

  1. 1Jessica51,556
  2. 2Ashley49,977
  3. 3Amanda39,459
  4. 4Sarah28,374
  5. 5Jennifer27,893
  6. 6Brittany26,816
  7. 7Stephanie22,843
  8. 8Samantha20,700
  9. 9Nicole20,315
  10. 10Elizabeth20,042
  11. 11Lauren19,637
  12. 12Megan18,570
  13. 13Tiffany18,364
  14. 14Heather18,033
  15. 15Amber16,676
  16. 16Melissa16,546
  17. 17Danielle16,253
  18. 18Emily15,869
  19. 19Rachel15,348
  20. 20Kayla13,433
  21. 21Michelle13,339
  22. 22Christina12,954
  23. 23Laura12,126
  24. 24Courtney12,043
  25. 25Kimberly11,948
  26. 26Rebecca11,877
  27. 27Katherine11,154
  28. 28Crystal10,101
  29. 29Amy10,034
  30. 30Sara10,020
  31. 31Erica9,591
  32. 32Kelly8,917
  33. 33Chelsea8,879
  34. 34Mary8,518
  35. 35Andrea8,392
  36. 36Kristen8,382
  37. 37Erin8,267
  38. 38Angela7,914
  39. 39Whitney7,853
  40. 40Katie7,770
  41. 41Vanessa7,516
  42. 42Victoria7,283
  43. 43Lisa7,267
  44. 44Caitlin7,246
  45. 45Jamie7,187
  46. 46Allison7,145
  47. 47Alyssa7,135
  48. 48Lindsey7,001
  49. 49Alexandra6,972
  50. 50Alicia6,700
  51. 51Christine6,612
  52. 52Brittney6,576
  53. 53Jasmine6,446
  54. 54Anna6,444
  55. 55Kathryn6,342
  56. 56Shannon6,256
  57. 57Lindsay6,025
  58. 58Kristin6,019
  59. 59Cassandra5,727
  60. 60Maria5,713
  61. 61Hannah5,562
  62. 62Jacqueline5,544
  63. 63Natalie5,483
  64. 64Kelsey5,452
  65. 65April4,840
  66. 66Jenna4,607
  67. 67Tara4,606
  68. 68Kristina4,578
  69. 69Catherine4,504
  70. 70Monica4,463
  71. 71Julie4,462
  72. 72Holly4,217
  73. 73Natasha4,039
  74. 74Krystal4,019
  75. 75Kathleen3,927
  76. 76Erika3,886
  77. 77Patricia3,799
  78. 78Morgan3,796
  79. 79Cynthia3,784
  80. 80Kendra3,761
  81. 81Meghan3,609
  82. 82Leah3,558
  83. 83Veronica3,525
  84. 84Katelyn3,510
  85. 85Diana3,489
  86. 86Molly3,461
  87. 87Brooke3,416
  88. 88Julia3,359
  89. 89Bethany3,270
  90. 90Dana3,192
  91. 91Brandi3,169
  92. 92Casey3,150
  93. 93Margaret3,139
  94. 94Leslie3,079
  95. 95Kara3,039
  96. 96Brianna2,963
  97. 97Alexis2,900
  98. 98Kaitlin2,841
  99. 99Melanie2,834
  100. 100Rachael2,831

US babies given each name in 1988.

Boys100

  1. 1Michael64,171
  2. 2Christopher53,014
  3. 3Matthew45,876
  4. 4Joshua42,653
  5. 5Andrew35,745
  6. 6David35,329
  7. 7Justin35,055
  8. 8Daniel34,718
  9. 9James32,523
  10. 10Robert30,319
  11. 11John29,427
  12. 12Joseph29,019
  13. 13Ryan27,747
  14. 14Nicholas25,303
  15. 15Jonathan24,349
  16. 16William24,126
  17. 17Brandon23,744
  18. 18Anthony23,644
  19. 19Eric20,175
  20. 20Kevin20,168
  21. 21Kyle19,895
  22. 22Brian19,532
  23. 23Thomas18,806
  24. 24Steven17,865
  25. 25Timothy16,807
  26. 26Adam16,467
  27. 27Jason15,917
  28. 28Jacob15,883
  29. 29Zachary15,870
  30. 30Benjamin15,187
  31. 31Aaron14,408
  32. 32Richard14,144
  33. 33Tyler13,349
  34. 34Alexander13,341
  35. 35Jeremy13,169
  36. 36Jeffrey12,401
  37. 37Charles12,109
  38. 38Sean11,794
  39. 39Mark11,715
  40. 40Stephen11,607
  41. 41Travis11,423
  42. 42Patrick11,400
  43. 43Cody10,583
  44. 44Nathan10,154
  45. 45Samuel9,564
  46. 46Paul9,438
  47. 47Scott9,351
  48. 48Dustin9,337
  49. 49Jose9,007
  50. 50Gregory8,629
  51. 51Kenneth8,567
  52. 52Jordan8,490
  53. 53Derek8,073
  54. 54Bryan8,036
  55. 55Jesse7,914
  56. 56Corey7,328
  57. 57Bradley7,017
  58. 58Alex6,408
  59. 59Cory6,266
  60. 60Jared6,211
  61. 61Shawn5,893
  62. 62Edward5,801
  63. 63Austin5,588
  64. 64Peter5,425
  65. 65Chad5,299
  66. 66Marcus5,207
  67. 67Shane5,173
  68. 68Juan5,171
  69. 69Cameron4,985
  70. 70Keith4,949
  71. 71Phillip4,576
  72. 72Antonio4,461
  73. 73Brett4,375
  74. 74Evan4,337
  75. 75Luis4,333
  76. 76Donald4,328
  77. 77Ian4,315
  78. 78George4,296
  79. 79Ronald4,173
  80. 80Carlos4,127
  81. 81Nathaniel4,054
  82. 82Vincent4,054
  83. 83Casey4,039
  84. 84Raymond4,036
  85. 85Joel3,940
  86. 86Christian3,937
  87. 87Trevor3,695
  88. 88Douglas3,655
  89. 89Victor3,628
  90. 90Seth3,493
  91. 91Taylor3,492
  92. 92Erik3,478
  93. 93Wesley3,478
  94. 94Philip3,373
  95. 95Mitchell3,323
  96. 96Craig3,306
  97. 97Derrick3,304
  98. 98Devin3,302
  99. 99Frank3,271
  100. 100Gary3,244

US babies given each name in 1988.

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Questions people ask

Frequently asked

What was the most popular girl name in 1988?
Jessica was the #1 girl name in the US in 1988, given to 51,556 babies.
What was the most popular boy name in 1988?
Michael was the #1 boy name in the US in 1988, given to 64,171 babies.

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