US baby names · 1968

Most popular baby names of 1968

In 1968, Social Security card applications recorded 1,640,389 girls and 1,737,974 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 8,198 distinct girls’ names and 4,746 boys’ names.

The most common names were Lisa (49,534 girls) and Michael (81,968 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 16% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 28% of boys. Compared with 1967, 16,473 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1967, 6 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1968 are newcomers (girls: Shannon, Carrie, Rachel; boys: Marc, Aaron, Kelly). Of these names, 4 of the 100 girls’ names and 21 of the 100 boys’ names are still in the top 100 in 2025.

Ranks follow SSA’s order: most births first, with ties listed alphabetically. Each sparkline shows the name’s full history from 1880 to 2025, so you can see whether a 1968 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05

← 1967 1969 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1968

Rank	Name	Girls
#1	Lisa	49,534
#2	Michelle	33,223
#3	Kimberly	31,906
#4	Jennifer	26,853
#5	Melissa	21,733
#6	Mary	21,727
#7	Angela	20,670
#8	Tammy	20,058
#9	Karen	19,560
#10	Susan	19,503
#11	Laura	18,741
#12	Kelly	17,138
#13	Amy	17,090
#14	Christine	16,525
#15	Patricia	15,803
#16	Julie	15,750
#17	Elizabeth	14,887
#18	Tina	14,772
#19	Cynthia	14,050
#20	Pamela	14,031
#21	Dawn	13,441
#22	Lori	13,126
#23	Stephanie	12,953
#24	Donna	12,748
#25	Tracy	12,743
#26	Sandra	12,686
#27	Deborah	12,288
#28	Linda	11,371
#29	Michele	11,219
#30	Teresa	10,912
#31	Wendy	10,709
#32	Sharon	10,340
#33	Rebecca	10,225
#34	Brenda	9,945
#35	Denise	9,877
#36	Barbara	9,740
#37	Cheryl	9,138
#38	Debra	9,095
#39	Nancy	8,961
#40	Kathleen	8,729
#41	Maria	8,386
#42	Rhonda	8,268
#43	Robin	8,180
#44	Christina	8,016
#45	Paula	7,637
#46	Jill	7,521
#47	Theresa	7,307
#48	Andrea	7,089
#49	Carol	7,078
#50	Jacqueline	6,745
#51	Diane	6,583
#52	Sherry	6,435
#53	Shannon	6,403
#54	Ann	6,177
#55	Stacey	6,150
#56	Catherine	6,129
#57	Kim	6,089
#58	Gina	6,045
#59	Sheila	5,730
#60	Tonya	5,661
#61	Carolyn	5,538
#62	Heather	5,502
#63	Margaret	5,440
#64	Stacy	5,384
#65	Renee	5,356
#66	Leslie	5,282
#67	Cindy	5,238
#68	Monica	5,221
#69	Suzanne	5,040
#70	Dana	5,012
#71	Diana	4,995
#72	Tracey	4,931
#73	Janet	4,838
#74	Beth	4,765
#75	Katherine	4,716
#76	Kathy	4,677
#77	Valerie	4,550
#78	Sarah	4,489
#79	Laurie	4,342
#80	Tamara	4,308
#81	Regina	4,295
#82	Victoria	4,286
#83	Terri	4,267
#84	Kristin	4,134
#85	Lynn	4,103
#86	Carrie	3,979
#87	Connie	3,955
#88	Anne	3,914
#89	Heidi	3,913
#90	Melinda	3,814
#91	Carla	3,813
#92	Rachel	3,727
#93	Yolanda	3,697
#94	Melanie	3,641
#95	Sherri	3,641
#96	April	3,622
#97	Jodi	3,598
#98	Shelly	3,595
#99	Anna	3,569
#100	Kathryn	3,561

Top 100 boys’ names, 1968

Rank	Name	Boys
#1	Michael	81,968
#2	David	63,679
#3	John	60,903
#4	James	60,665
#5	Robert	58,174
#6	William	36,927
#7	Mark	35,401
#8	Richard	32,976
#9	Christopher	31,468
#10	Brian	29,922
#11	Jeffrey	28,369
#12	Thomas	27,420
#13	Timothy	26,496
#14	Scott	26,022
#15	Steven	25,493
#16	Joseph	25,396
#17	Kevin	23,862
#18	Daniel	22,012
#19	Paul	21,865
#20	Charles	21,575
#21	Anthony	20,231
#22	Eric	18,501
#23	Kenneth	18,077
#24	Matthew	15,823
#25	Ronald	15,415
#26	Gregory	15,392
#27	Stephen	14,761
#28	Todd	14,659
#29	Donald	13,362
#30	Patrick	13,062
#31	Edward	12,276
#32	Gary	11,973
#33	Douglas	11,405
#34	Andrew	10,563
#35	Keith	9,861
#36	George	9,382
#37	Sean	9,172
#38	Larry	8,231
#39	Peter	8,122
#40	Troy	7,976
#41	Craig	7,858
#42	Rodney	7,505
#43	Shawn	7,478
#44	Jerry	7,450
#45	Dennis	7,403
#46	Jeffery	7,223
#47	Jason	7,143
#48	Terry	7,089
#49	Frank	6,897
#50	Raymond	6,883
#51	Bryan	6,254
#52	Tony	5,875
#53	Jonathan	5,808
#54	Randy	5,709
#55	Roger	5,183
#56	Russell	5,097
#57	Bradley	4,804
#58	Jose	4,794
#59	Carl	4,645
#60	Darren	4,642
#61	Bruce	4,486
#62	Gerald	4,475
#63	Wayne	4,251
#64	Chris	4,249
#65	Jon	4,209
#66	Samuel	4,123
#67	Lawrence	4,098
#68	Martin	4,073
#69	Johnny	4,050
#70	Ricky	4,036
#71	Phillip	3,987
#72	Danny	3,984
#73	Vincent	3,982
#74	Alan	3,976
#75	Curtis	3,855
#76	Billy	3,814
#77	Jimmy	3,814
#78	Dean	3,799
#79	Randall	3,751
#80	Joel	3,683
#81	Bobby	3,628
#82	Philip	3,622
#83	Walter	3,589
#84	Marc	3,537
#85	Joe	3,522
#86	Darrell	3,446
#87	Aaron	3,428
#88	Jay	3,428
#89	Steve	3,408
#90	Jeff	3,279
#91	Dale	3,257
#92	Glenn	3,246
#93	Mike	3,214
#94	Roy	3,177
#95	Henry	3,129
#96	Willie	3,109
#97	Kelly	3,059
#98	Arthur	3,039
#99	Benjamin	3,017
#100	Allen	2,961