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US baby names · 1970

Most popular baby names of 1970

In 1970, Social Security card applications recorded 1,748,144 girls and 1,858,229 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 9,355 distinct girls’ names and 5,433 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (46,150 girls) and Michael (85,266 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 16% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 27% of boys. Compared with 1969, 131,183 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1969, 4 girls’ names and 9 boys’ names in 1970 are newcomers (girls: Tara, Jessica, Tiffany; boys: Travis, Jeremy, Marcus). Of these names, 4 of the 100 girls’ names and 19 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 1970 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19691971 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1970

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer46,150
#2Lisa38,967
#3Kimberly34,130
#4Michelle34,047
#5Amy25,212
#6Angela24,929
#7Melissa23,735
#8Tammy19,587
#9Mary19,204
#10Tracy18,464
#11Julie17,158
#12Karen16,699
#13Laura16,490
#14Christine16,061
#15Susan15,738
#16Dawn15,681
#17Stephanie15,387
#18Elizabeth15,108
#19Heather14,669
#20Kelly14,607
#21Tina13,861
#22Shannon13,547
#23Lori13,448
#24Patricia13,406
#25Cynthia12,913
#26Pamela12,907
#27Sandra11,246
#28Wendy11,100
#29Rebecca10,854
#30Nicole10,691
#31Michele10,090
#32Donna9,968
#33Deborah9,845
#34Teresa9,612
#35Christina9,588
#36Denise9,343
#37Sharon9,177
#38Linda8,731
#39Maria8,686
#40Brenda8,336
#41Barbara8,026
#42Stacy7,771
#43Andrea7,708
#44Cheryl7,440
#45Kathleen7,410
#46Rhonda7,379
#47Debra7,198
#48Stacey7,154
#49Tonya7,140
#50Nancy7,063
#51Robin7,004
#52Jill6,806
#53Theresa6,411
#54Dana6,406
#55Tracey6,230
#56Monica6,188
#57Paula6,055
#58Rachel6,029
#59Catherine6,004
#60Sherry5,917
#61Gina5,874
#62Ann5,740
#63Kristin5,633
#64Leslie5,622
#65Sarah5,614
#66Jacqueline5,576
#67Katherine5,443
#68Renee5,373
#69Tara5,329
#70Diane5,188
#71Carol5,064
#72Cindy5,049
#73Carrie4,978
#74Holly4,940
#75Sheila4,937
#76Tanya4,862
#77Kathy4,797
#78Kim4,729
#79Tamara4,721
#80Margaret4,704
#81Heidi4,642
#82April4,603
#83Kristen4,600
#84Carolyn4,518
#85Victoria4,460
#86Regina4,433
#87Suzanne4,425
#88Laurie4,392
#89Diana4,373
#90Deanna4,331
#91Melanie4,330
#92Beth4,247
#93Melinda4,225
#94Carla4,214
#95Jodi4,186
#96Janet4,158
#97Valerie4,130
#98Jessica4,021
#99Tiffany3,999
#100Traci3,854

Top 100 boys’ names, 1970

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael85,266
#2James61,735
#3David61,728
#4John58,491
#5Robert57,177
#6Christopher41,747
#7William38,887
#8Brian31,917
#9Mark31,461
#10Richard30,442
#11Jeffrey30,139
#12Scott28,565
#13Jason27,272
#14Kevin26,968
#15Steven26,793
#16Joseph26,714
#17Thomas26,669
#18Eric23,571
#19Daniel23,521
#20Timothy22,422
#21Charles22,411
#22Anthony21,176
#23Paul20,196
#24Matthew20,185
#25Kenneth16,800
#26Gregory16,286
#27Stephen14,758
#28Todd14,426
#29Ronald13,618
#30Donald12,397
#31Edward12,275
#32Andrew11,989
#33Patrick11,730
#34Shawn10,945
#35Gary10,716
#36Douglas10,409
#37Sean10,341
#38Keith9,615
#39Craig9,364
#40George8,911
#41Troy8,448
#42Jonathan8,194
#43Larry8,104
#44Peter8,056
#45Jerry7,422
#46Dennis7,312
#47Bradley6,818
#48Frank6,805
#49Raymond6,788
#50Jeffery6,701
#51Chad6,628
#52Aaron6,584
#53Bryan6,452
#54Terry6,186
#55Rodney5,856
#56Jose5,691
#57Tony5,480
#58Russell5,106
#59Randy5,036
#60Marc5,009
#61Roger4,583
#62Samuel4,558
#63Chris4,460
#64Shane4,451
#65Johnny4,438
#66Carl4,402
#67Gerald4,399
#68Jon4,371
#69Travis4,321
#70Jeremy4,318
#71Marcus4,315
#72Adam4,313
#73Phillip4,275
#74Brent4,269
#75Darren4,197
#76Lance4,160
#77Derek4,147
#78Billy4,121
#79Vincent4,021
#80Wayne4,006
#81Benjamin3,926
#82Joel3,839
#83Lawrence3,824
#84Corey3,814
#85Danny3,768
#86Jimmy3,660
#87Bobby3,636
#88Curtis3,615
#89Walter3,584
#90Joe3,570
#91Alan3,553
#92Philip3,520
#93Martin3,500
#94Bruce3,482
#95Juan3,476
#96Derrick3,446
#97Jay3,415
#98Carlos3,380
#99Brett3,370
#100Randall3,271