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US baby names · 1972

Most popular baby names of 1972

In 1972, Social Security card applications recorded 1,521,244 girls and 1,621,608 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 9,666 distinct girls’ names and 5,751 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (63,600 girls) and Michael (71,393 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 18% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 27% of boys. Compared with 1971, 289,418 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1971, 6 girls’ names and 8 boys’ names in 1972 are newcomers (girls: Veronica, Anna, Erica; boys: Justin, Nathan, Jesse). Of these names, 4 of the 100 girls’ names and 23 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 1972 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19711973 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1972

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer63,600
#2Michelle29,285
#3Lisa27,543
#4Kimberly26,282
#5Amy25,873
#6Angela23,561
#7Melissa22,494
#8Stephanie16,890
#9Heather16,320
#10Nicole15,755
#11Tammy14,211
#12Julie14,062
#13Mary13,757
#14Rebecca13,252
#15Elizabeth12,182
#16Christine11,986
#17Laura11,778
#18Tina11,523
#19Tracy11,436
#20Dawn11,340
#21Karen11,181
#22Shannon10,965
#23Kelly10,944
#24Susan10,574
#25Cynthia10,173
#26Christina10,172
#27Patricia9,602
#28Lori9,434
#29Wendy8,529
#30Andrea8,022
#31Sandra7,917
#32Maria7,721
#33Stacy7,604
#34Pamela7,472
#35Denise7,382
#36Michele7,380
#37Tonya7,244
#38Tara7,234
#39Teresa7,176
#40Rachel6,417
#41Stacey6,380
#42Melanie6,296
#43Deborah6,271
#44Brenda6,270
#45Donna6,257
#46Jessica6,206
#47Monica6,133
#48April6,120
#49Sarah6,114
#50Sharon6,111
#51Linda5,742
#52Dana5,610
#53Carrie5,421
#54Tanya5,402
#55Robin5,369
#56Cheryl5,136
#57Kathleen5,097
#58Barbara5,080
#59Crystal5,044
#60Rhonda5,001
#61Tiffany4,844
#62Jill4,824
#63Nancy4,818
#64Heidi4,723
#65Catherine4,686
#66Debra4,666
#67Kristin4,586
#68Theresa4,569
#69Katherine4,514
#70Sherry4,447
#71Holly4,376
#72Paula4,260
#73Danielle4,201
#74Christy4,190
#75Leslie4,184
#76Amanda4,180
#77Renee4,088
#78Gina4,057
#79Jacqueline3,803
#80Cindy3,737
#81Melinda3,671
#82Veronica3,563
#83Diana3,548
#84Tamara3,531
#85Kristen3,527
#86Anna3,449
#87Erica3,443
#88Tracey3,407
#89Yolanda3,398
#90Sheila3,394
#91Ann3,360
#92Suzanne3,300
#93Erin3,289
#94Shelly3,288
#95Margaret3,286
#96Alicia3,268
#97Jodi3,259
#98Laurie3,227
#99Victoria3,206
#100Valerie3,193

Top 100 boys’ names, 1972

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael71,393
#2Christopher52,172
#3James47,063
#4David46,322
#5John43,158
#6Robert43,013
#7Jason37,423
#8Brian36,306
#9William30,510
#10Matthew22,928
#11Scott22,838
#12Joseph22,454
#13Kevin22,354
#14Richard22,302
#15Daniel22,092
#16Eric22,027
#17Jeffrey21,677
#18Mark21,490
#19Steven19,851
#20Thomas19,557
#21Timothy17,605
#22Anthony17,454
#23Charles16,968
#24Paul14,555
#25Chad13,392
#26Gregory13,056
#27Kenneth12,334
#28Shawn11,277
#29Stephen11,037
#30Andrew10,111
#31Todd9,968
#32Ronald9,502
#33Sean9,444
#34Edward9,292
#35Patrick9,276
#36Donald9,261
#37Jonathan9,219
#38Keith9,145
#39Ryan8,878
#40Aaron7,863
#41Gary7,758
#42Jeremy7,398
#43Douglas7,387
#44George7,167
#45Bryan7,035
#46Craig6,729
#47Larry6,604
#48Peter6,471
#49Troy6,348
#50Jose5,935
#51Adam5,740
#52Dennis5,608
#53Jerry5,597
#54Raymond5,443
#55Shane5,236
#56Frank5,165
#57Travis5,136
#58Jeffery5,063
#59Joshua5,033
#60Justin4,975
#61Bradley4,839
#62Terry4,770
#63Brandon4,625
#64Benjamin4,498
#65Rodney4,363
#66Samuel4,213
#67Derek4,146
#68Tony4,001
#69Russell3,782
#70Randy3,739
#71Marcus3,685
#72Jamie3,680
#73Juan3,672
#74Johnny3,564
#75Phillip3,532
#76Roger3,531
#77Brent3,530
#78Joel3,528
#79Nathan3,512
#80Brett3,503
#81Billy3,473
#82Chris3,472
#83Marc3,465
#84Carlos3,434
#85Carl3,406
#86Erik3,398
#87Danny3,306
#88Jesse3,226
#89Jon3,221
#90Bobby3,171
#91Derrick3,088
#92Curtis3,080
#93Antonio3,028
#94Shannon3,014
#95Corey2,990
#96Christian2,962
#97Jimmy2,932
#98Walter2,918
#99Nicholas2,843
#100Joe2,825