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US baby names · 1973

Most popular baby names of 1973

In 1973, Social Security card applications recorded 1,458,209 girls and 1,558,576 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 9,810 distinct girls’ names and 5,877 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (62,448 girls) and Michael (67,797 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 18% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 26% of boys. Compared with 1972, 126,067 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1972, 5 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1973 are newcomers (girls: Brandy, Sara, Misty; boys: Philip, Vincent). Of these names, 5 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 1973 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19721974 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1973

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer62,448
#2Amy26,962
#3Michelle26,935
#4Kimberly23,531
#5Lisa22,677
#6Melissa22,479
#7Angela20,898
#8Heather19,347
#9Stephanie17,263
#10Rebecca14,868
#11Nicole13,922
#12Julie12,785
#13Elizabeth12,360
#14Mary12,313
#15Tammy11,244
#16Christina10,888
#17Christine10,549
#18Kelly10,512
#19Laura10,344
#20Tracy9,913
#21Dawn9,890
#22Shannon9,802
#23Karen9,352
#24Tina9,307
#25Susan9,279
#26Cynthia8,743
#27Patricia8,476
#28Lori8,472
#29Wendy7,810
#30Andrea7,766
#31Maria7,667
#32Stacy7,338
#33April7,264
#34Jessica7,228
#35Sarah7,214
#36Tonya7,184
#37Tara6,707
#38Denise6,615
#39Sandra6,585
#40Monica6,380
#41Stacey6,253
#42Rachel6,103
#43Melanie6,079
#44Michele5,996
#45Teresa5,986
#46Carrie5,835
#47Pamela5,813
#48Crystal5,768
#49Danielle5,648
#50Tanya5,632
#51Amanda5,625
#52Tiffany5,501
#53Brenda5,379
#54Holly5,114
#55Donna5,058
#56Deborah4,980
#57Sharon4,963
#58Kristen4,936
#59Dana4,934
#60Robin4,804
#61Linda4,731
#62Jill4,538
#63Barbara4,433
#64Katherine4,420
#65Heidi4,396
#66Tamara4,286
#67Catherine4,261
#68Kathleen4,250
#69Theresa4,178
#70Rhonda4,161
#71Veronica4,152
#72Melinda4,144
#73Christy4,121
#74Cheryl4,010
#75Leslie3,954
#76Sherry3,952
#77Nancy3,945
#78Kristin3,903
#79Erin3,877
#80Renee3,846
#81Erica3,793
#82Brandy3,715
#83Gina3,699
#84Debra3,652
#85Diana3,519
#86Anna3,507
#87Paula3,504
#88Jacqueline3,500
#89Sara3,479
#90Misty3,475
#91Alicia3,433
#92Cindy3,280
#93Ann3,255
#94Margaret3,167
#95Victoria3,070
#96Valerie3,042
#97Kristina3,037
#98Suzanne3,036
#99Emily3,027
#100Jodi3,024

Top 100 boys’ names, 1973

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael67,797
#2Christopher48,313
#3Jason46,683
#4James42,836
#5David41,082
#6John39,165
#7Robert38,698
#8Brian35,686
#9William28,018
#10Matthew24,531
#11Daniel23,672
#12Joseph21,326
#13Eric20,802
#14Kevin20,768
#15Mark20,367
#16Richard19,942
#17Jeffrey19,216
#18Scott18,980
#19Thomas17,921
#20Steven17,175
#21Anthony16,414
#22Timothy16,036
#23Charles15,752
#24Paul12,901
#25Chad12,886
#26Gregory11,674
#27Shawn11,451
#28Kenneth10,979
#29Andrew10,728
#30Ryan10,511
#31Jonathan10,273
#32Stephen9,955
#33Jeremy9,363
#34Aaron9,232
#35Todd8,677
#36Sean8,553
#37Patrick8,480
#38Donald8,361
#39Edward8,360
#40Ronald8,327
#41Keith8,165
#42Joshua8,057
#43Bryan7,110
#44Gary6,851
#45Adam6,842
#46George6,601
#47Douglas6,595
#48Craig6,295
#49Jose6,097
#50Larry6,080
#51Justin6,078
#52Peter5,913
#53Travis5,868
#54Shane5,710
#55Benjamin5,226
#56Dennis5,176
#57Jerry5,097
#58Brandon5,065
#59Troy5,064
#60Raymond4,831
#61Frank4,785
#62Bradley4,748
#63Nathan4,734
#64Jeffery4,407
#65Terry4,374
#66Samuel4,267
#67Juan4,087
#68Rodney4,059
#69Derek3,919
#70Jamie3,913
#71Phillip3,861
#72Marcus3,714
#73Joel3,570
#74Carlos3,569
#75Jesse3,442
#76Billy3,437
#77Russell3,397
#78Tony3,348
#79Randy3,345
#80Brent3,287
#81Marc3,275
#82Johnny3,267
#83Danny3,181
#84Roger3,155
#85Nicholas3,153
#86Erik3,062
#87Derrick3,054
#88Brett3,030
#89Corey3,019
#90Carl3,013
#91Philip2,997
#92Antonio2,965
#93Bobby2,889
#94Jon2,798
#95Jimmy2,735
#96Chris2,703
#97Christian2,693
#98Curtis2,690
#99Vincent2,686
#100Shannon2,636