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US baby names · 1974

Most popular baby names of 1974

In 1974, Social Security card applications recorded 1,467,534 girls and 1,572,334 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 10,247 distinct girls’ names and 6,004 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (63,107 girls) and Michael (67,534 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 1973, 23,083 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1973, 4 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1974 are newcomers (girls: Amber, Jamie, Kathryn; boys: Jacob, Victor, Kyle). 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 1974 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19731975 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1974

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer63,107
#2Amy29,566
#3Michelle25,826
#4Heather23,179
#5Angela22,803
#6Kimberly22,427
#7Melissa22,166
#8Lisa19,778
#9Stephanie16,984
#10Rebecca15,163
#11Nicole13,112
#12Elizabeth12,259
#13Mary11,738
#14Julie11,360
#15Kelly10,851
#16Christina10,849
#17Jessica10,656
#18Shannon10,608
#19Christine9,901
#20Sarah9,788
#21Laura9,716
#22Dawn9,417
#23Tracy9,286
#24Tammy9,238
#25Tina8,668
#26Karen8,643
#27Susan8,470
#28April8,454
#29Patricia8,036
#30Lori7,960
#31Maria7,804
#32Wendy7,564
#33Cynthia7,557
#34Amanda7,473
#35Andrea7,472
#36Rachel7,399
#37Tonya6,878
#38Stacy6,741
#39Tara6,657
#40Danielle6,629
#41Tiffany6,482
#42Carrie6,436
#43Monica6,281
#44Sandra6,270
#45Kristen6,052
#46Tanya5,997
#47Erin5,868
#48Stacey5,803
#49Crystal5,622
#50Michele5,587
#51Melanie5,483
#52Teresa5,397
#53Denise5,395
#54Pamela5,272
#55Dana5,158
#56Holly5,144
#57Christy5,067
#58Jill5,061
#59Brenda4,830
#60Heidi4,683
#61Sara4,650
#62Katherine4,530
#63Robin4,525
#64Tamara4,525
#65Leslie4,463
#66Misty4,439
#67Donna4,354
#68Deborah4,343
#69Emily4,329
#70Sharon4,276
#71Veronica4,226
#72Kristin4,218
#73Catherine4,184
#74Erica4,121
#75Linda4,077
#76Kathleen3,953
#77Barbara3,906
#78Nancy3,891
#79Theresa3,857
#80Brandy3,832
#81Melinda3,752
#82Anna3,622
#83Jacqueline3,573
#84Gina3,560
#85Renee3,528
#86Rhonda3,525
#87Diana3,513
#88Cheryl3,496
#89Sherry3,436
#90Alicia3,434
#91Jodi3,306
#92Amber3,273
#93Valerie3,181
#94Debra3,129
#95Margaret3,087
#96Paula3,061
#97Jamie3,020
#98Kathryn2,991
#99Allison2,959
#100Ann2,928

Top 100 boys’ names, 1974

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael67,534
#2Jason54,756
#3Christopher48,585
#4David41,786
#5James41,334
#6John37,612
#7Robert37,005
#8Brian34,449
#9Matthew27,194
#10William26,980
#11Daniel23,833
#12Joseph21,834
#13Eric20,193
#14Kevin19,461
#15Jeffrey19,320
#16Mark18,905
#17Richard18,636
#18Scott18,030
#19Steven17,663
#20Thomas17,268
#21Anthony16,391
#22Timothy15,890
#23Charles15,151
#24Jeremy13,295
#25Ryan13,179
#26Chad12,788
#27Paul12,310
#28Andrew11,778
#29Joshua11,599
#30Shawn11,438
#31Gregory10,826
#32Aaron10,507
#33Jonathan10,230
#34Kenneth10,143
#35Stephen10,101
#36Adam8,421
#37Sean8,290
#38Patrick8,137
#39Todd7,845
#40Edward7,817
#41Donald7,758
#42Ronald7,667
#43Justin7,429
#44Keith7,390
#45Bryan7,226
#46Benjamin7,183
#47Jose6,720
#48Gary6,444
#49George6,283
#50Peter5,940
#51Brandon5,859
#52Nathan5,844
#53Douglas5,843
#54Travis5,702
#55Larry5,694
#56Shane5,655
#57Craig5,539
#58Bradley5,173
#59Dennis4,880
#60Samuel4,672
#61Jerry4,664
#62Raymond4,577
#63Troy4,563
#64Juan4,428
#65Frank4,365
#66Jeffery4,363
#67Jesse4,105
#68Jamie4,086
#69Terry4,027
#70Phillip3,934
#71Carlos3,871
#72Rodney3,849
#73Marcus3,801
#74Derek3,636
#75Joel3,491
#76Brent3,413
#77Corey3,382
#78Billy3,365
#79Randy3,342
#80Nicholas3,218
#81Tony3,216
#82Antonio3,178
#83Johnny3,169
#84Russell3,168
#85Marc3,108
#86Philip2,967
#87Derrick2,958
#88Jacob2,957
#89Carl2,895
#90Erik2,881
#91Danny2,859
#92Bobby2,792
#93Roger2,754
#94Jon2,750
#95Brett2,677
#96Victor2,621
#97Kyle2,598
#98Curtis2,589
#99Jimmy2,568
#100Lawrence2,543