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US baby names · 1976

Most popular baby names of 1976

In 1976, Social Security card applications recorded 1,465,099 girls and 1,569,007 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 10,913 distinct girls’ names and 6,495 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (59,473 girls) and Michael (66,915 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 17% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 25% of boys. Compared with 1975, 14,888 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1975, 7 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1976 are newcomers (girls: Jaime, Courtney, Natalie; boys: Gabriel, Jeremiah, Zachary). Of these names, 6 of the 100 girls’ names and 25 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 1976 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19751977 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1976

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer59,473
#2Amy31,339
#3Melissa25,094
#4Heather24,192
#5Angela22,038
#6Michelle19,550
#7Kimberly18,962
#8Jessica18,368
#9Lisa17,346
#10Amanda15,588
#11Stephanie15,180
#12Rebecca14,491
#13Nicole14,453
#14Christina14,033
#15Sarah13,993
#16Elizabeth13,547
#17Shannon13,368
#18Jamie12,539
#19Kelly11,791
#20Laura11,252
#21Julie10,839
#22Mary10,315
#23Rachel8,453
#24Erin8,381
#25Andrea8,352
#26Christine8,111
#27Sara8,020
#28Carrie7,991
#29Jaime7,838
#30April7,761
#31Karen7,505
#32Tiffany7,482
#33Danielle7,364
#34Maria7,358
#35Dawn7,048
#36Crystal6,946
#37Tracy6,822
#38Stacy6,523
#39Wendy6,464
#40Susan6,402
#41Tammy6,228
#42Tara6,020
#43Patricia6,017
#44Cynthia6,012
#45Monica5,978
#46Misty5,906
#47Lori5,849
#48Tina5,747
#49Amber5,646
#50Emily5,547
#51Stacey5,390
#52Jill5,283
#53Melanie5,241
#54Erica5,236
#55Brandy5,232
#56Holly5,173
#57Katherine5,051
#58Tonya4,966
#59Sandra4,861
#60Christy4,853
#61Tanya4,819
#62Megan4,463
#63Michele4,443
#64Dana4,408
#65Leslie4,311
#66Teresa4,056
#67Allison4,028
#68Veronica4,022
#69Denise3,986
#70Heidi3,890
#71Alicia3,791
#72Catherine3,780
#73Kristen3,653
#74Kristin3,627
#75Robin3,623
#76Courtney3,619
#77Brenda3,587
#78Anna3,584
#79Brandi3,537
#80Natalie3,499
#81Sharon3,453
#82Kathleen3,405
#83Valerie3,386
#84Pamela3,364
#85Samantha3,347
#86Renee3,314
#87Nancy3,281
#88Kathryn3,262
#89Theresa3,173
#90Linda3,138
#91Tamara3,086
#92Victoria3,036
#93Donna3,032
#94Gina3,010
#95Melinda2,995
#96Deborah2,992
#97Kristina2,972
#98Barbara2,968
#99Jacqueline2,948
#100Mandy2,924

Top 100 boys’ names, 1976

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael66,915
#2Jason52,643
#3Christopher45,190
#4David39,265
#5James38,294
#6John33,976
#7Robert33,789
#8Brian30,517
#9Matthew29,951
#10Daniel24,702
#11William24,428
#12Joseph24,055
#13Eric21,359
#14Jeremy20,126
#15Kevin18,474
#16Ryan17,484
#17Jeffrey17,013
#18Joshua16,845
#19Richard16,752
#20Steven16,650
#21Timothy16,620
#22Anthony16,601
#23Thomas16,122
#24Scott15,717
#25Mark15,508
#26Charles13,921
#27Andrew13,301
#28Paul11,781
#29Chad11,766
#30Aaron11,344
#31Jonathan11,314
#32Benjamin10,672
#33Justin10,144
#34Shawn10,108
#35Gregory10,060
#36Adam9,937
#37Stephen9,727
#38Kenneth9,127
#39Nathan8,611
#40Brandon7,786
#41Patrick7,642
#42Sean7,565
#43Bryan7,288
#44Jose7,061
#45Edward7,048
#46Travis6,832
#47Donald6,792
#48Keith6,745
#49Ronald6,457
#50Todd6,440
#51Bradley5,976
#52Gary5,592
#53George5,556
#54Peter5,445
#55Jesse5,300
#56Douglas5,224
#57Shane5,095
#58Juan5,053
#59Samuel5,025
#60Larry4,842
#61Craig4,732
#62Jamie4,621
#63Jacob4,509
#64Corey4,432
#65Raymond4,218
#66Dennis4,169
#67Jerry4,070
#68Frank3,899
#69Phillip3,789
#70Carlos3,787
#71Antonio3,774
#72Joel3,722
#73Troy3,715
#74Marcus3,681
#75Terry3,668
#76Jeffery3,564
#77Nicholas3,466
#78Brent3,405
#79Randy3,320
#80Kyle3,308
#81Gabriel3,303
#82Dustin3,212
#83Cory3,182
#84Derek3,168
#85Billy3,158
#86Tony3,067
#87Russell2,999
#88Rodney2,984
#89Philip2,943
#90Jared2,929
#91Derrick2,921
#92Johnny2,874
#93Jeremiah2,872
#94Erik2,754
#95Carl2,670
#96Bobby2,644
#97Zachary2,644
#98Shannon2,611
#99Marc2,598
#100Victor2,528