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US baby names · 1977

Most popular baby names of 1977

In 1977, Social Security card applications recorded 1,533,146 girls and 1,643,220 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 11,329 distinct girls’ names and 6,861 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (58,964 girls) and Michael (67,587 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 1976, 142,260 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1976, 5 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1977 are newcomers (girls: Sabrina, Kristy, Vanessa; boys: Wesley, Alexander, Jimmy). Of these names, 5 of the 100 girls’ names and 27 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 1977 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19761978 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1977

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer58,964
#2Melissa26,879
#3Amy26,729
#4Jessica24,846
#5Heather23,773
#6Angela20,998
#7Michelle19,540
#8Kimberly18,286
#9Amanda18,278
#10Kelly18,234
#11Sarah18,096
#12Lisa17,014
#13Elizabeth16,431
#14Stephanie15,417
#15Nicole15,247
#16Christina14,501
#17Rebecca14,196
#18Jamie12,895
#19Shannon12,518
#20Laura11,318
#21Mary10,656
#22Julie10,204
#23Erin10,198
#24Andrea9,782
#25Crystal9,724
#26Rachel8,976
#27Sara8,709
#28Carrie8,661
#29April8,068
#30Christine7,886
#31Danielle7,616
#32Karen7,441
#33Amber7,207
#34Tiffany7,205
#35Tara7,198
#36Maria7,094
#37Emily6,879
#38Erica6,624
#39Monica6,366
#40Misty6,315
#41Jill6,238
#42Stacy6,154
#43Dawn6,096
#44Katherine6,030
#45Susan5,961
#46Jaime5,906
#47Patricia5,903
#48Cynthia5,782
#49Wendy5,764
#50Tracy5,756
#51Brandy5,477
#52Holly5,463
#53Melanie5,373
#54Megan5,320
#55Tammy5,310
#56Stacey5,206
#57Lori5,072
#58Tina4,951
#59Christy4,602
#60Alicia4,400
#61Sandra4,373
#62Dana4,339
#63Sabrina4,305
#64Tonya4,263
#65Leslie4,250
#66Allison4,205
#67Tanya4,085
#68Kristy4,045
#69Natalie4,043
#70Kathryn3,964
#71Brandi3,885
#72Kristen3,861
#73Veronica3,853
#74Anna3,851
#75Catherine3,840
#76Courtney3,808
#77Michele3,711
#78Denise3,681
#79Teresa3,654
#80Kathleen3,649
#81Heidi3,640
#82Kristin3,605
#83Kristina3,539
#84Robin3,428
#85Samantha3,284
#86Valerie3,266
#87Renee3,259
#88Gina3,231
#89Nancy3,222
#90Vanessa3,209
#91Brenda3,151
#92Jacqueline3,148
#93Tamara3,126
#94Mandy3,100
#95Sharon3,089
#96Melinda3,044
#97Beth2,967
#98Theresa2,914
#99Linda2,912
#100Diana2,846

Top 100 boys’ names, 1977

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael67,587
#2Jason55,631
#3Christopher46,721
#4David40,515
#5James40,040
#6Robert34,214
#7John34,195
#8Brian32,492
#9Matthew31,965
#10Joseph26,483
#11Daniel26,073
#12William24,758
#13Kevin22,463
#14Joshua22,068
#15Jeremy21,610
#16Ryan21,246
#17Eric20,745
#18Timothy17,977
#19Jeffrey17,481
#20Richard17,442
#21Anthony16,804
#22Thomas16,586
#23Steven16,484
#24Andrew16,017
#25Mark15,418
#26Charles14,743
#27Scott14,203
#28Jonathan12,319
#29Benjamin12,106
#30Justin12,008
#31Paul11,798
#32Aaron11,631
#33Adam11,030
#34Chad10,831
#35Gregory10,052
#36Nathan9,886
#37Shawn9,865
#38Stephen9,635
#39Kenneth9,452
#40Patrick8,305
#41Brandon8,272
#42Bryan7,886
#43Sean7,625
#44Travis7,277
#45Jose6,919
#46Donald6,866
#47Edward6,840
#48Keith6,597
#49Bradley6,431
#50Todd6,276
#51Nicholas6,071
#52Corey6,041
#53Ronald6,026
#54Jesse5,823
#55Peter5,821
#56Jacob5,788
#57George5,606
#58Gary5,447
#59Douglas5,297
#60Samuel5,257
#61Shane4,868
#62Larry4,837
#63Juan4,562
#64Craig4,560
#65Raymond4,372
#66Wesley4,302
#67Cory4,259
#68Dennis4,152
#69Jeremiah4,151
#70Phillip3,967
#71Frank3,894
#72Marcus3,846
#73Joel3,824
#74Carlos3,795
#75Jerry3,745
#76Jared3,738
#77Antonio3,662
#78Jeffery3,564
#79Kyle3,505
#80Derrick3,481
#81Dustin3,477
#82Jamie3,447
#83Terry3,443
#84Derek3,441
#85Brent3,423
#86Randy3,397
#87Gabriel3,346
#88Troy3,307
#89Russell3,124
#90Philip3,093
#91Billy2,950
#92Tony2,938
#93Johnny2,801
#94Erik2,786
#95Zachary2,777
#96Alexander2,704
#97Rodney2,703
#98Jimmy2,637
#99Carl2,615
#100Curtis2,605