Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1978

Most popular baby names of 1978

In 1978, Social Security card applications recorded 1,531,859 girls and 1,641,837 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 11,475 distinct girls’ names and 6,762 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (56,314 girls) and Michael (67,127 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 1977, 2,670 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1977, 6 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1978 are newcomers (girls: Lauren, Ashley, Katie; boys: Shaun, Casey, Nathaniel). 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 1978 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19771979 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1978

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer56,314
#2Melissa28,327
#3Jessica26,102
#4Amy23,213
#5Heather22,270
#6Amanda20,520
#7Angela20,517
#8Sarah19,976
#9Michelle18,856
#10Nicole17,279
#11Lisa17,033
#12Kelly16,976
#13Kimberly16,879
#14Elizabeth16,807
#15Christina16,367
#16Stephanie16,233
#17Rebecca13,796
#18Crystal12,594
#19Laura11,240
#20Jamie10,982
#21Erin10,786
#22Shannon10,598
#23Andrea10,461
#24Mary10,040
#25Rachel9,802
#26Julie9,794
#27April9,590
#28Sara8,869
#29Christine8,272
#30Amber8,174
#31Danielle7,983
#32Tiffany7,701
#33Emily7,473
#34Erica7,340
#35Carrie7,318
#36Maria7,021
#37Brandy6,699
#38Katherine6,625
#39Karen6,371
#40Tara6,330
#41Megan5,895
#42Monica5,867
#43Misty5,834
#44Stacy5,776
#45Tina5,699
#46Jill5,676
#47Tracy5,631
#48Patricia5,498
#49Susan5,418
#50Cynthia5,403
#51Kristy5,332
#52Dawn5,217
#53Stacey4,998
#54Melanie4,996
#55Holly4,972
#56Wendy4,918
#57Kathryn4,808
#58Alicia4,752
#59Christy4,661
#60Lori4,631
#61Brandi4,500
#62Kristen4,368
#63Leslie4,342
#64Kristina4,229
#65Anna4,173
#66Natalie4,165
#67Tammy4,070
#68Courtney4,031
#69Sandra4,005
#70Jaime4,003
#71Dana4,002
#72Catherine3,958
#73Veronica3,933
#74Samantha3,886
#75Allison3,864
#76Vanessa3,853
#77Tonya3,826
#78Kristin3,807
#79Kathleen3,743
#80Lauren3,669
#81Jacqueline3,576
#82Tanya3,576
#83Heidi3,567
#84Melinda3,563
#85Denise3,519
#86Michele3,484
#87Ashley3,482
#88Teresa3,472
#89Robin3,440
#90Katie3,426
#91Sabrina3,350
#92Valerie3,299
#93Gina3,220
#94Cheryl3,167
#95Lindsay3,123
#96Mandy3,110
#97Nancy3,044
#98Kristi2,992
#99Renee2,969
#100Linda2,932

Top 100 boys’ names, 1978

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael67,127
#2Jason51,600
#3Christopher47,236
#4David40,684
#5James39,894
#6Matthew34,282
#7John34,014
#8Robert33,374
#9Brian29,432
#10Joseph26,663
#11Daniel26,441
#12Joshua25,204
#13William24,170
#14Ryan21,322
#15Kevin20,094
#16Eric19,761
#17Timothy19,597
#18Jeremy19,509
#19Jeffrey16,989
#20Anthony16,808
#21Richard16,734
#22Andrew16,720
#23Thomas16,481
#24Steven16,390
#25Nicholas16,342
#26Mark14,851
#27Charles14,844
#28Justin14,183
#29Adam13,918
#30Scott13,539
#31Jonathan12,514
#32Aaron12,299
#33Paul11,733
#34Benjamin11,414
#35Chad10,107
#36Nathan9,890
#37Stephen9,854
#38Gregory9,340
#39Shawn9,289
#40Brandon9,241
#41Kenneth9,021
#42Patrick8,830
#43Bryan7,291
#44Jose7,148
#45Sean7,059
#46Travis6,953
#47Edward6,473
#48Donald6,423
#49Keith6,172
#50Jacob6,161
#51Jesse6,107
#52Shaun6,105
#53Bradley6,096
#54Peter5,872
#55Ronald5,758
#56Todd5,497
#57Samuel5,394
#58George5,297
#59Douglas5,151
#60Gary5,111
#61Corey4,942
#62Juan4,837
#63Kyle4,517
#64Larry4,514
#65Shane4,480
#66Craig4,472
#67Phillip4,362
#68Dustin4,177
#69Raymond4,134
#70Marcus3,995
#71Dennis3,861
#72Jared3,847
#73Cory3,842
#74Joel3,810
#75Derek3,800
#76Derrick3,786
#77Frank3,775
#78Carlos3,729
#79Antonio3,677
#80Jeffery3,543
#81Jeremiah3,445
#82Jerry3,427
#83Wesley3,306
#84Philip3,298
#85Erik3,261
#86Randy3,220
#87Brent3,181
#88Troy3,152
#89Zachary3,127
#90Gabriel3,126
#91Terry3,089
#92Casey3,003
#93Russell2,984
#94Nathaniel2,925
#95Jamie2,864
#96Curtis2,825
#97Tony2,770
#98Alexander2,738
#99Billy2,695
#100Carl2,606