Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1979

Most popular baby names of 1979

In 1979, Social Security card applications recorded 1,605,268 girls and 1,721,536 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 11,972 distinct girls’ names and 7,071 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (56,712 girls) and Michael (67,713 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 17% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 24% of boys. Compared with 1978, 153,108 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1978, 7 girls’ names and 1 boys’ names in 1979 are newcomers (girls: Mindy, Brooke, Pamela; boys: Brett). Of these names, 6 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 1979 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19781980 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1979

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer56,712
#2Melissa34,050
#3Amanda31,924
#4Jessica27,780
#5Amy21,609
#6Sarah21,015
#7Heather20,834
#8Angela20,256
#9Nicole19,510
#10Michelle19,266
#11Elizabeth18,073
#12Kimberly17,635
#13Lisa17,286
#14Christina16,454
#15Stephanie16,204
#16Kelly15,296
#17Rebecca14,548
#18Crystal13,467
#19Jamie12,156
#20Laura11,880
#21Erin11,259
#22Amber11,079
#23April10,902
#24Mary10,555
#25Shannon10,370
#26Andrea10,336
#27Rachel10,230
#28Tiffany9,611
#29Julie9,254
#30Sara8,654
#31Megan8,293
#32Erica8,178
#33Danielle7,981
#34Emily7,971
#35Christine7,689
#36Katherine7,464
#37Maria7,339
#38Tara6,806
#39Brandy6,775
#40Monica6,585
#41Carrie6,354
#42Misty5,785
#43Stacy5,708
#44Patricia5,650
#45Lauren5,625
#46Karen5,599
#47Alicia5,547
#48Holly5,488
#49Tracy5,389
#50Kathryn5,312
#51Susan5,196
#52Jill5,192
#53Melanie5,021
#54Dana4,948
#55Cynthia4,931
#56Kristy4,880
#57Dawn4,725
#58Tina4,677
#59Anna4,670
#60Stacey4,613
#61Brandi4,609
#62Kristen4,568
#63Katie4,512
#64Wendy4,500
#65Leslie4,497
#66Samantha4,461
#67Ashley4,448
#68Natalie4,445
#69Lori4,432
#70Allison4,406
#71Courtney4,321
#72Christy4,286
#73Kristin4,264
#74Kristina4,130
#75Vanessa4,102
#76Veronica4,062
#77Sandra3,995
#78Catherine3,878
#79Tammy3,758
#80Jacqueline3,740
#81Mindy3,712
#82Melinda3,705
#83Heidi3,670
#84Kathleen3,641
#85Brooke3,505
#86Tonya3,495
#87Teresa3,481
#88Lindsay3,466
#89Valerie3,407
#90Pamela3,365
#91Erika3,316
#92Denise3,267
#93Tanya3,225
#94Cheryl3,210
#95Robin3,209
#96Gina3,116
#97Jaime3,086
#98Leah3,075
#99Katrina2,998
#100Theresa2,995

Top 100 boys’ names, 1979

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael67,713
#2Christopher50,659
#3Jason50,369
#4David42,053
#5James39,351
#6Matthew35,621
#7John35,410
#8Robert34,015
#9Joshua31,120
#10Brian28,659
#11Joseph28,654
#12Daniel28,521
#13William24,676
#14Ryan23,212
#15Nicholas21,344
#16Jeremy21,005
#17Eric20,268
#18Timothy19,077
#19Kevin18,733
#20Andrew18,618
#21Anthony17,513
#22Justin17,390
#23Adam17,046
#24Jeffrey16,865
#25Richard16,713
#26Thomas16,454
#27Steven16,331
#28Charles14,806
#29Scott14,440
#30Mark14,386
#31Jonathan14,331
#32Aaron13,076
#33Benjamin12,512
#34Paul11,630
#35Brandon11,302
#36Travis11,037
#37Nathan10,719
#38Chad10,161
#39Patrick9,979
#40Stephen9,903
#41Kenneth9,236
#42Gregory9,109
#43Shawn7,910
#44Jose7,848
#45Jacob7,545
#46Bryan7,441
#47Bradley6,923
#48Edward6,877
#49Sean6,850
#50Jesse6,679
#51Donald6,508
#52Keith6,186
#53Peter6,079
#54Ronald5,694
#55Samuel5,687
#56Kyle5,449
#57George5,263
#58Douglas5,167
#59Gary5,038
#60Todd4,984
#61Juan4,946
#62Dustin4,899
#63Corey4,738
#64Shaun4,736
#65Jared4,670
#66Erik4,640
#67Shane4,482
#68Phillip4,422
#69Larry4,393
#70Raymond4,335
#71Joel4,216
#72Derek4,200
#73Carlos4,165
#74Zachary4,156
#75Dennis4,080
#76Marcus4,048
#77Craig4,029
#78Frank3,928
#79Antonio3,801
#80Derrick3,729
#81Jeremiah3,719
#82Cory3,587
#83Philip3,460
#84Brent3,455
#85Jerry3,446
#86Randy3,416
#87Jeffery3,357
#88Jamie3,240
#89Wesley3,237
#90Gabriel3,235
#91Curtis3,200
#92Russell3,132
#93Casey3,082
#94Alexander3,058
#95Nathaniel3,040
#96Terry3,040
#97Billy2,998
#98Brett2,997
#99Troy2,964
#100Carl2,898