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US baby names · 1980

Most popular baby names of 1980

In 1980, Social Security card applications recorded 1,660,307 girls and 1,783,951 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 12,161 distinct girls’ names and 7,293 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (58,374 girls) and Michael (68,683 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 1979, 117,454 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1979, 5 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1980 are newcomers (girls: Natasha, Lindsey, Monique; boys: Luis, Luke, Lucas). Of these names, 6 of the 100 girls’ names and 29 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 1980 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19791981 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1980

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer58,374
#2Amanda35,811
#3Jessica33,924
#4Melissa31,629
#5Sarah25,757
#6Heather19,973
#7Nicole19,917
#8Amy19,833
#9Elizabeth19,529
#10Michelle19,119
#11Kimberly18,497
#12Angela17,969
#13Stephanie17,841
#14Tiffany16,228
#15Christina16,141
#16Lisa15,664
#17Rebecca15,281
#18Crystal14,253
#19Kelly13,710
#20Erin13,428
#21Laura12,916
#22Amber12,553
#23Rachel11,618
#24Jamie11,529
#25Mary11,474
#26April11,472
#27Sara11,148
#28Andrea10,450
#29Shannon9,670
#30Megan9,134
#31Emily9,001
#32Julie8,906
#33Danielle8,845
#34Erica8,760
#35Katherine8,017
#36Maria7,875
#37Kristin7,701
#38Lauren7,476
#39Kristen7,316
#40Ashley7,296
#41Christine7,085
#42Brandy6,410
#43Tara6,283
#44Katie6,137
#45Monica6,034
#46Carrie5,761
#47Alicia5,753
#48Courtney5,618
#49Misty5,541
#50Kathryn5,527
#51Patricia5,310
#52Holly5,282
#53Stacy5,057
#54Karen5,055
#55Anna5,038
#56Tracy4,969
#57Brooke4,951
#58Samantha4,913
#59Allison4,868
#60Melanie4,841
#61Leslie4,776
#62Susan4,704
#63Brandi4,703
#64Cynthia4,700
#65Natalie4,645
#66Jill4,558
#67Dawn4,479
#68Dana4,438
#69Vanessa4,426
#70Veronica4,378
#71Lindsay4,353
#72Tina4,260
#73Kristina4,222
#74Stacey4,222
#75Wendy4,141
#76Lori4,085
#77Catherine4,080
#78Kristy4,059
#79Heidi4,027
#80Sandra4,002
#81Jacqueline3,879
#82Kathleen3,857
#83Christy3,673
#84Leah3,642
#85Valerie3,613
#86Pamela3,533
#87Erika3,516
#88Tanya3,436
#89Natasha3,428
#90Katrina3,397
#91Lindsey3,386
#92Melinda3,201
#93Monique3,163
#94Teresa3,149
#95Denise3,145
#96Tammy3,134
#97Tonya3,080
#98Julia3,069
#99Candice3,012
#100Gina2,991

Top 100 boys’ names, 1980

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael68,683
#2Christopher49,079
#3Jason48,164
#4David41,891
#5James39,312
#6Matthew37,834
#7Joshua36,052
#8John35,274
#9Robert34,266
#10Joseph30,185
#11Daniel29,888
#12Brian28,715
#13Justin26,763
#14William25,639
#15Ryan24,795
#16Eric22,611
#17Nicholas21,018
#18Jeremy19,892
#19Andrew19,730
#20Timothy19,146
#21Jonathan18,986
#22Adam18,868
#23Kevin17,972
#24Anthony17,604
#25Thomas17,564
#26Richard16,656
#27Jeffrey16,379
#28Steven15,916
#29Charles14,959
#30Mark14,169
#31Brandon14,161
#32Benjamin13,622
#33Scott13,300
#34Aaron13,166
#35Paul11,819
#36Nathan11,138
#37Travis10,764
#38Patrick10,352
#39Chad10,142
#40Stephen10,062
#41Kenneth9,608
#42Gregory9,267
#43Jacob8,520
#44Dustin8,416
#45Jesse8,374
#46Jose8,323
#47Shawn7,698
#48Sean7,596
#49Bryan7,513
#50Derek7,240
#51Bradley7,210
#52Edward6,762
#53Donald6,269
#54Samuel6,014
#55Peter5,967
#56Keith5,887
#57Kyle5,775
#58Ronald5,757
#59Juan5,434
#60George5,300
#61Jared5,205
#62Douglas5,180
#63Gary5,037
#64Erik4,918
#65Phillip4,633
#66Raymond4,578
#67Joel4,564
#68Corey4,437
#69Shane4,365
#70Larry4,262
#71Marcus4,260
#72Zachary4,245
#73Craig4,234
#74Derrick4,135
#75Todd4,128
#76Jeremiah4,093
#77Antonio4,085
#78Carlos4,084
#79Shaun3,923
#80Dennis3,804
#81Frank3,734
#82Philip3,563
#83Cory3,556
#84Brent3,537
#85Gabriel3,493
#86Nathaniel3,492
#87Randy3,390
#88Luis3,359
#89Curtis3,332
#90Jeffery3,324
#91Alexander3,279
#92Russell3,269
#93Casey3,215
#94Jerry3,189
#95Wesley3,165
#96Brett3,128
#97Luke3,109
#98Lucas3,080
#99Seth3,050
#100Billy2,991