Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1981

Most popular baby names of 1981

In 1981, Social Security card applications recorded 1,668,060 girls and 1,791,177 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 12,198 distinct girls’ names and 7,289 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (57,046 girls) and Michael (68,750 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 1980, 14,979 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1980, 5 girls’ names and 1 boys’ names in 1981 are newcomers (girls: Latoya, Diana, Victoria; boys: Tyler). Of these names, 7 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 1981 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19801982 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1981

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer57,046
#2Jessica42,531
#3Amanda34,372
#4Sarah28,175
#5Melissa28,005
#6Amy20,345
#7Nicole20,310
#8Stephanie20,212
#9Elizabeth20,168
#10Heather17,946
#11Michelle17,781
#12Rebecca16,737
#13Kimberly16,689
#14Tiffany16,416
#15Angela15,924
#16Crystal15,888
#17Christina14,392
#18Lisa14,294
#19Erin13,853
#20Amber13,814
#21Laura13,292
#22Rachel12,590
#23Kelly11,873
#24Andrea11,686
#25April11,406
#26Sara11,359
#27Mary11,042
#28Jamie10,982
#29Emily10,799
#30Danielle10,038
#31Kristin9,737
#32Shannon9,226
#33Megan8,964
#34Ashley8,874
#35Lauren8,813
#36Erica8,626
#37Julie8,567
#38Kristen8,540
#39Katherine8,433
#40Maria7,681
#41Brandy6,898
#42Christine6,854
#43Courtney6,636
#44Katie6,600
#45Tara6,366
#46Alicia5,855
#47Lindsay5,843
#48Kathryn5,823
#49Monica5,782
#50Brandi5,527
#51Samantha5,516
#52Brooke5,328
#53Patricia5,284
#54Anna5,192
#55Carrie5,094
#56Leslie4,934
#57Allison4,904
#58Lindsey4,863
#59Cynthia4,859
#60Natalie4,858
#61Misty4,799
#62Vanessa4,749
#63Holly4,564
#64Karen4,539
#65Stacy4,479
#66Melanie4,475
#67Jacqueline4,334
#68Veronica4,313
#69Latoya4,266
#70Dana4,246
#71Susan4,244
#72Kristina4,061
#73Catherine4,057
#74Sandra4,037
#75Diana3,971
#76Pamela3,881
#77Tracy3,869
#78Jill3,857
#79Dawn3,839
#80Tina3,821
#81Leah3,808
#82Kathleen3,776
#83Stacey3,754
#84Heidi3,738
#85Natasha3,730
#86Candice3,698
#87Victoria3,689
#88Julia3,668
#89Valerie3,611
#90Wendy3,608
#91Lori3,479
#92Tanya3,408
#93Erika3,399
#94Kristy3,263
#95Katrina3,257
#96Denise3,201
#97Teresa3,121
#98Renee2,997
#99Christy2,943
#100Theresa2,943

Top 100 boys’ names, 1981

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael68,750
#2Christopher50,221
#3Matthew43,330
#4Jason41,927
#5David40,629
#6Joshua39,024
#7James38,283
#8John34,868
#9Robert34,395
#10Daniel30,985
#11Joseph30,761
#12Justin27,307
#13Ryan26,811
#14Brian26,583
#15William24,798
#16Jonathan22,588
#17Eric20,712
#18Andrew20,232
#19Brandon20,206
#20Adam20,044
#21Nicholas19,775
#22Jeremy19,113
#23Anthony18,569
#24Timothy18,228
#25Kevin17,454
#26Thomas17,159
#27Richard16,855
#28Steven16,482
#29Jeffrey15,931
#30Aaron14,694
#31Charles14,427
#32Benjamin14,360
#33Mark13,542
#34Scott12,719
#35Paul11,776
#36Nathan11,256
#37Jesse10,443
#38Patrick10,384
#39Stephen10,302
#40Travis10,109
#41Kenneth9,472
#42Dustin9,350
#43Jacob9,342
#44Sean8,893
#45Jose8,773
#46Gregory8,756
#47Chad8,412
#48Bryan7,215
#49Shawn7,076
#50Bradley6,895
#51Edward6,661
#52Kyle6,570
#53Derek6,481
#54Samuel6,036
#55Peter5,997
#56Donald5,910
#57Jared5,865
#58Keith5,621
#59Ronald5,538
#60Juan5,499
#61George5,157
#62Gary4,946
#63Zachary4,841
#64Douglas4,788
#65Joel4,540
#66Phillip4,539
#67Marcus4,510
#68Raymond4,367
#69Corey4,247
#70Alexander4,237
#71Carlos4,185
#72Craig4,097
#73Larry3,955
#74Todd3,953
#75Antonio3,926
#76Erik3,921
#77Jeremiah3,896
#78Derrick3,850
#79Brett3,775
#80Nathaniel3,719
#81Shane3,710
#82Frank3,638
#83Dennis3,634
#84Philip3,581
#85Casey3,518
#86Shaun3,383
#87Gabriel3,373
#88Brent3,371
#89Lucas3,371
#90Cory3,352
#91Randy3,343
#92Luis3,342
#93Jeffery3,334
#94Curtis3,198
#95Seth3,137
#96Tyler3,117
#97Jerry3,056
#98Russell3,048
#99Wesley3,040
#100Luke3,013