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US baby names · 1982

Most popular baby names of 1982

In 1982, Social Security card applications recorded 1,693,325 girls and 1,814,447 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 12,332 distinct girls’ names and 7,367 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jennifer (57,120 girls) and Michael (68,216 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 1981, 48,535 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1981, 7 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1982 are newcomers (girls: Cassandra, Krystal, Alexis; boys: Ian, Jordan, Cody). Of these names, 7 of the 100 girls’ names and 28 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 1982 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19811983 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1982

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jennifer57,120
#2Jessica45,453
#3Amanda34,214
#4Sarah28,483
#5Melissa25,864
#6Nicole21,706
#7Stephanie20,861
#8Elizabeth20,506
#9Crystal19,099
#10Amy18,799
#11Michelle17,765
#12Heather17,493
#13Tiffany17,175
#14Kimberly16,101
#15Rebecca15,730
#16Angela15,002
#17Ashley14,851
#18Amber14,678
#19Christina14,518
#20Erin14,362
#21Rachel13,871
#22Laura13,310
#23Lisa12,637
#24Emily12,519
#25Kelly12,170
#26Lauren11,589
#27Andrea11,374
#28Sara11,344
#29Jamie11,039
#30Mary10,851
#31Danielle10,204
#32April10,060
#33Kristen9,534
#34Megan9,518
#35Erica9,340
#36Katherine9,179
#37Kristin8,734
#38Shannon8,623
#39Lindsay8,260
#40Lindsey7,961
#41Julie7,696
#42Maria7,348
#43Courtney7,100
#44Samantha6,768
#45Katie6,681
#46Christine6,555
#47Tara6,524
#48Kathryn6,284
#49Vanessa6,154
#50Brandy6,077
#51Natalie5,961
#52Monica5,734
#53Alicia5,614
#54Jacqueline5,493
#55Brandi5,469
#56Anna5,271
#57Carrie5,186
#58Allison5,170
#59Patricia5,168
#60Leslie4,985
#61Holly4,682
#62Cassandra4,663
#63Diana4,430
#64Cynthia4,427
#65Melanie4,255
#66Victoria4,255
#67Dana4,242
#68Karen4,153
#69Veronica4,150
#70Kristina4,149
#71Natasha4,128
#72Stacy4,099
#73Catherine4,098
#74Misty4,071
#75Valerie3,989
#76Susan3,970
#77Kathleen3,949
#78Candice3,791
#79Leah3,762
#80Sandra3,655
#81Erika3,596
#82Pamela3,546
#83Krystal3,504
#84Julia3,502
#85Stacey3,459
#86Heidi3,392
#87Katrina3,322
#88Tracy3,283
#89Jill3,270
#90Tina3,219
#91Latoya3,201
#92Brooke3,144
#93Alexis3,123
#94Brittany3,102
#95Dawn3,088
#96Jillian3,056
#97Margaret2,998
#98Lori2,978
#99Nichole2,923
#100Denise2,896

Top 100 boys’ names, 1982

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael68,216
#2Christopher59,223
#3Matthew46,045
#4Jason40,628
#5David40,453
#6James38,874
#7Joshua38,004
#8John34,698
#9Robert34,409
#10Daniel32,652
#11Joseph31,035
#12Justin29,115
#13Ryan26,685
#14Brian25,829
#15William25,604
#16Jonathan23,113
#17Andrew22,833
#18Brandon20,212
#19Adam20,099
#20Eric19,878
#21Anthony19,648
#22Nicholas19,643
#23Thomas17,578
#24Timothy17,464
#25Kevin17,462
#26Steven17,145
#27Richard16,717
#28Jeremy16,466
#29Jeffrey16,030
#30Aaron14,406
#31Charles14,310
#32Mark13,865
#33Benjamin13,805
#34Scott12,200
#35Paul11,310
#36Nathan10,805
#37Patrick10,695
#38Stephen10,627
#39Travis10,415
#40Gregory10,144
#41Jacob10,059
#42Dustin9,551
#43Jesse9,504
#44Sean9,359
#45Kenneth9,354
#46Jose8,624
#47Kyle8,207
#48Chad7,909
#49Bryan7,498
#50Derek6,992
#51Bradley6,975
#52Shawn6,842
#53Edward6,281
#54Jared6,263
#55Zachary6,139
#56Samuel6,014
#57Peter5,777
#58Donald5,712
#59Keith5,620
#60Ronald5,207
#61Juan5,121
#62George4,990
#63Marcus4,988
#64Gary4,642
#65Alexander4,593
#66Tyler4,577
#67Phillip4,520
#68Douglas4,511
#69Joel4,446
#70Raymond4,294
#71Carlos4,268
#72Brett4,026
#73Craig4,018
#74Corey3,939
#75Nathaniel3,939
#76Antonio3,884
#77Larry3,720
#78Derrick3,655
#79Philip3,642
#80Erik3,632
#81Frank3,604
#82Todd3,598
#83Ian3,574
#84Shane3,539
#85Jordan3,534
#86Casey3,427
#87Dennis3,392
#88Gabriel3,363
#89Jeremiah3,329
#90Luis3,324
#91Brent3,321
#92Jeffery3,311
#93Cory3,237
#94Randy3,229
#95Cody3,180
#96Shaun3,154
#97Russell3,032
#98Wesley3,031
#99Victor3,002
#100Jerry2,942