Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1985

Most popular baby names of 1985

In 1985, Social Security card applications recorded 1,720,828 girls and 1,848,210 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 12,505 distinct girls’ names and 7,586 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (48,345 girls) and Michael (64,934 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 18% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 23% of boys. Compared with 1984, 80,373 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1984, 7 girls’ names and 3 boys’ names in 1985 are newcomers (girls: Whitney, Caitlin, Dominique; boys: Adrian, Wesley, Blake). 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 1985 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19841986 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1985

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica48,345
#2Ashley47,010
#3Jennifer42,661
#4Amanda39,055
#5Sarah24,879
#6Stephanie23,243
#7Nicole22,966
#8Heather21,151
#9Elizabeth20,545
#10Megan20,013
#11Melissa19,963
#12Christina16,600
#13Rachel16,360
#14Laura16,002
#15Lauren15,768
#16Amber15,506
#17Brittany15,437
#18Danielle15,417
#19Kimberly14,914
#20Amy14,429
#21Crystal14,399
#22Michelle13,973
#23Tiffany13,681
#24Emily13,144
#25Rebecca12,705
#26Erin11,384
#27Jamie11,038
#28Kelly11,031
#29Samantha10,658
#30Sara10,562
#31Angela10,227
#32Katherine10,128
#33Andrea10,053
#34Erica9,525
#35Mary9,240
#36Lisa9,012
#37Lindsey8,468
#38Kristen8,445
#39Katie7,995
#40Lindsay7,871
#41Shannon7,714
#42Vanessa7,563
#43Courtney7,531
#44Christine7,441
#45Alicia7,122
#46Allison7,028
#47April6,691
#48Kathryn6,634
#49Kristin6,566
#50Jenna6,436
#51Tara6,102
#52Maria6,013
#53Krystal5,933
#54Anna5,883
#55Julie5,761
#56Holly5,602
#57Kristina5,566
#58Natalie5,535
#59Victoria5,426
#60Jacqueline5,250
#61Monica4,990
#62Cassandra4,726
#63Meghan4,669
#64Patricia4,402
#65Catherine4,297
#66Cynthia4,129
#67Stacy4,109
#68Kathleen4,087
#69Brandi4,045
#70Brandy3,901
#71Valerie3,881
#72Veronica3,875
#73Whitney3,832
#74Diana3,686
#75Chelsea3,613
#76Leslie3,607
#77Caitlin3,593
#78Leah3,572
#79Natasha3,553
#80Erika3,503
#81Latoya3,402
#82Dana3,348
#83Dominique3,299
#84Brittney3,224
#85Julia3,206
#86Candice3,195
#87Karen3,138
#88Melanie3,132
#89Stacey3,114
#90Margaret3,072
#91Sheena3,062
#92Alexandra3,017
#93Katrina2,978
#94Bethany2,959
#95Nichole2,950
#96Carrie2,942
#97Alison2,829
#98Kara2,811
#99Joanna2,772
#100Rachael2,761

Top 100 boys’ names, 1985

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael64,934
#2Christopher59,609
#3Matthew47,075
#4Joshua42,194
#5Daniel38,559
#6David38,522
#7James35,862
#8Robert32,094
#9John31,502
#10Joseph30,222
#11Andrew30,178
#12Ryan29,905
#13Brandon29,304
#14Jason26,039
#15Justin25,537
#16William24,606
#17Jonathan24,116
#18Brian23,069
#19Nicholas22,384
#20Anthony22,104
#21Eric20,844
#22Adam20,165
#23Kevin18,814
#24Steven18,726
#25Thomas17,609
#26Timothy17,140
#27Kyle16,523
#28Richard15,330
#29Jeffrey14,500
#30Jeremy13,445
#31Benjamin13,423
#32Mark13,194
#33Aaron13,137
#34Charles12,900
#35Jacob12,284
#36Stephen12,210
#37Patrick11,638
#38Sean11,455
#39Zachary11,346
#40Nathan10,653
#41Dustin10,439
#42Paul10,315
#43Tyler10,211
#44Scott10,145
#45Gregory9,767
#46Travis9,094
#47Kenneth8,992
#48Bryan8,717
#49Jose8,403
#50Alexander8,295
#51Jesse8,221
#52Cody7,096
#53Bradley7,011
#54Samuel7,009
#55Shawn6,982
#56Derek6,661
#57Chad6,466
#58Jared5,883
#59Edward5,869
#60Peter5,671
#61Marcus5,586
#62Jordan5,460
#63Corey5,228
#64Keith5,214
#65Juan4,851
#66Donald4,750
#67Joel4,623
#68Shane4,549
#69Phillip4,496
#70Brett4,328
#71Ronald4,299
#72George4,259
#73Antonio4,151
#74Carlos4,089
#75Raymond4,085
#76Douglas4,021
#77Nathaniel4,004
#78Ian3,998
#79Craig3,952
#80Alex3,909
#81Cory3,868
#82Gary3,812
#83Derrick3,779
#84Philip3,735
#85Luis3,706
#86Casey3,490
#87Erik3,372
#88Victor3,341
#89Brent3,321
#90Frank3,302
#91Evan3,219
#92Gabriel3,215
#93Adrian3,132
#94Wesley3,043
#95Vincent3,040
#96Jeffery2,947
#97Larry2,946
#98Curtis2,943
#99Todd2,941
#100Blake2,922