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US baby names · 1986

Most popular baby names of 1986

In 1986, Social Security card applications recorded 1,715,547 girls and 1,841,515 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 12,836 distinct girls’ names and 7,830 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (52,682 girls) and Michael (64,235 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 18% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 22% of boys. Compared with 1985, 11,976 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1985, 8 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1986 are newcomers (girls: Kayla, Casey, Hannah; boys: Christian, Austin, Seth). Of these names, 8 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 1986 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19851987 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1986

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica52,682
#2Ashley49,671
#3Amanda40,532
#4Jennifer36,187
#5Sarah28,163
#6Stephanie22,651
#7Nicole21,292
#8Brittany20,313
#9Heather19,790
#10Elizabeth19,074
#11Megan18,590
#12Melissa17,667
#13Amber16,954
#14Lauren16,684
#15Rachel15,455
#16Danielle14,942
#17Tiffany14,483
#18Kimberly14,420
#19Christina14,384
#20Laura14,172
#21Samantha14,092
#22Amy13,452
#23Michelle13,303
#24Emily13,236
#25Crystal12,689
#26Rebecca11,793
#27Sara11,052
#28Katherine10,570
#29Kelly10,411
#30Erin10,068
#31Erica9,973
#32Whitney9,536
#33Angela9,267
#34Jamie9,234
#35Courtney9,122
#36Andrea8,639
#37Mary8,507
#38Katie8,333
#39Lindsey8,051
#40Lisa7,907
#41Kristen7,844
#42Allison7,575
#43Vanessa7,469
#44Shannon7,403
#45Alicia7,017
#46Lindsay6,952
#47Christine6,917
#48Kathryn6,393
#49Maria6,142
#50Kristin6,000
#51Anna5,908
#52Natalie5,707
#53April5,677
#54Victoria5,676
#55Jenna5,416
#56Tara5,085
#57Jacqueline5,036
#58Julie5,016
#59Monica5,013
#60Cassandra4,989
#61Krystal4,929
#62Kristina4,840
#63Holly4,838
#64Kayla4,657
#65Brittney4,593
#66Patricia4,246
#67Catherine4,242
#68Kathleen4,129
#69Caitlin3,881
#70Natasha3,872
#71Meghan3,869
#72Alexandra3,808
#73Chelsea3,753
#74Erika3,678
#75Diana3,669
#76Valerie3,618
#77Veronica3,580
#78Leah3,457
#79Brandi3,432
#80Casey3,423
#81Cynthia3,422
#82Hannah3,388
#83Mallory3,325
#84Brandy3,295
#85Alyssa3,225
#86Leslie3,224
#87Stacy3,220
#88Julia3,109
#89Felicia3,084
#90Margaret3,084
#91Bethany3,082
#92Dana3,076
#93Krista3,054
#94Stacey3,043
#95Jasmine2,993
#96Alison2,975
#97Melanie2,973
#98Dominique2,944
#99Katrina2,828
#100Karen2,801

Top 100 boys’ names, 1986

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael64,235
#2Christopher56,693
#3Matthew46,929
#4Joshua37,542
#5David37,150
#6Daniel36,573
#7James34,057
#8Andrew33,858
#9Robert31,350
#10John30,209
#11Ryan29,524
#12Joseph28,834
#13Brandon27,254
#14Justin26,638
#15William24,333
#16Jonathan23,973
#17Nicholas22,800
#18Jason22,415
#19Anthony21,956
#20Brian21,027
#21Kevin19,935
#22Eric19,528
#23Kyle19,315
#24Adam18,157
#25Steven18,099
#26Thomas17,362
#27Timothy16,875
#28Jeremy16,269
#29Richard15,014
#30Benjamin13,793
#31Jacob13,652
#32Jeffrey13,651
#33Aaron12,692
#34Charles12,625
#35Mark12,615
#36Stephen11,877
#37Sean11,784
#38Zachary11,725
#39Patrick11,410
#40Tyler10,912
#41Alexander10,609
#42Dustin10,317
#43Nathan9,996
#44Scott9,965
#45Paul9,715
#46Gregory9,529
#47Bryan8,651
#48Jesse8,542
#49Travis8,480
#50Kenneth8,453
#51Jose8,363
#52Samuel7,579
#53Jordan7,302
#54Bradley7,044
#55Shawn7,018
#56Cody6,934
#57Derek6,900
#58Jared6,119
#59Chad6,026
#60Peter5,797
#61Edward5,777
#62Corey5,762
#63Marcus5,278
#64Alex5,111
#65Juan5,076
#66Keith5,040
#67Shane4,929
#68Cory4,871
#69Brett4,729
#70Phillip4,705
#71Donald4,661
#72Joel4,507
#73Antonio4,406
#74George4,348
#75Ronald4,224
#76Carlos4,090
#77Raymond4,055
#78Nathaniel4,032
#79Luis4,028
#80Craig3,926
#81Evan3,887
#82Douglas3,763
#83Casey3,762
#84Gary3,719
#85Ian3,713
#86Philip3,665
#87Derrick3,326
#88Victor3,293
#89Christian3,214
#90Austin3,202
#91Frank3,178
#92Erik3,110
#93Vincent3,092
#94Brent3,061
#95Gabriel3,046
#96Wesley3,043
#97Seth2,980
#98Trevor2,978
#99Adrian2,943
#100Curtis2,910