Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1987

Most popular baby names of 1987

In 1987, Social Security card applications recorded 1,738,632 girls and 1,866,984 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 13,263 distinct girls’ names and 8,152 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (55,992 girls) and Michael (63,664 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 1986, 48,554 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1986, 7 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1987 are newcomers (girls: Kelsey, Kendra, Brooke; boys: Cameron, Devin). 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 1987 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19861988 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1987

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica55,992
#2Ashley54,856
#3Amanda41,786
#4Jennifer32,710
#5Sarah27,894
#6Stephanie22,402
#7Brittany22,231
#8Nicole20,286
#9Heather18,982
#10Elizabeth18,608
#11Samantha17,944
#12Megan17,823
#13Melissa17,674
#14Danielle17,010
#15Amber16,749
#16Lauren16,710
#17Rachel15,646
#18Tiffany14,742
#19Emily14,710
#20Christina13,816
#21Michelle13,034
#22Laura13,033
#23Kimberly13,031
#24Amy11,786
#25Rebecca11,627
#26Crystal11,011
#27Kayla10,576
#28Katherine10,438
#29Sara10,090
#30Kelly9,866
#31Erica9,328
#32Whitney8,923
#33Courtney8,909
#34Erin8,847
#35Angela8,583
#36Andrea8,496
#37Mary8,395
#38Katie8,197
#39Jamie7,916
#40Lisa7,549
#41Lindsey7,457
#42Kristen7,361
#43Vanessa7,348
#44Allison7,341
#45Shannon6,968
#46Alicia6,776
#47Chelsea6,631
#48Christine6,620
#49Lindsay6,530
#50Victoria6,255
#51Kathryn6,238
#52Anna6,170
#53Maria5,678
#54Jacqueline5,627
#55Kristin5,463
#56Natalie5,331
#57Jenna5,305
#58April5,295
#59Alexandra5,220
#60Alyssa5,136
#61Brittney5,127
#62Kristina5,018
#63Caitlin4,989
#64Monica4,809
#65Julie4,737
#66Hannah4,594
#67Kelsey4,574
#68Cassandra4,555
#69Tara4,446
#70Krystal4,378
#71Holly4,259
#72Kathleen4,165
#73Natasha4,131
#74Catherine4,108
#75Erika3,994
#76Patricia3,913
#77Kendra3,841
#78Meghan3,770
#79Jasmine3,723
#80Veronica3,616
#81Casey3,582
#82Leah3,454
#83Dana3,422
#84Cynthia3,392
#85Diana3,354
#86Julia3,331
#87Bethany3,294
#88Brandi3,244
#89Leslie3,194
#90Margaret3,146
#91Mallory3,138
#92Brandy3,032
#93Valerie2,964
#94Brooke2,955
#95Morgan2,928
#96Felicia2,909
#97Molly2,891
#98Rachael2,833
#99Jillian2,793
#100Alison2,771

Top 100 boys’ names, 1987

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael63,664
#2Christopher54,493
#3Matthew46,511
#4Joshua40,002
#5David36,795
#6Andrew36,206
#7Daniel35,876
#8James32,659
#9Justin31,491
#10Robert30,237
#11John29,555
#12Joseph28,516
#13Ryan28,490
#14Brandon24,823
#15William24,202
#16Nicholas23,247
#17Anthony23,127
#18Jonathan23,119
#19Kevin20,421
#20Brian20,362
#21Eric20,203
#22Kyle19,862
#23Jason19,350
#24Thomas18,139
#25Steven17,768
#26Timothy17,398
#27Adam16,931
#28Benjamin14,892
#29Jeremy14,474
#30Richard14,401
#31Jacob14,326
#32Jeffrey13,477
#33Zachary13,201
#34Aaron12,685
#35Charles12,173
#36Mark11,993
#37Alexander11,835
#38Stephen11,550
#39Tyler11,542
#40Sean11,455
#41Patrick11,142
#42Travis10,397
#43Scott10,194
#44Dustin10,108
#45Nathan9,910
#46Paul9,707
#47Gregory9,135
#48Jose8,737
#49Cody8,675
#50Samuel8,576
#51Bryan8,560
#52Jordan8,407
#53Kenneth8,354
#54Derek8,253
#55Jesse7,982
#56Bradley6,918
#57Corey6,444
#58Jared6,206
#59Shawn6,202
#60Alex6,042
#61Edward5,913
#62Cory5,849
#63Chad5,622
#64Peter5,553
#65Shane5,305
#66Juan4,976
#67Marcus4,950
#68Phillip4,813
#69Keith4,783
#70Donald4,501
#71Brett4,429
#72Antonio4,421
#73Ronald4,153
#74Carlos4,149
#75Joel4,138
#76Austin4,096
#77George4,089
#78Nathaniel4,050
#79Raymond3,996
#80Casey3,928
#81Ian3,924
#82Luis3,921
#83Evan3,868
#84Philip3,837
#85Douglas3,804
#86Derrick3,534
#87Gary3,486
#88Craig3,364
#89Seth3,339
#90Christian3,324
#91Victor3,307
#92Wesley3,244
#93Trevor3,235
#94Erik3,231
#95Vincent3,173
#96Cameron3,159
#97Frank3,123
#98Gabriel3,079
#99Devin3,076
#100Curtis2,909