Sign inStart a free record

US baby names · 1988

Most popular baby names of 1988

In 1988, Social Security card applications recorded 1,780,854 girls and 1,914,283 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 13,883 distinct girls’ names and 8,495 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (51,556 girls) and Michael (64,171 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 17% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 21% of boys. Compared with 1987, 89,521 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1987, 6 girls’ names and 2 boys’ names in 1988 are newcomers (girls: Katelyn, Kara, Brianna; boys: Taylor, Mitchell). Of these names, 8 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 1988 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19871989 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1988

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica51,556
#2Ashley49,977
#3Amanda39,459
#4Sarah28,374
#5Jennifer27,893
#6Brittany26,816
#7Stephanie22,843
#8Samantha20,700
#9Nicole20,315
#10Elizabeth20,042
#11Lauren19,637
#12Megan18,570
#13Tiffany18,364
#14Heather18,033
#15Amber16,676
#16Melissa16,546
#17Danielle16,253
#18Emily15,869
#19Rachel15,348
#20Kayla13,433
#21Michelle13,339
#22Christina12,954
#23Laura12,126
#24Courtney12,043
#25Kimberly11,948
#26Rebecca11,877
#27Katherine11,154
#28Crystal10,101
#29Amy10,034
#30Sara10,020
#31Erica9,591
#32Kelly8,917
#33Chelsea8,879
#34Mary8,518
#35Andrea8,392
#36Kristen8,382
#37Erin8,267
#38Angela7,914
#39Whitney7,853
#40Katie7,770
#41Vanessa7,516
#42Victoria7,283
#43Lisa7,267
#44Caitlin7,246
#45Jamie7,187
#46Allison7,145
#47Alyssa7,135
#48Lindsey7,001
#49Alexandra6,972
#50Alicia6,700
#51Christine6,612
#52Brittney6,576
#53Jasmine6,446
#54Anna6,444
#55Kathryn6,342
#56Shannon6,256
#57Lindsay6,025
#58Kristin6,019
#59Cassandra5,727
#60Maria5,713
#61Hannah5,562
#62Jacqueline5,544
#63Natalie5,483
#64Kelsey5,452
#65April4,840
#66Jenna4,607
#67Tara4,606
#68Kristina4,578
#69Catherine4,504
#70Monica4,463
#71Julie4,462
#72Holly4,217
#73Natasha4,039
#74Krystal4,019
#75Kathleen3,927
#76Erika3,886
#77Patricia3,799
#78Morgan3,796
#79Cynthia3,784
#80Kendra3,761
#81Meghan3,609
#82Leah3,558
#83Veronica3,525
#84Katelyn3,510
#85Diana3,489
#86Molly3,461
#87Brooke3,416
#88Julia3,359
#89Bethany3,270
#90Dana3,192
#91Brandi3,169
#92Casey3,150
#93Margaret3,139
#94Leslie3,079
#95Kara3,039
#96Brianna2,963
#97Alexis2,900
#98Kaitlin2,841
#99Melanie2,834
#100Rachael2,831

Top 100 boys’ names, 1988

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael64,171
#2Christopher53,014
#3Matthew45,876
#4Joshua42,653
#5Andrew35,745
#6David35,329
#7Justin35,055
#8Daniel34,718
#9James32,523
#10Robert30,319
#11John29,427
#12Joseph29,019
#13Ryan27,747
#14Nicholas25,303
#15Jonathan24,349
#16William24,126
#17Brandon23,744
#18Anthony23,644
#19Eric20,175
#20Kevin20,168
#21Kyle19,895
#22Brian19,532
#23Thomas18,806
#24Steven17,865
#25Timothy16,807
#26Adam16,467
#27Jason15,917
#28Jacob15,883
#29Zachary15,870
#30Benjamin15,187
#31Aaron14,408
#32Richard14,144
#33Tyler13,349
#34Alexander13,341
#35Jeremy13,169
#36Jeffrey12,401
#37Charles12,109
#38Sean11,794
#39Mark11,715
#40Stephen11,607
#41Travis11,423
#42Patrick11,400
#43Cody10,583
#44Nathan10,154
#45Samuel9,564
#46Paul9,438
#47Scott9,351
#48Dustin9,337
#49Jose9,007
#50Gregory8,629
#51Kenneth8,567
#52Jordan8,490
#53Derek8,073
#54Bryan8,036
#55Jesse7,914
#56Corey7,328
#57Bradley7,017
#58Alex6,408
#59Cory6,266
#60Jared6,211
#61Shawn5,893
#62Edward5,801
#63Austin5,588
#64Peter5,425
#65Chad5,299
#66Marcus5,207
#67Shane5,173
#68Juan5,171
#69Cameron4,985
#70Keith4,949
#71Phillip4,576
#72Antonio4,461
#73Brett4,375
#74Evan4,337
#75Luis4,333
#76Donald4,328
#77Ian4,315
#78George4,296
#79Ronald4,173
#80Carlos4,127
#81Nathaniel4,054
#82Vincent4,054
#83Casey4,039
#84Raymond4,036
#85Joel3,940
#86Christian3,937
#87Trevor3,695
#88Douglas3,655
#89Victor3,628
#90Seth3,493
#91Taylor3,492
#92Erik3,478
#93Wesley3,478
#94Philip3,373
#95Mitchell3,323
#96Craig3,306
#97Derrick3,304
#98Devin3,302
#99Frank3,271
#100Gary3,244