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US baby names · 1989

Most popular baby names of 1989

In 1989, Social Security card applications recorded 1,843,552 girls and 2,000,928 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 14,550 distinct girls’ names and 9,232 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (47,887 girls) and Michael (65,415 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 17% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 20% of boys. Compared with 1988, 149,343 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1988, 6 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1989 are newcomers (girls: Jordan, Taylor, Marissa; boys: Ethan, Caleb, Blake). Of these names, 9 of the 100 girls’ names and 31 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 1989 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19881990 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1989

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica47,887
#2Ashley47,588
#3Brittany37,792
#4Amanda36,834
#5Sarah27,797
#6Samantha24,792
#7Jennifer24,006
#8Stephanie22,766
#9Lauren21,065
#10Elizabeth20,298
#11Megan19,780
#12Nicole19,032
#13Emily17,323
#14Amber16,760
#15Heather16,248
#16Tiffany15,716
#17Danielle15,366
#18Rachel15,357
#19Melissa15,203
#20Kayla14,903
#21Courtney13,452
#22Michelle13,376
#23Christina13,141
#24Rebecca12,436
#25Laura11,740
#26Katherine11,415
#27Chelsea11,252
#28Kimberly11,037
#29Sara9,706
#30Jasmine9,549
#31Kelsey9,256
#32Crystal9,103
#33Alyssa9,042
#34Erica9,025
#35Amy8,899
#36Kristen8,803
#37Kelly8,759
#38Mary8,645
#39Andrea8,410
#40Erin8,144
#41Brittney7,834
#42Hannah7,830
#43Alexandra7,680
#44Victoria7,637
#45Katie7,290
#46Allison7,282
#47Angela7,199
#48Lindsey7,069
#49Caitlin7,025
#50Vanessa6,962
#51Anna6,898
#52Jamie6,845
#53Alicia6,817
#54Cassandra6,698
#55Lisa6,573
#56Maria6,345
#57Whitney6,305
#58Kathryn6,294
#59Christine6,134
#60Kristin6,064
#61Shannon5,660
#62Natalie5,630
#63Lindsay5,525
#64Jacqueline5,444
#65Kristina4,803
#66April4,734
#67Catherine4,559
#68Monica4,502
#69Morgan4,426
#70Tara4,370
#71Jenna4,339
#72Jordan4,281
#73Erika4,190
#74Brooke4,148
#75Taylor4,069
#76Katelyn4,036
#77Brianna3,995
#78Julie3,942
#79Holly3,893
#80Meghan3,856
#81Marissa3,794
#82Krystal3,787
#83Leah3,784
#84Cynthia3,778
#85Veronica3,712
#86Diana3,687
#87Natasha3,668
#88Melanie3,628
#89Patricia3,603
#90Kathleen3,596
#91Bianca3,593
#92Alexis3,518
#93Molly3,460
#94Abigail3,405
#95Kaitlyn3,392
#96Julia3,370
#97Margaret3,285
#98Brandi3,250
#99Kendra3,230
#100Kaitlin3,171

Top 100 boys’ names, 1989

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael65,415
#2Christopher53,186
#3Matthew45,375
#4Joshua44,100
#5David35,225
#6Daniel35,007
#7Andrew34,817
#8Justin32,852
#9James32,720
#10Robert30,072
#11Joseph29,884
#12John29,853
#13Ryan28,408
#14Nicholas28,230
#15William24,673
#16Anthony24,423
#17Jonathan23,608
#18Brandon23,310
#19Kevin21,209
#20Kyle20,882
#21Eric18,977
#22Steven18,929
#23Thomas18,439
#24Brian18,106
#25Zachary18,077
#26Jacob17,831
#27Adam16,928
#28Timothy16,427
#29Benjamin15,733
#30Tyler15,594
#31Aaron15,308
#32Alexander14,523
#33Richard14,133
#34Jeremy13,081
#35Jason12,614
#36Charles12,245
#37Jeffrey12,013
#38Patrick11,987
#39Sean11,895
#40Stephen11,736
#41Travis11,526
#42Mark11,320
#43Nathan10,904
#44Jordan10,882
#45Cody10,823
#46Jose10,331
#47Samuel10,107
#48Dustin9,715
#49Paul9,029
#50Jesse8,853
#51Scott8,850
#52Gregory8,760
#53Kenneth8,555
#54Derek8,365
#55Corey8,003
#56Bryan7,851
#57Jared7,018
#58Bradley6,977
#59Austin6,886
#60Alex6,543
#61Cory6,450
#62Edward5,849
#63Juan5,781
#64Cameron5,593
#65Shawn5,479
#66Peter5,411
#67Marcus5,395
#68Ian4,948
#69Evan4,926
#70Keith4,893
#71Shane4,860
#72Taylor4,859
#73Luis4,852
#74Chad4,723
#75Phillip4,721
#76Antonio4,719
#77Carlos4,638
#78Christian4,625
#79George4,513
#80Vincent4,495
#81Brett4,428
#82Donald4,323
#83Trevor4,166
#84Nathaniel4,121
#85Ronald4,110
#86Raymond4,106
#87Ethan4,056
#88Joel3,939
#89Victor3,905
#90Casey3,850
#91Caleb3,788
#92Douglas3,700
#93Mitchell3,645
#94Seth3,633
#95Erik3,630
#96Devin3,596
#97Blake3,521
#98Wesley3,457
#99Derrick3,442
#100Adrian3,418