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US baby names · 1990

Most popular baby names of 1990

In 1990, Social Security card applications recorded 1,898,547 girls and 2,054,038 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 15,234 distinct girls’ names and 9,493 boys’ names.

The most common names were Jessica (46,486 girls) and Michael (65,321 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 16% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 19% of boys. Compared with 1989, 108,105 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1989, 6 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1990 are newcomers (girls: Olivia, Paige, Ariel; boys: Dylan, Jesus, Garrett). Of these names, 10 of the 100 girls’ names and 32 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 1990 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19891991 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1990

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Jessica46,486
#2Ashley45,561
#3Brittany36,536
#4Amanda34,413
#5Samantha25,868
#6Sarah25,824
#7Stephanie24,864
#8Jennifer22,236
#9Elizabeth20,750
#10Lauren20,506
#11Megan20,259
#12Emily19,370
#13Nicole17,954
#14Kayla17,538
#15Amber15,866
#16Rachel15,710
#17Courtney15,380
#18Danielle14,339
#19Heather14,220
#20Melissa14,000
#21Rebecca13,677
#22Michelle13,425
#23Tiffany13,160
#24Chelsea12,785
#25Christina11,927
#26Katherine11,625
#27Alyssa11,263
#28Jasmine11,037
#29Laura10,914
#30Hannah10,283
#31Kimberly10,191
#32Kelsey9,494
#33Victoria9,109
#34Sara8,979
#35Mary8,670
#36Erica8,608
#37Alexandra8,508
#38Amy8,463
#39Crystal8,218
#40Andrea8,214
#41Kelly8,137
#42Kristen8,073
#43Erin7,989
#44Brittney7,427
#45Anna7,293
#46Taylor7,262
#47Maria7,186
#48Allison7,136
#49Cassandra7,054
#50Caitlin7,026
#51Lindsey6,782
#52Angela6,666
#53Katie6,514
#54Alicia6,511
#55Jamie6,509
#56Vanessa6,409
#57Kathryn6,353
#58Morgan6,047
#59Jordan5,957
#60Whitney5,905
#61Brianna5,680
#62Christine5,679
#63Natalie5,637
#64Lisa5,347
#65Kristin5,300
#66Alexis5,257
#67Jacqueline5,237
#68Shannon5,190
#69Lindsay5,040
#70Brooke4,990
#71Catherine4,894
#72Olivia4,626
#73April4,572
#74Erika4,569
#75Katelyn4,489
#76Monica4,453
#77Kristina4,389
#78Kaitlyn4,312
#79Paige4,113
#80Molly3,965
#81Jenna3,956
#82Leah3,924
#83Julia3,914
#84Bianca3,829
#85Tara3,826
#86Melanie3,813
#87Marissa3,806
#88Cynthia3,797
#89Holly3,772
#90Abigail3,719
#91Meghan3,695
#92Kathleen3,670
#93Julie3,657
#94Ariel3,607
#95Alexandria3,595
#96Veronica3,588
#97Patricia3,579
#98Diana3,548
#99Gabrielle3,541
#100Shelby3,517

Top 100 boys’ names, 1990

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael65,321
#2Christopher52,362
#3Matthew44,826
#4Joshua43,237
#5Daniel33,830
#6David33,748
#7Andrew33,673
#8James32,359
#9Justin30,649
#10Joseph30,137
#11Ryan29,263
#12John29,089
#13Robert28,886
#14Nicholas27,913
#15Anthony25,088
#16William24,906
#17Jonathan24,077
#18Kyle22,710
#19Brandon22,163
#20Jacob22,022
#21Tyler20,646
#22Zachary20,430
#23Kevin20,413
#24Eric19,430
#25Steven18,764
#26Thomas18,231
#27Brian16,935
#28Alexander16,194
#29Jordan16,137
#30Timothy15,700
#31Cody15,399
#32Adam14,713
#33Benjamin14,633
#34Aaron14,557
#35Richard13,580
#36Patrick12,377
#37Sean12,018
#38Charles12,000
#39Stephen11,943
#40Jeremy11,689
#41Jose11,519
#42Travis11,462
#43Jeffrey10,980
#44Nathan10,934
#45Samuel10,894
#46Jason10,694
#47Mark10,689
#48Jesse8,977
#49Paul8,579
#50Dustin8,457
#51Gregory8,378
#52Kenneth8,262
#53Scott8,086
#54Derek8,083
#55Austin7,915
#56Corey7,692
#57Bryan7,439
#58Ethan6,989
#59Alex6,951
#60Christian6,786
#61Juan6,743
#62Cameron6,660
#63Jared6,643
#64Taylor6,579
#65Bradley6,437
#66Luis5,795
#67Cory5,765
#68Edward5,746
#69Shawn5,721
#70Ian5,460
#71Evan5,308
#72Marcus5,304
#73Shane5,274
#74Peter5,224
#75Carlos5,213
#76Trevor5,141
#77Antonio4,867
#78Vincent4,804
#79George4,567
#80Keith4,481
#81Phillip4,454
#82Victor4,445
#83Dylan4,414
#84Brett4,394
#85Chad4,351
#86Nathaniel4,348
#87Donald4,177
#88Caleb4,154
#89Casey4,134
#90Jesus4,131
#91Blake4,103
#92Raymond4,062
#93Mitchell4,021
#94Adrian4,000
#95Joel4,000
#96Erik3,956
#97Ronald3,899
#98Devin3,866
#99Garrett3,757
#100Gabriel3,699