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US baby names · 1996

Most popular baby names of 1996

In 1996, Social Security card applications recorded 1,753,007 girls and 1,894,300 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 15,894 distinct girls’ names and 10,536 boys’ names.

The most common names were Emily (25,150 girls) and Michael (38,373 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 11% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 16% of boys. Compared with 1995, 14,942 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1995, 3 girls’ names and 4 boys’ names in 1996 are newcomers (girls: Hailey, Angelica, Leah; boys: Tristan, Isaiah, Jack). Of these names, 15 of the 100 girls’ names and 40 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 1996 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19951997 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1996

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Emily25,150
#2Jessica24,201
#3Ashley23,678
#4Sarah21,048
#5Samantha20,552
#6Taylor19,155
#7Hannah18,596
#8Alexis16,592
#9Rachel16,121
#10Elizabeth16,003
#11Kayla15,269
#12Megan14,770
#13Amanda13,980
#14Brittany13,797
#15Madison13,412
#16Lauren12,595
#17Brianna11,925
#18Victoria11,859
#19Jennifer11,732
#20Stephanie11,643
#21Courtney11,344
#22Nicole11,135
#23Alyssa11,024
#24Rebecca10,626
#25Morgan10,295
#26Alexandra10,025
#27Amber9,771
#28Jasmine9,707
#29Danielle9,286
#30Haley9,042
#31Katherine8,877
#32Abigail8,604
#33Anna8,575
#34Olivia8,126
#35Shelby7,950
#36Kelsey7,655
#37Maria7,598
#38Allison7,455
#39Sydney7,259
#40Kaitlyn7,241
#41Kimberly7,176
#42Melissa7,170
#43Savannah7,000
#44Mary6,968
#45Brooke6,724
#46Natalie6,693
#47Michelle6,598
#48Julia6,314
#49Jordan6,299
#50Sara6,288
#51Erin6,256
#52Tiffany6,158
#53Emma6,151
#54Gabrielle5,888
#55Chelsea5,864
#56Destiny5,856
#57Christina5,804
#58Sabrina5,774
#59Marissa5,752
#60Vanessa5,746
#61Andrea5,671
#62Sierra5,487
#63Mariah5,446
#64Katelyn5,421
#65Paige5,342
#66Laura5,227
#67Madeline4,912
#68Cheyenne4,866
#69Jacqueline4,862
#70Kristen4,851
#71Heather4,759
#72Briana4,735
#73Kelly4,734
#74Breanna4,701
#75Mackenzie4,597
#76Miranda4,568
#77Alexandria4,563
#78Caroline4,466
#79Erica4,460
#80Shannon4,337
#81Katie4,329
#82Monica4,326
#83Jenna4,288
#84Caitlin4,268
#85Bailey4,192
#86Lindsey4,112
#87Kathryn4,102
#88Amy4,067
#89Cassandra4,018
#90Angela3,867
#91Alicia3,861
#92Crystal3,786
#93Hailey3,762
#94Grace3,742
#95Catherine3,739
#96Jamie3,599
#97Angelica3,404
#98Leah3,326
#99Molly3,312
#100Alexa3,260

Top 100 boys’ names, 1996

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael38,373
#2Matthew32,077
#3Jacob31,925
#4Christopher30,904
#5Joshua29,175
#6Nicholas27,724
#7Tyler26,956
#8Brandon25,847
#9Austin25,663
#10Andrew25,244
#11Daniel25,128
#12Joseph24,758
#13David23,022
#14Zachary22,369
#15John22,188
#16Ryan21,809
#17James21,165
#18William20,546
#19Anthony20,508
#20Justin20,015
#21Jonathan18,602
#22Alexander17,964
#23Robert17,676
#24Christian15,824
#25Kyle15,600
#26Kevin14,589
#27Jordan13,852
#28Thomas13,804
#29Benjamin13,784
#30Samuel13,629
#31Cody12,954
#32Jose12,155
#33Dylan12,037
#34Aaron11,971
#35Eric11,611
#36Brian10,476
#37Nathan10,287
#38Steven9,650
#39Adam9,557
#40Timothy8,919
#41Jason8,695
#42Logan8,374
#43Charles8,248
#44Patrick8,194
#45Richard8,182
#46Sean7,896
#47Hunter7,603
#48Caleb7,550
#49Cameron7,388
#50Noah7,184
#51Jesse7,075
#52Juan7,010
#53Alex6,915
#54Connor6,911
#55Mark6,599
#56Jeremy6,412
#57Luis6,407
#58Dakota6,067
#59Stephen6,008
#60Devin6,001
#61Gabriel5,900
#62Ethan5,853
#63Trevor5,842
#64Jared5,821
#65Evan5,577
#66Bryan5,560
#67Carlos5,464
#68Tristan5,458
#69Nathaniel5,420
#70Ian5,411
#71Isaiah5,324
#72Jeffrey5,263
#73Travis5,159
#74Jesus5,115
#75Luke5,017
#76Chase4,992
#77Kenneth4,973
#78Paul4,883
#79Dustin4,874
#80Antonio4,866
#81Elijah4,818
#82Taylor4,798
#83Bradley4,755
#84Blake4,747
#85Garrett4,653
#86Isaac4,566
#87Marcus4,546
#88Mitchell4,391
#89Jack4,245
#90Tanner4,180
#91Miguel4,160
#92Adrian4,112
#93Lucas4,106
#94Corey4,087
#95Peter4,082
#96Edward4,073
#97Malik4,026
#98Gregory3,994
#99Dalton3,980
#100Victor3,924