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US baby names · 1997

Most popular baby names of 1997

In 1997, Social Security card applications recorded 1,740,710 girls and 1,885,140 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 16,163 distinct girls’ names and 10,814 boys’ names.

The most common names were Emily (25,734 girls) and Michael (37,562 boys). The ten most common girls’ names together account for 11% of recorded girls, and the top ten boys’ names for 15% of boys. Compared with 1996, 21,457 fewer babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1996, 4 girls’ names and 5 boys’ names in 1997 are newcomers (girls: Autumn, Sophia, Diana; boys: Cole, Angel, Mason). Of these names, 16 of the 100 girls’ names and 42 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 1997 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19961998 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1997

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Emily25,734
#2Jessica21,045
#3Ashley20,897
#4Sarah20,716
#5Hannah20,597
#6Samantha20,170
#7Taylor19,504
#8Alexis17,171
#9Elizabeth15,430
#10Madison15,189
#11Megan14,244
#12Kayla13,885
#13Rachel13,798
#14Lauren13,248
#15Alyssa12,649
#16Amanda12,243
#17Brianna12,008
#18Jennifer11,840
#19Victoria11,795
#20Brittany11,529
#21Nicole10,744
#22Morgan10,342
#23Stephanie9,778
#24Jasmine9,680
#25Rebecca9,634
#26Abigail9,630
#27Olivia9,479
#28Courtney9,035
#29Amber8,914
#30Alexandra8,752
#31Haley8,687
#32Katherine8,518
#33Anna8,342
#34Danielle8,034
#35Sydney8,032
#36Emma7,749
#37Julia7,341
#38Maria7,314
#39Allison7,274
#40Jordan7,167
#41Kaitlyn7,005
#42Destiny6,727
#43Shelby6,701
#44Melissa6,679
#45Brooke6,671
#46Mary6,650
#47Savannah6,580
#48Natalie6,539
#49Kimberly6,182
#50Sara6,159
#51Gabrielle5,943
#52Erin5,940
#53Sabrina5,816
#54Vanessa5,796
#55Michelle5,695
#56Sierra5,688
#57Kelsey5,573
#58Andrea5,405
#59Madeline5,313
#60Marissa5,298
#61Tiffany5,221
#62Christina5,182
#63Katelyn5,156
#64Paige5,030
#65Bailey5,024
#66Laura4,851
#67Mariah4,803
#68Cheyenne4,764
#69Grace4,639
#70Miranda4,590
#71Mackenzie4,491
#72Briana4,476
#73Chelsea4,461
#74Breanna4,444
#75Caroline4,439
#76Jenna4,422
#77Jacqueline4,278
#78Alexandria4,234
#79Monica4,223
#80Hailey4,148
#81Cassandra4,098
#82Kristen4,085
#83Kelly4,064
#84Erica3,992
#85Shannon3,914
#86Kathryn3,873
#87Katie3,867
#88Caitlin3,862
#89Alicia3,782
#90Heather3,767
#91Autumn3,740
#92Amy3,691
#93Angela3,652
#94Sophia3,640
#95Lindsey3,636
#96Catherine3,591
#97Diana3,586
#98Molly3,452
#99Crystal3,435
#100Michaela3,398

Top 100 boys’ names, 1997

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael37,562
#2Jacob34,163
#3Matthew31,517
#4Christopher29,108
#5Joshua28,289
#6Nicholas27,258
#7Andrew25,208
#8Brandon25,197
#9Austin25,118
#10Tyler24,879
#11Daniel23,950
#12Joseph23,604
#13Zachary21,929
#14David21,896
#15John21,386
#16Ryan20,527
#17James20,408
#18Anthony20,034
#19William20,020
#20Justin18,745
#21Jonathan18,542
#22Alexander17,112
#23Robert16,304
#24Kyle15,919
#25Christian15,059
#26Jordan14,761
#27Samuel14,237
#28Kevin13,295
#29Benjamin13,266
#30Dylan12,968
#31Thomas12,899
#32Jose11,929
#33Aaron11,170
#34Nathan10,442
#35Eric10,317
#36Cody10,296
#37Brian9,739
#38Noah9,280
#39Adam8,805
#40Steven8,765
#41Jason8,746
#42Logan8,620
#43Timothy8,502
#44Hunter8,405
#45Cameron8,219
#46Ethan7,807
#47Caleb7,775
#48Sean7,744
#49Charles7,656
#50Patrick7,490
#51Richard7,243
#52Connor7,140
#53Luis7,131
#54Juan7,115
#55Alex6,855
#56Jared6,682
#57Gabriel6,406
#58Mark6,165
#59Devin6,044
#60Isaiah6,003
#61Evan6,002
#62Trevor6,001
#63Jesse5,920
#64Jeremy5,803
#65Nathaniel5,775
#66Dakota5,664
#67Carlos5,463
#68Stephen5,414
#69Bryan5,251
#70Ian5,211
#71Jesus5,164
#72Cole5,159
#73Isaac5,146
#74Elijah5,089
#75Antonio5,069
#76Jack4,984
#77Chase4,964
#78Luke4,953
#79Paul4,752
#80Blake4,728
#81Travis4,684
#82Tanner4,676
#83Kenneth4,659
#84Jeffrey4,582
#85Garrett4,545
#86Angel4,514
#87Taylor4,333
#88Dustin4,277
#89Mason4,268
#90Dalton4,238
#91Miguel4,234
#92Tristan4,197
#93Marcus4,183
#94Bradley4,124
#95Adrian4,116
#96Mitchell4,068
#97Seth4,043
#98Lucas4,034
#99Alejandro3,998
#100Edward3,915