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US baby names · 1998

Most popular baby names of 1998

In 1998, Social Security card applications recorded 1,766,949 girls and 1,911,366 boys born in the US under names given to at least five babies of the same sex. That covers 16,601 distinct girls’ names and 11,311 boys’ names.

The most common names were Emily (26,188 girls) and Michael (36,618 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 1997, 52,465 more babies were recorded in total.

Against the top 100 of 1997, 7 girls’ names and 5 boys’ names in 1998 are newcomers (girls: Makayla, Mikayla, Isabella; boys: Spencer, Bryce, Victor). Of these names, 19 of the 100 girls’ names and 43 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 1998 favourite was rising, at its peak or already fading.

SSA names.zip · Social Security card applications · retrieved 2026-10-05
← 19971999 →

Top 100 girls’ names, 1998

RankNameGirlsBirths per year since 1880
#1Emily26,188
#2Hannah21,376
#3Samantha20,195
#4Sarah19,898
#5Ashley19,875
#6Alexis19,778
#7Taylor18,576
#8Jessica18,239
#9Madison17,787
#10Elizabeth15,193
#11Alyssa13,709
#12Kayla13,422
#13Megan13,258
#14Lauren12,908
#15Rachel12,209
#16Victoria12,148
#17Brianna12,047
#18Abigail11,100
#19Amanda10,928
#20Jennifer10,692
#21Olivia10,610
#22Emma10,451
#23Morgan10,217
#24Nicole9,911
#25Brittany9,844
#26Jasmine9,488
#27Alexandra8,608
#28Sydney8,553
#29Stephanie8,491
#30Rebecca8,423
#31Anna8,386
#32Julia8,328
#33Katherine8,207
#34Destiny8,155
#35Kaitlyn7,937
#36Haley7,934
#37Amber7,930
#38Allison7,861
#39Courtney7,555
#40Natalie7,549
#41Danielle7,368
#42Jordan7,114
#43Maria6,817
#44Mary6,478
#45Savannah6,464
#46Brooke6,346
#47Gabrielle6,201
#48Sara6,010
#49Shelby5,893
#50Madeline5,869
#51Sierra5,841
#52Vanessa5,830
#53Grace5,724
#54Kimberly5,722
#55Michelle5,562
#56Kelsey5,551
#57Erin5,471
#58Katelyn5,367
#59Melissa5,354
#60Bailey5,198
#61Andrea5,133
#62Mariah5,086
#63Paige4,976
#64Mackenzie4,890
#65Jenna4,866
#66Marissa4,722
#67Tiffany4,612
#68Sabrina4,608
#69Christina4,533
#70Hailey4,473
#71Makayla4,365
#72Cheyenne4,327
#73Sophia4,308
#74Laura4,298
#75Caroline4,276
#76Breanna4,250
#77Autumn4,208
#78Caitlin4,175
#79Briana4,153
#80Miranda4,143
#81Alexandria4,009
#82Mikayla3,858
#83Diana3,853
#84Isabella3,851
#85Cassandra3,813
#86Kaylee3,806
#87Chloe3,794
#88Katie3,746
#89Kathryn3,703
#90Kelly3,703
#91Claire3,642
#92Erica3,624
#93Alexa3,622
#94Chelsea3,518
#95Jacqueline3,500
#96Amy3,485
#97Lindsey3,465
#98Alicia3,408
#99Heather3,397
#100Angela3,369

Top 100 boys’ names, 1998

RankNameBoysBirths per year since 1880
#1Michael36,618
#2Jacob36,031
#3Matthew31,146
#4Joshua28,095
#5Christopher27,007
#6Nicholas26,632
#7Brandon23,832
#8Tyler23,712
#9Andrew23,664
#10Austin23,478
#11Joseph23,186
#12Daniel23,165
#13David20,892
#14William20,836
#15John20,633
#16Zachary20,580
#17Ryan20,198
#18James19,690
#19Anthony19,634
#20Justin17,971
#21Jonathan17,649
#22Alexander17,466
#23Robert15,527
#24Kyle15,277
#25Dylan14,540
#26Christian14,522
#27Jordan14,410
#28Samuel13,912
#29Noah13,415
#30Benjamin13,061
#31Thomas12,889
#32Kevin12,510
#33Jose12,374
#34Nathan11,586
#35Cameron11,416
#36Hunter11,078
#37Aaron10,552
#38Ethan10,536
#39Eric9,964
#40Jason9,399
#41Brian9,146
#42Caleb9,028
#43Cody8,810
#44Logan8,640
#45Adam8,356
#46Steven8,115
#47Connor7,906
#48Charles7,849
#49Timothy7,845
#50Sean7,712
#51Jared7,462
#52Juan7,361
#53Luis7,202
#54Gabriel7,068
#55Alex6,954
#56Richard6,954
#57Patrick6,734
#58Trevor6,598
#59Isaiah6,487
#60Nathaniel6,427
#61Jack6,376
#62Devin6,218
#63Evan6,084
#64Mark5,893
#65Isaac5,859
#66Elijah5,662
#67Chase5,562
#68Jeremy5,541
#69Carlos5,481
#70Jesse5,444
#71Adrian5,429
#72Dakota5,401
#73Ian5,353
#74Bryan5,309
#75Luke5,284
#76Jesus5,217
#77Cole5,148
#78Stephen5,013
#79Antonio4,943
#80Garrett4,789
#81Angel4,772
#82Tanner4,704
#83Mason4,658
#84Spencer4,619
#85Blake4,607
#86Seth4,587
#87Kenneth4,586
#88Dalton4,565
#89Paul4,321
#90Miguel4,256
#91Jeffrey4,191
#92Tristan4,169
#93Lucas4,093
#94Bryce4,053
#95Alejandro4,044
#96Marcus4,015
#97Victor3,997
#98Travis3,924
#99Brendan3,879
#100Jackson3,861