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Top 100 Baby Names for the 1980s

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Top 100 Baby Names for the 1980s

What do leg warmers, parachute pants, and the end of the Soviet Union have in common? The 1980s!

The Bible, the Cold War, and boy bands that had better hair than girl bands were the perfect inspiration for a host of 1980s baby names. Do any of these top 100 sound familiar?

1980s Boy Names

Michael has been a top-boy name for over a century. But as parents sought to honor the political heroes working to end the Cold War — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan — its appeal only grew.

Popular names from the 1980s also expressed a love of places far and wide. Ireland gave us Sean, Adam, and Kevin, while British royalty-inspired classics like William and Charles.

Biblical names continued to be fashionable, but trends shifted from kingly figures like David and Joseph to humble characters, including Daniel, Joshua, and Jacob.

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1980s kids

Hospitals in the United States today are full of common names like Liam, Oliver, Emma, and Olivia. However, back in the 1980s, popular names were Christopher, Joshua, Jennifer, and Jessica. Let’s take a closer look at the stats.

Top 100BoysNumber
1Michael663,827
2Christopher554,909
3Matthew459,019
4Joshua396,581
5David383,739
6James356,518
7Daniel345,574
8Robert321,686
9John321,185
10Joseph299,451
11Jason292,129
12Justin289,832
13Andrew285,102
14Ryan278,996
15William248,305
16Brian234,017
17Brandon232,231
18Jonathan229,969
19Nicholas223,327
20Anthony211,868
21Eric204,256
22Adam195,096
23Kevin188,684
24Thomas177,836
25Steven177,462
26Timothy172,849
27Richard154,759
28Jeremy153,430
29Jeffrey144,811
30Kyle141,950
31Benjamin141,410
32Aaron138,373
33Charles131,924
34Mark129,458
35Jacob124,260
36Stephen113,630
37Patrick111,428
38Scott108,168
39Nathan106,002
40Paul104,403
41Sean103,871
42Travis102,949
43Zachary101,836
44Dustin97,322
45Gregory93,665
46Kenneth89,124
47Jose86,633
48Tyler86,460
49Jesse85,926
50Alexander82,028
51Bryan80,503
52Samuel73,457
53Derek72,926
54Bradley69,362
55Chad69,062
56Shawn65,604
57Edward60,838
58Jared60,307
59Cody60,287
60Jordan57,172
61Peter56,730
62Corey53,612
63Keith52,645
64Marcus51,812
65Juan51,445
66Donald50,848
67Ronald46,669
68George45,719
69Phillip45,710
70Cory44,366
71Joel43,576
72Shane43,177
73Douglas41,751
74Antonio41,620
75Carlos41,503
76Raymond41,503
77Brett41,299
78Gary40,233
79Alex38,714
80Nathaniel38,653
81Craig38,106
82Ian37,782
83Luis37,446
84Derrick36,350
85Erik36,347
86Casey35,975
87Philip35,741
88Frank33,612
89Evan32,483
90Gabriel32,329
91Victor32,283
92Vincent32,064
93Austin31,308
94Brent31,286
95Larry31,282
96Seth31,132
97Wesley31,092
98Dennis30,467
99Todd30,337
100Christian30,288

1980s Girl Names

Biblical girl names were also a hit — Sarah and Rachel gained in popularity. But, the British royal family couldn't be ignored.

“Elizabeth” flew to the top of the list of regal names from the 80s while a young new princess named Diana made a splash in the United States. “Diana” rose from its number 97 spot in the 1970s to a cool 75.

But despite the continued popularity of classic names, baby names from the 80s trended toward the fun and romantic. Monikers like “Tara,” ”Brandi” and “Misty” had pop vibes, while “Kayla” entered the top 100 for the first time in homage to the romance of the decade on NBC’s daytime soap Days of our Lives.

Enchanting names from afar were among the foremost choices for girls. “Heather,” a flowering evergreen from the barren lands of Scotland, and “Kimberly,” meaning “from the wood of the royal forest” were favorites.

Other trends in 1980s names were girl-versions of boy names like Danielle, Samantha, and Jamie, and Old English boy names for girls including Ashley and Lindsay.

Portrait of baby girl in winter jacket and hat
Capricorns are ambitious self-starters. They can self-motivate and tend to be quite successful!
Top 100GirlsNumber
1Jessica469,518
2Jennifer440,896
3Amanda369,738
4Ashley352,189
5Sarah272,635
6Stephanie218,171
7Melissa217,932
8Nicole210,501
9Elizabeth198,976
10Heather191,854
11Tiffany158,627
12Michelle154,028
13Amber153,952
14Megan153,504
15Amy150,669
16Rachel146,680
17Kimberly146,445
18Christina146,014
19Lauren145,156
20Crystal141,009
21Brittany140,858
22Rebecca136,242
23Laura134,610
24Danielle134,380
25Emily131,759
26Samantha121,141
27Angela116,587
28Erin115,814
29Kelly109,555
30Sara104,674
31Lisa102,613
32Katherine99,182
33Andrea98,260
34Jamie96,558
35Mary95,860
36Erica93,155
37Courtney84,312
38Kristen83,227
39Shannon78,420
40April75,950
41Katie72,878
42Lindsey71,941
43Kristin70,556
44Lindsay68,490
45Christine68,016
46Alicia66,965
47Maria65,757
48Vanessa65,729
49Kathryn62,442
50Allison62,330
51Julie61,689
52Anna57,325
53Tara56,338
54Kayla55,291
55Natalie54,440
56Victoria53,271
57Monica51,865
58Jacqueline51,559
59Holly49,656
60Kristina45,949
61Patricia45,126
62Cassandra44,910
63Brandy44,526
64Whitney44,374
65Chelsea43,162
66Brandi42,889
67Catherine42,432
68Cynthia41,666
69Kathleen39,398
70Veronica39,236
71Leslie38,727
72Natasha38,210
73Krystal37,495
74Stacy36,990
75Diana36,899
76Erika36,853
77Dana36,823
78Jenna36,601
79Meghan36,211
80Carrie36,082
81Leah36,052
82Melanie35,952
83Brooke34,978
84Karen34,916
85Alexandra34,817
86Valerie34,629
87Caitlin33,592
88Julia33,359
89Jasmine32,955
90Alyssa32,952
91Hannah32,703
92Stacey32,138
93Brittney31,536
94Susan30,549
95Margaret30,352
96Sandra30,042
97Candice29,848
98Latoya29,537
99Bethany29,338
100Misty29,115
1980s kids

Does a baby name always have to have a classical meaning to reflect a child’s one-of-a-kind personality? Maybe not.

Why the name “Jessica” topped the list of the '80s' most popular girls name is a mystery — cultural inspirations are absent. And the most popular name for boys, “Michael,” could reflect Christian tradition or a fascination with the “King of Pop.”

Names with meaning matter, but ultimately, it’s what they mean to you that's the most important.

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If you're looking to the '80s for name inspiration for your baby, then chances are good you're curious if the top names are still popular in 2023. Let's take a look at how the top five boys' and girls' names from the '80s fair today.

The top five names for boys in the '80s were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, and David. Michael retains a lot of popularity today, ranking at 26 in 2023. Christopher still retains a spot in the Top 100 at rank 94. Matthew doesn't quite make it into 2023's Top 50, ranking at 56. Joshua has just fallen out of the Top 100, ranking at 101 in 2023. Finally, David is still fairly popular, ranking at 45.

In the '80s, the top five names for girls were Jessica, Jennifer, Amanda, Ashley, and Sarah. Jessica has fallen far out of popularity, ranking at 1,006 in 2023. Jennifer doesn't fair much better, though it does make the Top 1,000 at position 997. Amanda is only slightly more popular than Jennifer in 2023, ranking at 923. Ashley fairs better than all of these names, still making the Top 500 at 362. Finally, Sarah in 2023 ranks as the most popular of these five names at 238.

If you're looking for an uncommon name for your baby girl, then the top names from the '80s are certainly a great start!

Top 100 Baby Names by Decade

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