Birth year roster

Top names in 1971

The 100 most common names on 1971 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1971 baby-name charts, the top names among Gen X births. Jennifer was the #1 girls’ name for 15 years in all (1970–1984); Michael was the #1 boys’ name for 44 years in all (between 1954 and 1998). Of the 200 names below, 154 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1970s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered56,771
#2Michelle Endangered33,160
#3Lisa Endangered32,907
#4Kimberly Endangered30,708
#5Amy Endangered26,237
#6Angela Endangered25,901
#7Melissa Endangered23,875
#8Tammy Endangered17,656
#9Mary Endangered16,703
#10Julie Endangered15,322
#11Stephanie Endangered15,135
#12Heather Endangered15,017
#13Tracy Endangered14,330
#14Dawn Endangered14,288
#15Karen Endangered14,214
#16Laura Endangered13,875
#17Susan Endangered13,782
#18Christine Endangered13,678
#19Elizabeth Stable13,606
#20Tina Endangered13,266
#21Shannon Endangered12,647
#22Kelly Endangered12,599
#23Rebecca Endangered12,192
#24Cynthia Endangered12,143
#25Lori Endangered11,829
#26Patricia Endangered11,470
#27Nicole Endangered10,423
#28Pamela Endangered10,149
#29Wendy Endangered10,063
#30Christina Endangered9,915
#31Sandra Endangered9,714
#32Stacy Endangered9,117
#33Deborah Endangered8,675
#34Teresa Endangered8,563
#35Andrea Declining8,483
#36Denise Endangered8,219
#37Maria Stable8,141
#38Donna Endangered8,013
#39Michele Endangered7,955
#40Sharon Endangered7,523
#41Stacey Endangered7,482
#42Linda Endangered7,376
#43Brenda Endangered7,160
#44Dana Endangered6,934
#45Tonya Endangered6,897
#46Rhonda Endangered6,649
#47Barbara Endangered6,453
#48Monica Endangered6,426
#49Tara Endangered6,336
#50Cheryl Endangered6,327
#51Robin Endangered6,213
#52Nancy Endangered6,212
#53Kathleen Endangered6,154
#54Rachel Endangered6,115
#55Carrie Endangered5,977
#56April Endangered5,939
#57Debra Endangered5,928
#58Sarah Endangered5,843
#59Jill Endangered5,724
#60Sherry Endangered5,562
#61Theresa Endangered5,446
#62Tiffany Endangered5,414
#63Paula Endangered5,379
#64Jessica Endangered5,359
#65Catherine Endangered5,337
#66Melanie Declining5,135
#67Katherine Declining5,120
#68Leslie Endangered5,111
#69Gina Endangered4,922
#70Cindy Endangered4,904
#71Kristin Endangered4,861
#72Tanya Endangered4,855
#73Renee Endangered4,830
#74Tracey Endangered4,789
#75Jacqueline Endangered4,784
#76Holly Stable4,747
#77Heidi Stable4,714
#78Ann Endangered4,558
#79Crystal Endangered4,530
#80Tamara Endangered4,486
#81Sheila Endangered4,333
#82Diana Stable4,211
#83Diane Endangered4,208
#84Amanda Endangered4,130
#85Melinda Endangered4,057
#86Margaret Endangered4,001
#87Kristen Endangered3,967
#88Suzanne Endangered3,932
#89Christy Endangered3,930
#90Regina Stable3,874
#91Kathy Endangered3,863
#92Carol Endangered3,857
#93Erin Endangered3,856
#94Jodi Endangered3,826
#95Deanna Endangered3,791
#96Laurie Endangered3,749
#97Victoria Declining3,722
#98Yolanda Endangered3,721
#99Danielle Endangered3,716
#100Beth Endangered3,686

Boys

#1Michael Past peak77,577
#2James Stable54,597
#3David Past peak53,113
#4John Past peak51,512
#5Robert Endangered50,634
#6Christopher Endangered48,225
#7William Declining35,413
#8Jason Endangered34,173
#9Brian Endangered32,624
#10Scott Endangered30,901
#11Richard Endangered26,154
#12Jeffrey Endangered25,834
#13Mark Endangered25,132
#14Kevin Endangered24,850
#15Joseph Declining24,517
#16Steven Endangered23,686
#17Thomas Stable23,149
#18Eric Endangered22,962
#19Matthew Declining22,543
#20Daniel Declining21,785
#21Timothy Endangered20,089
#22Charles Stable19,851
#23Anthony Declining19,223
#24Paul Endangered17,469
#25Kenneth Endangered14,763
#26Gregory Endangered14,760
#27Stephen Endangered13,102
#28Shawn Endangered12,825
#29Chad Endangered12,137
#30Todd Endangered12,055
#31Ronald Endangered11,617
#32Edward Endangered11,062
#33Andrew Declining10,911
#34Donald Endangered10,872
#35Patrick Declining10,808
#36Sean Endangered10,510
#37Keith Endangered9,851
#38Gary Endangered9,190
#39Douglas Endangered8,737
#40Jonathan Declining8,628
#41Aaron Declining8,403
#42George Stable8,226
#43Craig Endangered7,957
#44Larry Endangered7,763
#45Jeremy Endangered7,498
#46Troy Endangered7,340
#47Peter Stable7,025
#48Bryan Declining6,611
#49Dennis Endangered6,584
#50Jerry Endangered6,572
#51Ryan Declining6,184
#52Raymond Endangered6,104
#53Jeffery Endangered6,100
#54Frank Endangered6,089
#55Jose Stable6,004
#56Terry Endangered5,858
#57Adam Declining5,846
#58Bradley Declining5,780
#59Rodney Endangered5,195
#60Shane Endangered5,093
#61Travis Endangered5,016
#62Tony Endangered4,889
#63Derek Stable4,667
#64Russell Stable4,545
#65Marcus Declining4,410
#66Samuel Stable4,407
#67Randy Endangered4,345
#68Chris Endangered4,293
#69Benjamin Declining4,251
#70Marc Endangered4,212
#71Roger Endangered4,129
#72Carl Endangered4,055
#73Brent Endangered4,053
#74Johnny Endangered3,939
#75Billy Endangered3,907
#76Phillip Endangered3,850
#77Corey Endangered3,766
#78Jon Endangered3,717
#79Bobby Endangered3,652
#80Joshua Declining3,650
#81Juan Stable3,648
#82Danny Endangered3,611
#83Gerald Endangered3,588
#84Derrick Endangered3,582
#85Lawrence Endangered3,523
#86Joel Declining3,499
#87Vincent Stable3,435
#88Carlos Stable3,426
#89Curtis Endangered3,426
#90Brett Endangered3,357
#91Walter Stable3,356
#92Wayne Endangered3,331
#93Jimmy Endangered3,315
#94Philip Endangered3,302
#95Brandon Endangered3,263
#96Jamie Rising3,231
#97Erik Declining3,212
#98Lance Endangered3,175
#99Alan Stable3,168
#100Darren Endangered3,156