Birth year roster

Top names in 1972

The 100 most common names on 1972 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1972 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, 149 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1970s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered63,600
#2Michelle Endangered29,285
#3Lisa Endangered27,543
#4Kimberly Endangered26,282
#5Amy Endangered25,873
#6Angela Endangered23,561
#7Melissa Endangered22,494
#8Stephanie Endangered16,890
#9Heather Endangered16,320
#10Nicole Endangered15,755
#11Tammy Endangered14,211
#12Julie Endangered14,062
#13Mary Endangered13,757
#14Rebecca Endangered13,252
#15Elizabeth Stable12,182
#16Christine Endangered11,986
#17Laura Endangered11,778
#18Tina Endangered11,523
#19Tracy Endangered11,436
#20Dawn Endangered11,340
#21Karen Endangered11,181
#22Shannon Endangered10,965
#23Kelly Endangered10,944
#24Susan Endangered10,574
#25Cynthia Endangered10,173
#26Christina Endangered10,172
#27Patricia Endangered9,602
#28Lori Endangered9,434
#29Wendy Endangered8,529
#30Andrea Declining8,022
#31Sandra Endangered7,917
#32Maria Stable7,721
#33Stacy Endangered7,604
#34Pamela Endangered7,472
#35Denise Endangered7,382
#36Michele Endangered7,380
#37Tonya Endangered7,244
#38Tara Endangered7,234
#39Teresa Endangered7,176
#40Rachel Endangered6,417
#41Stacey Endangered6,380
#42Melanie Declining6,296
#43Deborah Endangered6,271
#44Brenda Endangered6,270
#45Donna Endangered6,257
#46Jessica Endangered6,206
#47Monica Endangered6,133
#48April Endangered6,120
#49Sarah Endangered6,114
#50Sharon Endangered6,111
#51Linda Endangered5,742
#52Dana Endangered5,610
#53Carrie Endangered5,421
#54Tanya Endangered5,402
#55Robin Endangered5,369
#56Cheryl Endangered5,136
#57Kathleen Endangered5,097
#58Barbara Endangered5,080
#59Crystal Endangered5,044
#60Rhonda Endangered5,001
#61Tiffany Endangered4,844
#62Jill Endangered4,824
#63Nancy Endangered4,818
#64Heidi Stable4,723
#65Catherine Endangered4,686
#66Debra Endangered4,666
#67Kristin Endangered4,586
#68Theresa Endangered4,569
#69Katherine Declining4,514
#70Sherry Endangered4,447
#71Holly Stable4,376
#72Paula Endangered4,260
#73Danielle Endangered4,201
#74Christy Endangered4,190
#75Leslie Endangered4,184
#76Amanda Endangered4,180
#77Renee Endangered4,088
#78Gina Endangered4,057
#79Jacqueline Endangered3,803
#80Cindy Endangered3,737
#81Melinda Endangered3,671
#82Veronica Stable3,563
#83Diana Stable3,548
#84Tamara Endangered3,531
#85Kristen Endangered3,527
#86Anna Declining3,449
#87Erica Endangered3,443
#88Tracey Endangered3,407
#89Yolanda Endangered3,398
#90Sheila Endangered3,394
#91Ann Endangered3,360
#92Suzanne Endangered3,300
#93Erin Endangered3,289
#94Shelly Endangered3,288
#95Margaret Endangered3,286
#96Alicia Endangered3,268
#97Jodi Endangered3,259
#98Laurie Endangered3,227
#99Victoria Declining3,206
#100Valerie Stable3,193

Boys

#1Michael Past peak71,393
#2Christopher Endangered52,172
#3James Stable47,063
#4David Past peak46,322
#5John Past peak43,158
#6Robert Endangered43,013
#7Jason Endangered37,423
#8Brian Endangered36,306
#9William Declining30,510
#10Matthew Declining22,928
#11Scott Endangered22,838
#12Joseph Declining22,454
#13Kevin Endangered22,354
#14Richard Endangered22,302
#15Daniel Declining22,092
#16Eric Endangered22,027
#17Jeffrey Endangered21,677
#18Mark Endangered21,490
#19Steven Endangered19,851
#20Thomas Stable19,557
#21Timothy Endangered17,605
#22Anthony Declining17,454
#23Charles Stable16,968
#24Paul Endangered14,555
#25Chad Endangered13,392
#26Gregory Endangered13,056
#27Kenneth Endangered12,334
#28Shawn Endangered11,277
#29Stephen Endangered11,037
#30Andrew Declining10,111
#31Todd Endangered9,968
#32Ronald Endangered9,502
#33Sean Endangered9,444
#34Edward Endangered9,292
#35Patrick Declining9,276
#36Donald Endangered9,261
#37Jonathan Declining9,219
#38Keith Endangered9,145
#39Ryan Declining8,878
#40Aaron Declining7,863
#41Gary Endangered7,758
#42Jeremy Endangered7,398
#43Douglas Endangered7,387
#44George Stable7,167
#45Bryan Declining7,035
#46Craig Endangered6,729
#47Larry Endangered6,604
#48Peter Stable6,471
#49Troy Endangered6,348
#50Jose Stable5,935
#51Adam Declining5,740
#52Dennis Endangered5,608
#53Jerry Endangered5,597
#54Raymond Endangered5,443
#55Shane Endangered5,236
#56Frank Endangered5,165
#57Travis Endangered5,136
#58Jeffery Endangered5,063
#59Joshua Declining5,033
#60Justin Endangered4,975
#61Bradley Declining4,839
#62Terry Endangered4,770
#63Brandon Endangered4,625
#64Benjamin Declining4,498
#65Rodney Endangered4,363
#66Samuel Stable4,213
#67Derek Stable4,146
#68Tony Endangered4,001
#69Russell Stable3,782
#70Randy Endangered3,739
#71Marcus Declining3,685
#72Jamie Rising3,680
#73Juan Stable3,672
#74Johnny Endangered3,564
#75Phillip Endangered3,532
#76Roger Endangered3,531
#77Brent Endangered3,530
#78Joel Declining3,528
#79Nathan Declining3,512
#80Brett Endangered3,503
#81Billy Endangered3,473
#82Chris Endangered3,472
#83Marc Endangered3,465
#84Carlos Stable3,434
#85Carl Endangered3,406
#86Erik Declining3,398
#87Danny Endangered3,306
#88Jesse Stable3,226
#89Jon Endangered3,221
#90Bobby Endangered3,171
#91Derrick Endangered3,088
#92Curtis Endangered3,080
#93Antonio Stable3,028
#94Shannon Endangered3,014
#95Corey Endangered2,990
#96Christian Declining2,962
#97Jimmy Endangered2,932
#98Walter Stable2,918
#99Nicholas Declining2,843
#100Joe Endangered2,825