Birth year roster

Top names in 1974

The 100 most common names on 1974 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1974 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, 147 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1970s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered63,107
#2Amy Endangered29,566
#3Michelle Endangered25,826
#4Heather Endangered23,179
#5Angela Endangered22,803
#6Kimberly Endangered22,427
#7Melissa Endangered22,166
#8Lisa Endangered19,778
#9Stephanie Endangered16,984
#10Rebecca Endangered15,163
#11Nicole Endangered13,112
#12Elizabeth Stable12,259
#13Mary Endangered11,738
#14Julie Endangered11,360
#15Kelly Endangered10,851
#16Christina Endangered10,849
#17Jessica Endangered10,656
#18Shannon Endangered10,608
#19Christine Endangered9,901
#20Sarah Endangered9,788
#21Laura Endangered9,716
#22Dawn Endangered9,417
#23Tracy Endangered9,286
#24Tammy Endangered9,238
#25Tina Endangered8,668
#26Karen Endangered8,643
#27Susan Endangered8,470
#28April Endangered8,454
#29Patricia Endangered8,036
#30Lori Endangered7,960
#31Maria Stable7,804
#32Wendy Endangered7,564
#33Cynthia Endangered7,557
#34Amanda Endangered7,473
#35Andrea Declining7,472
#36Rachel Endangered7,399
#37Tonya Endangered6,878
#38Stacy Endangered6,741
#39Tara Endangered6,657
#40Danielle Endangered6,629
#41Tiffany Endangered6,482
#42Carrie Endangered6,436
#43Monica Endangered6,281
#44Sandra Endangered6,270
#45Kristen Endangered6,052
#46Tanya Endangered5,997
#47Erin Endangered5,868
#48Stacey Endangered5,803
#49Crystal Endangered5,622
#50Michele Endangered5,587
#51Melanie Declining5,483
#52Teresa Endangered5,397
#53Denise Endangered5,395
#54Pamela Endangered5,272
#55Dana Endangered5,158
#56Holly Stable5,144
#57Christy Endangered5,067
#58Jill Endangered5,061
#59Brenda Endangered4,830
#60Heidi Stable4,683
#61Sara Stable4,650
#62Katherine Declining4,530
#63Robin Endangered4,525
#64Tamara Endangered4,525
#65Leslie Endangered4,463
#66Misty Endangered4,439
#67Donna Endangered4,354
#68Deborah Endangered4,343
#69Emily Declining4,329
#70Sharon Endangered4,276
#71Veronica Stable4,226
#72Kristin Endangered4,218
#73Catherine Endangered4,184
#74Erica Endangered4,121
#75Linda Endangered4,077
#76Kathleen Endangered3,953
#77Barbara Endangered3,906
#78Nancy Endangered3,891
#79Theresa Endangered3,857
#80Brandy Endangered3,832
#81Melinda Endangered3,752
#82Anna Declining3,622
#83Jacqueline Endangered3,573
#84Gina Endangered3,560
#85Renee Endangered3,528
#86Rhonda Endangered3,525
#87Diana Stable3,513
#88Cheryl Endangered3,496
#89Sherry Endangered3,436
#90Alicia Endangered3,434
#91Jodi Endangered3,306
#92Amber Endangered3,273
#93Valerie Stable3,181
#94Debra Endangered3,129
#95Margaret Endangered3,087
#96Paula Endangered3,061
#97Jamie Endangered3,020
#98Kathryn Endangered2,991
#99Allison Declining2,959
#100Ann Endangered2,928

Boys

#1Michael Past peak67,534
#2Jason Endangered54,756
#3Christopher Endangered48,585
#4David Past peak41,786
#5James Stable41,334
#6John Past peak37,612
#7Robert Endangered37,005
#8Brian Endangered34,449
#9Matthew Declining27,194
#10William Declining26,980
#11Daniel Declining23,833
#12Joseph Declining21,834
#13Eric Endangered20,193
#14Kevin Endangered19,461
#15Jeffrey Endangered19,320
#16Mark Endangered18,905
#17Richard Endangered18,636
#18Scott Endangered18,030
#19Steven Endangered17,663
#20Thomas Stable17,268
#21Anthony Declining16,391
#22Timothy Endangered15,890
#23Charles Stable15,151
#24Jeremy Endangered13,295
#25Ryan Declining13,179
#26Chad Endangered12,788
#27Paul Endangered12,310
#28Andrew Declining11,778
#29Joshua Declining11,599
#30Shawn Endangered11,438
#31Gregory Endangered10,826
#32Aaron Declining10,507
#33Jonathan Declining10,230
#34Kenneth Endangered10,143
#35Stephen Endangered10,101
#36Adam Declining8,421
#37Sean Endangered8,290
#38Patrick Declining8,137
#39Todd Endangered7,845
#40Edward Endangered7,817
#41Donald Endangered7,758
#42Ronald Endangered7,667
#43Justin Endangered7,429
#44Keith Endangered7,390
#45Bryan Declining7,226
#46Benjamin Declining7,183
#47Jose Stable6,720
#48Gary Endangered6,444
#49George Stable6,283
#50Peter Stable5,940
#51Brandon Endangered5,859
#52Nathan Declining5,844
#53Douglas Endangered5,843
#54Travis Endangered5,702
#55Larry Endangered5,694
#56Shane Endangered5,655
#57Craig Endangered5,539
#58Bradley Declining5,173
#59Dennis Endangered4,880
#60Samuel Stable4,672
#61Jerry Endangered4,664
#62Raymond Endangered4,577
#63Troy Endangered4,563
#64Juan Stable4,428
#65Frank Endangered4,365
#66Jeffery Endangered4,363
#67Jesse Stable4,105
#68Jamie Rising4,086
#69Terry Endangered4,027
#70Phillip Endangered3,934
#71Carlos Stable3,871
#72Rodney Endangered3,849
#73Marcus Declining3,801
#74Derek Stable3,636
#75Joel Declining3,491
#76Brent Endangered3,413
#77Corey Endangered3,382
#78Billy Endangered3,365
#79Randy Endangered3,342
#80Nicholas Declining3,218
#81Tony Endangered3,216
#82Antonio Stable3,178
#83Johnny Endangered3,169
#84Russell Stable3,168
#85Marc Endangered3,108
#86Philip Endangered2,967
#87Derrick Endangered2,958
#88Jacob Declining2,957
#89Carl Endangered2,895
#90Erik Declining2,881
#91Danny Endangered2,859
#92Bobby Endangered2,792
#93Roger Endangered2,754
#94Jon Endangered2,750
#95Brett Endangered2,677
#96Victor Declining2,621
#97Kyle Endangered2,598
#98Curtis Endangered2,589
#99Jimmy Endangered2,568
#100Lawrence Endangered2,543