Birth year roster

Top names in 1976

The 100 most common names on 1976 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1976 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, 143 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1970s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered59,473
#2Amy Endangered31,339
#3Melissa Endangered25,094
#4Heather Endangered24,192
#5Angela Endangered22,038
#6Michelle Endangered19,550
#7Kimberly Endangered18,962
#8Jessica Endangered18,368
#9Lisa Endangered17,346
#10Amanda Endangered15,588
#11Stephanie Endangered15,180
#12Rebecca Endangered14,491
#13Nicole Endangered14,453
#14Christina Endangered14,033
#15Sarah Endangered13,993
#16Elizabeth Stable13,547
#17Shannon Endangered13,368
#18Jamie Endangered12,539
#19Kelly Endangered11,791
#20Laura Endangered11,252
#21Julie Endangered10,839
#22Mary Endangered10,315
#23Rachel Endangered8,453
#24Erin Endangered8,381
#25Andrea Declining8,352
#26Christine Endangered8,111
#27Sara Stable8,020
#28Carrie Endangered7,991
#29Jaime Endangered7,838
#30April Endangered7,761
#31Karen Endangered7,505
#32Tiffany Endangered7,482
#33Danielle Endangered7,364
#34Maria Stable7,358
#35Dawn Endangered7,048
#36Crystal Endangered6,946
#37Tracy Endangered6,822
#38Stacy Endangered6,523
#39Wendy Endangered6,464
#40Susan Endangered6,402
#41Tammy Endangered6,228
#42Tara Endangered6,020
#43Patricia Endangered6,017
#44Cynthia Endangered6,012
#45Monica Endangered5,978
#46Misty Endangered5,906
#47Lori Endangered5,849
#48Tina Endangered5,747
#49Amber Endangered5,646
#50Emily Declining5,547
#51Stacey Endangered5,390
#52Jill Endangered5,283
#53Melanie Declining5,241
#54Erica Endangered5,236
#55Brandy Endangered5,232
#56Holly Stable5,173
#57Katherine Declining5,051
#58Tonya Endangered4,966
#59Sandra Endangered4,861
#60Christy Endangered4,853
#61Tanya Endangered4,819
#62Megan Endangered4,463
#63Michele Endangered4,443
#64Dana Endangered4,408
#65Leslie Endangered4,311
#66Teresa Endangered4,056
#67Allison Declining4,028
#68Veronica Stable4,022
#69Denise Endangered3,986
#70Heidi Stable3,890
#71Alicia Endangered3,791
#72Catherine Endangered3,780
#73Kristen Endangered3,653
#74Kristin Endangered3,627
#75Robin Endangered3,623
#76Courtney Endangered3,619
#77Brenda Endangered3,587
#78Anna Declining3,584
#79Brandi Endangered3,537
#80Natalie Declining3,499
#81Sharon Endangered3,453
#82Kathleen Endangered3,405
#83Valerie Stable3,386
#84Pamela Endangered3,364
#85Samantha Endangered3,347
#86Renee Endangered3,314
#87Nancy Endangered3,281
#88Kathryn Endangered3,262
#89Theresa Endangered3,173
#90Linda Endangered3,138
#91Tamara Endangered3,086
#92Victoria Declining3,036
#93Donna Endangered3,032
#94Gina Endangered3,010
#95Melinda Endangered2,995
#96Deborah Endangered2,992
#97Kristina Endangered2,972
#98Barbara Endangered2,968
#99Jacqueline Endangered2,948
#100Mandy Endangered2,924

Boys

#1Michael Past peak66,915
#2Jason Endangered52,643
#3Christopher Endangered45,190
#4David Past peak39,265
#5James Stable38,294
#6John Past peak33,976
#7Robert Endangered33,789
#8Brian Endangered30,517
#9Matthew Declining29,951
#10Daniel Declining24,702
#11William Declining24,428
#12Joseph Declining24,055
#13Eric Endangered21,359
#14Jeremy Endangered20,126
#15Kevin Endangered18,474
#16Ryan Declining17,484
#17Jeffrey Endangered17,013
#18Joshua Declining16,845
#19Richard Endangered16,752
#20Steven Endangered16,650
#21Timothy Endangered16,620
#22Anthony Declining16,601
#23Thomas Stable16,122
#24Scott Endangered15,717
#25Mark Endangered15,508
#26Charles Stable13,921
#27Andrew Declining13,301
#28Paul Endangered11,781
#29Chad Endangered11,766
#30Aaron Declining11,344
#31Jonathan Declining11,314
#32Benjamin Declining10,672
#33Justin Endangered10,144
#34Shawn Endangered10,108
#35Gregory Endangered10,060
#36Adam Declining9,937
#37Stephen Endangered9,727
#38Kenneth Endangered9,127
#39Nathan Declining8,611
#40Brandon Endangered7,786
#41Patrick Declining7,642
#42Sean Endangered7,565
#43Bryan Declining7,288
#44Jose Stable7,061
#45Edward Endangered7,048
#46Travis Endangered6,832
#47Donald Endangered6,792
#48Keith Endangered6,745
#49Ronald Endangered6,457
#50Todd Endangered6,440
#51Bradley Declining5,976
#52Gary Endangered5,592
#53George Stable5,556
#54Peter Stable5,445
#55Jesse Stable5,300
#56Douglas Endangered5,224
#57Shane Endangered5,095
#58Juan Stable5,053
#59Samuel Stable5,025
#60Larry Endangered4,842
#61Craig Endangered4,732
#62Jamie Rising4,621
#63Jacob Declining4,509
#64Corey Endangered4,432
#65Raymond Endangered4,218
#66Dennis Endangered4,169
#67Jerry Endangered4,070
#68Frank Endangered3,899
#69Phillip Endangered3,789
#70Carlos Stable3,787
#71Antonio Stable3,774
#72Joel Declining3,722
#73Troy Endangered3,715
#74Marcus Declining3,681
#75Terry Endangered3,668
#76Jeffery Endangered3,564
#77Nicholas Declining3,466
#78Brent Endangered3,405
#79Randy Endangered3,320
#80Kyle Endangered3,308
#81Gabriel Stable3,303
#82Dustin Endangered3,212
#83Cory Endangered3,182
#84Derek Stable3,168
#85Billy Endangered3,158
#86Tony Endangered3,067
#87Russell Stable2,999
#88Rodney Endangered2,984
#89Philip Endangered2,943
#90Jared Stable2,929
#91Derrick Endangered2,921
#92Johnny Endangered2,874
#93Jeremiah Declining2,872
#94Erik Declining2,754
#95Carl Endangered2,670
#96Bobby Endangered2,644
#97Zachary Endangered2,644
#98Shannon Endangered2,611
#99Marc Endangered2,598
#100Victor Declining2,528