Birth year roster

Top names in 1981

The 100 most common names on 1981 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1981 baby-name charts, the top names among millennial 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, 133 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1980s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered57,046
#2Jessica Endangered42,531
#3Amanda Endangered34,372
#4Sarah Endangered28,175
#5Melissa Endangered28,005
#6Amy Endangered20,345
#7Nicole Endangered20,310
#8Stephanie Endangered20,212
#9Elizabeth Stable20,168
#10Heather Endangered17,946
#11Michelle Endangered17,781
#12Rebecca Endangered16,737
#13Kimberly Endangered16,689
#14Tiffany Endangered16,416
#15Angela Endangered15,924
#16Crystal Endangered15,888
#17Christina Endangered14,392
#18Lisa Endangered14,294
#19Erin Endangered13,853
#20Amber Endangered13,814
#21Laura Endangered13,292
#22Rachel Endangered12,590
#23Kelly Endangered11,873
#24Andrea Declining11,686
#25April Endangered11,406
#26Sara Stable11,359
#27Mary Endangered11,042
#28Jamie Endangered10,982
#29Emily Declining10,799
#30Danielle Endangered10,038
#31Kristin Endangered9,737
#32Shannon Endangered9,226
#33Megan Endangered8,964
#34Ashley Endangered8,874
#35Lauren Endangered8,813
#36Erica Endangered8,626
#37Julie Endangered8,567
#38Kristen Endangered8,540
#39Katherine Declining8,433
#40Maria Stable7,681
#41Brandy Endangered6,898
#42Christine Endangered6,854
#43Courtney Endangered6,636
#44Katie Endangered6,600
#45Tara Endangered6,366
#46Alicia Endangered5,855
#47Lindsay Endangered5,843
#48Kathryn Endangered5,823
#49Monica Endangered5,782
#50Brandi Endangered5,527
#51Samantha Endangered5,516
#52Brooke Declining5,328
#53Patricia Endangered5,284
#54Anna Declining5,192
#55Carrie Endangered5,094
#56Leslie Endangered4,934
#57Allison Declining4,904
#58Lindsey Endangered4,863
#59Cynthia Endangered4,859
#60Natalie Declining4,858
#61Misty Endangered4,799
#62Vanessa Declining4,749
#63Holly Stable4,564
#64Karen Endangered4,539
#65Stacy Endangered4,479
#66Melanie Declining4,475
#67Jacqueline Endangered4,334
#68Veronica Stable4,313
#69Latoya Endangered4,266
#70Dana Endangered4,246
#71Susan Endangered4,244
#72Kristina Endangered4,061
#73Catherine Endangered4,057
#74Sandra Endangered4,037
#75Diana Stable3,971
#76Pamela Endangered3,881
#77Tracy Endangered3,869
#78Jill Endangered3,857
#79Dawn Endangered3,839
#80Tina Endangered3,821
#81Leah Stable3,808
#82Kathleen Endangered3,776
#83Stacey Endangered3,754
#84Heidi Stable3,738
#85Natasha Endangered3,730
#86Candice Endangered3,698
#87Victoria Declining3,689
#88Julia Stable3,668
#89Valerie Stable3,611
#90Wendy Endangered3,608
#91Lori Endangered3,479
#92Tanya Endangered3,408
#93Erika Endangered3,399
#94Kristy Endangered3,263
#95Katrina Endangered3,257
#96Denise Endangered3,201
#97Teresa Endangered3,121
#98Renee Endangered2,997
#99Christy Endangered2,943
#100Theresa Endangered2,943

Boys

#1Michael Past peak68,750
#2Christopher Endangered50,221
#3Matthew Declining43,330
#4Jason Endangered41,927
#5David Past peak40,629
#6Joshua Declining39,024
#7James Stable38,283
#8John Past peak34,868
#9Robert Endangered34,395
#10Daniel Declining30,985
#11Joseph Declining30,761
#12Justin Endangered27,307
#13Ryan Declining26,811
#14Brian Endangered26,583
#15William Declining24,798
#16Jonathan Declining22,588
#17Eric Endangered20,712
#18Andrew Declining20,232
#19Brandon Endangered20,206
#20Adam Declining20,044
#21Nicholas Declining19,775
#22Jeremy Endangered19,113
#23Anthony Declining18,569
#24Timothy Endangered18,228
#25Kevin Endangered17,454
#26Thomas Stable17,159
#27Richard Endangered16,855
#28Steven Endangered16,482
#29Jeffrey Endangered15,931
#30Aaron Declining14,694
#31Charles Stable14,427
#32Benjamin Declining14,360
#33Mark Endangered13,542
#34Scott Endangered12,719
#35Paul Endangered11,776
#36Nathan Declining11,256
#37Jesse Stable10,443
#38Patrick Declining10,384
#39Stephen Endangered10,302
#40Travis Endangered10,109
#41Kenneth Endangered9,472
#42Dustin Endangered9,350
#43Jacob Declining9,342
#44Sean Endangered8,893
#45Jose Stable8,773
#46Gregory Endangered8,756
#47Chad Endangered8,412
#48Bryan Declining7,215
#49Shawn Endangered7,076
#50Bradley Declining6,895
#51Edward Endangered6,661
#52Kyle Endangered6,570
#53Derek Stable6,481
#54Samuel Stable6,036
#55Peter Stable5,997
#56Donald Endangered5,910
#57Jared Stable5,865
#58Keith Endangered5,621
#59Ronald Endangered5,538
#60Juan Stable5,499
#61George Stable5,157
#62Gary Endangered4,946
#63Zachary Endangered4,841
#64Douglas Endangered4,788
#65Joel Declining4,540
#66Phillip Endangered4,539
#67Marcus Declining4,510
#68Raymond Endangered4,367
#69Corey Endangered4,247
#70Alexander Declining4,237
#71Carlos Stable4,185
#72Craig Endangered4,097
#73Larry Endangered3,955
#74Todd Endangered3,953
#75Antonio Stable3,926
#76Erik Declining3,921
#77Jeremiah Declining3,896
#78Derrick Endangered3,850
#79Brett Endangered3,775
#80Nathaniel Declining3,719
#81Shane Endangered3,710
#82Frank Endangered3,638
#83Dennis Endangered3,634
#84Philip Endangered3,581
#85Casey Rising3,518
#86Shaun Endangered3,383
#87Gabriel Stable3,373
#88Brent Endangered3,371
#89Lucas Stable3,371
#90Cory Endangered3,352
#91Randy Endangered3,343
#92Luis Stable3,342
#93Jeffery Endangered3,334
#94Curtis Endangered3,198
#95Seth Endangered3,137
#96Tyler Endangered3,117
#97Jerry Endangered3,056
#98Russell Stable3,048
#99Wesley Rising3,040
#100Luke Stable3,013