Birth year roster

Top names in 1985

The 100 most common names on 1985 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jessica and Michael led the 1985 baby-name charts, the top names among millennial births. Jessica was the #1 girls’ name for 9 years in all (between 1985 and 1995); Michael was the #1 boys’ name for 44 years in all (between 1954 and 1998). Of the 200 names below, 127 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1980s decade

Girls

#1Jessica Endangered48,345
#2Ashley Endangered47,010
#3Jennifer Endangered42,661
#4Amanda Endangered39,055
#5Sarah Endangered24,879
#6Stephanie Endangered23,243
#7Nicole Endangered22,966
#8Heather Endangered21,151
#9Elizabeth Stable20,545
#10Megan Endangered20,013
#11Melissa Endangered19,963
#12Christina Endangered16,600
#13Rachel Endangered16,360
#14Laura Endangered16,002
#15Lauren Endangered15,768
#16Amber Endangered15,506
#17Brittany Endangered15,437
#18Danielle Endangered15,417
#19Kimberly Endangered14,914
#20Amy Endangered14,429
#21Crystal Endangered14,399
#22Michelle Endangered13,973
#23Tiffany Endangered13,681
#24Emily Declining13,144
#25Rebecca Endangered12,705
#26Erin Endangered11,384
#27Jamie Endangered11,038
#28Kelly Endangered11,031
#29Samantha Endangered10,658
#30Sara Stable10,562
#31Angela Endangered10,227
#32Katherine Declining10,128
#33Andrea Declining10,053
#34Erica Endangered9,525
#35Mary Endangered9,240
#36Lisa Endangered9,012
#37Lindsey Endangered8,468
#38Kristen Endangered8,445
#39Katie Endangered7,995
#40Lindsay Endangered7,871
#41Shannon Endangered7,714
#42Vanessa Declining7,563
#43Courtney Endangered7,531
#44Christine Endangered7,441
#45Alicia Endangered7,122
#46Allison Declining7,028
#47April Endangered6,691
#48Kathryn Endangered6,634
#49Kristin Endangered6,566
#50Jenna Endangered6,436
#51Tara Endangered6,102
#52Maria Stable6,013
#53Krystal Endangered5,933
#54Anna Declining5,883
#55Julie Endangered5,761
#56Holly Stable5,602
#57Kristina Endangered5,566
#58Natalie Declining5,535
#59Victoria Declining5,426
#60Jacqueline Endangered5,250
#61Monica Endangered4,990
#62Cassandra Endangered4,726
#63Meghan Endangered4,669
#64Patricia Endangered4,402
#65Catherine Endangered4,297
#66Cynthia Endangered4,129
#67Stacy Endangered4,109
#68Kathleen Endangered4,087
#69Brandi Endangered4,045
#70Brandy Endangered3,901
#71Valerie Stable3,881
#72Veronica Stable3,875
#73Whitney Endangered3,832
#74Diana Stable3,686
#75Chelsea Endangered3,613
#76Leslie Endangered3,607
#77Caitlin Endangered3,593
#78Leah Stable3,572
#79Natasha Endangered3,553
#80Erika Endangered3,503
#81Latoya Endangered3,402
#82Dana Endangered3,348
#83Dominique Endangered3,299
#84Brittney Endangered3,224
#85Julia Stable3,206
#86Candice Endangered3,195
#87Karen Endangered3,138
#88Melanie Declining3,132
#89Stacey Endangered3,114
#90Margaret Endangered3,072
#91Sheena Endangered3,062
#92Alexandra Declining3,017
#93Katrina Endangered2,978
#94Bethany Declining2,959
#95Nichole Endangered2,950
#96Carrie Endangered2,942
#97Alison Stable2,829
#98Kara Endangered2,811
#99Joanna Declining2,772
#100Rachael Endangered2,761

Boys

#1Michael Past peak64,934
#2Christopher Endangered59,609
#3Matthew Declining47,075
#4Joshua Declining42,194
#5Daniel Declining38,559
#6David Past peak38,522
#7James Stable35,862
#8Robert Endangered32,094
#9John Past peak31,502
#10Joseph Declining30,222
#11Andrew Declining30,178
#12Ryan Declining29,905
#13Brandon Endangered29,304
#14Jason Endangered26,039
#15Justin Endangered25,537
#16William Declining24,606
#17Jonathan Declining24,116
#18Brian Endangered23,069
#19Nicholas Declining22,384
#20Anthony Declining22,104
#21Eric Endangered20,844
#22Adam Declining20,165
#23Kevin Endangered18,814
#24Steven Endangered18,726
#25Thomas Stable17,609
#26Timothy Endangered17,140
#27Kyle Endangered16,523
#28Richard Endangered15,330
#29Jeffrey Endangered14,500
#30Jeremy Endangered13,445
#31Benjamin Declining13,423
#32Mark Endangered13,194
#33Aaron Declining13,137
#34Charles Stable12,900
#35Jacob Declining12,284
#36Stephen Endangered12,210
#37Patrick Declining11,638
#38Sean Endangered11,455
#39Zachary Endangered11,346
#40Nathan Declining10,653
#41Dustin Endangered10,439
#42Paul Endangered10,315
#43Tyler Endangered10,211
#44Scott Endangered10,145
#45Gregory Endangered9,767
#46Travis Endangered9,094
#47Kenneth Endangered8,992
#48Bryan Declining8,717
#49Jose Stable8,403
#50Alexander Declining8,295
#51Jesse Stable8,221
#52Cody Endangered7,096
#53Bradley Declining7,011
#54Samuel Stable7,009
#55Shawn Endangered6,982
#56Derek Stable6,661
#57Chad Endangered6,466
#58Jared Stable5,883
#59Edward Endangered5,869
#60Peter Stable5,671
#61Marcus Declining5,586
#62Jordan Declining5,460
#63Corey Endangered5,228
#64Keith Endangered5,214
#65Juan Stable4,851
#66Donald Endangered4,750
#67Joel Declining4,623
#68Shane Endangered4,549
#69Phillip Endangered4,496
#70Brett Endangered4,328
#71Ronald Endangered4,299
#72George Stable4,259
#73Antonio Stable4,151
#74Carlos Stable4,089
#75Raymond Endangered4,085
#76Douglas Endangered4,021
#77Nathaniel Declining4,004
#78Ian Stable3,998
#79Craig Endangered3,952
#80Alex Declining3,909
#81Cory Endangered3,868
#82Gary Endangered3,812
#83Derrick Endangered3,779
#84Philip Endangered3,735
#85Luis Stable3,706
#86Casey Rising3,490
#87Erik Declining3,372
#88Victor Declining3,341
#89Brent Endangered3,321
#90Frank Endangered3,302
#91Evan Declining3,219
#92Gabriel Stable3,215
#93Adrian Stable3,132
#94Wesley Rising3,043
#95Vincent Stable3,040
#96Jeffery Endangered2,947
#97Larry Endangered2,946
#98Curtis Endangered2,943
#99Todd Endangered2,941
#100Blake Declining2,922