Birth year roster

Top names in 1986

The 100 most common names on 1986 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jessica and Michael led the 1986 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, 124 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1980s decade

Girls

#1Jessica Endangered52,682
#2Ashley Endangered49,671
#3Amanda Endangered40,532
#4Jennifer Endangered36,187
#5Sarah Endangered28,163
#6Stephanie Endangered22,651
#7Nicole Endangered21,292
#8Brittany Endangered20,313
#9Heather Endangered19,790
#10Elizabeth Stable19,074
#11Megan Endangered18,590
#12Melissa Endangered17,667
#13Amber Endangered16,954
#14Lauren Endangered16,684
#15Rachel Endangered15,455
#16Danielle Endangered14,942
#17Tiffany Endangered14,483
#18Kimberly Endangered14,420
#19Christina Endangered14,384
#20Laura Endangered14,172
#21Samantha Endangered14,092
#22Amy Endangered13,452
#23Michelle Endangered13,303
#24Emily Declining13,236
#25Crystal Endangered12,689
#26Rebecca Endangered11,793
#27Sara Stable11,052
#28Katherine Declining10,570
#29Kelly Endangered10,411
#30Erin Endangered10,068
#31Erica Endangered9,973
#32Whitney Endangered9,536
#33Angela Endangered9,267
#34Jamie Endangered9,234
#35Courtney Endangered9,122
#36Andrea Declining8,639
#37Mary Endangered8,507
#38Katie Endangered8,333
#39Lindsey Endangered8,051
#40Lisa Endangered7,907
#41Kristen Endangered7,844
#42Allison Declining7,575
#43Vanessa Declining7,469
#44Shannon Endangered7,403
#45Alicia Endangered7,017
#46Lindsay Endangered6,952
#47Christine Endangered6,917
#48Kathryn Endangered6,393
#49Maria Stable6,142
#50Kristin Endangered6,000
#51Anna Declining5,908
#52Natalie Declining5,707
#53April Endangered5,677
#54Victoria Declining5,676
#55Jenna Endangered5,416
#56Tara Endangered5,085
#57Jacqueline Endangered5,036
#58Julie Endangered5,016
#59Monica Endangered5,013
#60Cassandra Endangered4,989
#61Krystal Endangered4,929
#62Kristina Endangered4,840
#63Holly Stable4,838
#64Kayla Endangered4,657
#65Brittney Endangered4,593
#66Patricia Endangered4,246
#67Catherine Endangered4,242
#68Kathleen Endangered4,129
#69Caitlin Endangered3,881
#70Natasha Endangered3,872
#71Meghan Endangered3,869
#72Alexandra Declining3,808
#73Chelsea Endangered3,753
#74Erika Endangered3,678
#75Diana Stable3,669
#76Valerie Stable3,618
#77Veronica Stable3,580
#78Leah Stable3,457
#79Brandi Endangered3,432
#80Casey Endangered3,423
#81Cynthia Endangered3,422
#82Hannah Declining3,388
#83Mallory Stable3,325
#84Brandy Endangered3,295
#85Alyssa Endangered3,225
#86Leslie Endangered3,224
#87Stacy Endangered3,220
#88Julia Stable3,109
#89Felicia Endangered3,084
#90Margaret Endangered3,084
#91Bethany Declining3,082
#92Dana Endangered3,076
#93Krista Endangered3,054
#94Stacey Endangered3,043
#95Jasmine Declining2,993
#96Alison Stable2,975
#97Melanie Declining2,973
#98Dominique Endangered2,944
#99Katrina Endangered2,828
#100Karen Endangered2,801

Boys

#1Michael Past peak64,235
#2Christopher Endangered56,693
#3Matthew Declining46,929
#4Joshua Declining37,542
#5David Past peak37,150
#6Daniel Declining36,573
#7James Stable34,057
#8Andrew Declining33,858
#9Robert Endangered31,350
#10John Past peak30,209
#11Ryan Declining29,524
#12Joseph Declining28,834
#13Brandon Endangered27,254
#14Justin Endangered26,638
#15William Declining24,333
#16Jonathan Declining23,973
#17Nicholas Declining22,800
#18Jason Endangered22,415
#19Anthony Declining21,956
#20Brian Endangered21,027
#21Kevin Endangered19,935
#22Eric Endangered19,528
#23Kyle Endangered19,315
#24Adam Declining18,157
#25Steven Endangered18,099
#26Thomas Stable17,362
#27Timothy Endangered16,875
#28Jeremy Endangered16,269
#29Richard Endangered15,014
#30Benjamin Declining13,793
#31Jacob Declining13,652
#32Jeffrey Endangered13,651
#33Aaron Declining12,692
#34Charles Stable12,625
#35Mark Endangered12,615
#36Stephen Endangered11,877
#37Sean Endangered11,784
#38Zachary Endangered11,725
#39Patrick Declining11,410
#40Tyler Endangered10,912
#41Alexander Declining10,609
#42Dustin Endangered10,317
#43Nathan Declining9,996
#44Scott Endangered9,965
#45Paul Endangered9,715
#46Gregory Endangered9,529
#47Bryan Declining8,651
#48Jesse Stable8,542
#49Travis Endangered8,480
#50Kenneth Endangered8,453
#51Jose Stable8,363
#52Samuel Stable7,579
#53Jordan Declining7,302
#54Bradley Declining7,044
#55Shawn Endangered7,018
#56Cody Endangered6,934
#57Derek Stable6,900
#58Jared Stable6,119
#59Chad Endangered6,026
#60Peter Stable5,797
#61Edward Endangered5,777
#62Corey Endangered5,762
#63Marcus Declining5,278
#64Alex Declining5,111
#65Juan Stable5,076
#66Keith Endangered5,040
#67Shane Endangered4,929
#68Cory Endangered4,871
#69Brett Endangered4,729
#70Phillip Endangered4,705
#71Donald Endangered4,661
#72Joel Declining4,507
#73Antonio Stable4,406
#74George Stable4,348
#75Ronald Endangered4,224
#76Carlos Stable4,090
#77Raymond Endangered4,055
#78Nathaniel Declining4,032
#79Luis Stable4,028
#80Craig Endangered3,926
#81Evan Declining3,887
#82Douglas Endangered3,763
#83Casey Rising3,762
#84Gary Endangered3,719
#85Ian Stable3,713
#86Philip Endangered3,665
#87Derrick Endangered3,326
#88Victor Declining3,293
#89Christian Declining3,214
#90Austin Declining3,202
#91Frank Endangered3,178
#92Erik Declining3,110
#93Vincent Stable3,092
#94Brent Endangered3,061
#95Gabriel Stable3,046
#96Wesley Rising3,043
#97Seth Endangered2,980
#98Trevor Endangered2,978
#99Adrian Stable2,943
#100Curtis Endangered2,910