1970s Baby Names

7,987 names were given to children in the United States between 1970 and 1979, ranked below by how many.

A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#90
Nathan Nathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he gave," from Natan.
66,212 in the 1970s
#91
Brandon Brandon is a boy's name from an English place name meaning broom-covered hill, often confused with the Irish Brendan.
65,838 in the 1970s
#92
Nicholas Nicholas is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people," from nike, victory, and laos, the people.
65,476 in the 1970s
#93
Douglas Douglas is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic for dark water, originally a river and then a powerful border family.
65,471 in the 1970s
#96
George George is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "farmer" or "worker of the earth," from ge, earth, and ergon, work.
65,267 in the 1970s
#98
Travis Travis is a boy's name from an occupational surname meaning a toll collector, one who worked at a crossing.
64,623 in the 1970s
#100
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
62,649 in the 1970s
#104
Craig Craig is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a rock or crag, and one of the few names that is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound.
59,064 in the 1970s
#105
Bradley Bradley is a boy's name from an English place name meaning broad meadow.
58,971 in the 1970s
#106
Larry Larry is a boy's name, the short form of Lawrence, from a Roman name meaning of Laurentum.
58,658 in the 1970s
#117
Shane Shane is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," and it exists because English speakers wrote down how Ulster pronounced Seán.
51,542 in the 1970s
#118
Dennis Dennis is a boy's name that traces back to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstatic release — one of the few widely used Christian names derived from a pagan deity.
50,912 in the 1970s
#122
Raymond Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection.
49,755 in the 1970s
#123
Troy Troy is a boy's name with two independent sources — an Irish surname meaning foot soldier, and the ancient city.
49,299 in the 1970s
#124
Jerry Jerry is a name that serves as the short form of at least three unrelated names — Jeremiah from Hebrew, Gerald and Gerard from Germanic — so its meaning depends entirely on which one a family had in mind.
49,081 in the 1970s
#126
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
48,462 in the 1970s
#132
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
47,290 in the 1970s
#136
Jesse Jesse is a name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is debated.
46,019 in the 1970s
#138
Jeffery Jeffery is a boy's name whose first element is genuinely disputed, though the second means peace.
44,857 in the 1970s
#142
Juan Juan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious."
43,911 in the 1970s
#143
Corey Corey is a boy's name from an Irish surname, generally given as dweller near a hollow.
43,331 in the 1970s
#152
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
40,123 in the 1970s
#153
Marcus Marcus is a boy's name of Latin origin most likely meaning "of Mars," and it was one of only about eighteen first names Roman men used.
39,840 in the 1970s
#156
Derek Derek is a boy's name from the Germanic Theodoric, meaning ruler of the people — and it is the same name as Terry and Thierry, three forms of one original that no longer resemble each other.
38,512 in the 1970s
#162
Rodney Rodney is a boy's name from an English place name, and its rise as a given name follows a single admiral — George Rodney, who broke the French line at the Saintes in 1782.
37,745 in the 1970s
#163
Joel Joel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin that joins two names for God, and the prophet's book supplied the line quoted at Pentecost.
37,644 in the 1970s
#165
Carlos Carlos is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man."
37,383 in the 1970s
#167
Randy Randy is a boy's name, the short form of Randall or Randolph, meaning shield-wolf.
37,034 in the 1970s
#170
Jacob Jacob is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel," from Ya'aqov.
36,557 in the 1970s
#171
Tony Tony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning has never been established.
36,276 in the 1970s
#172
Russell Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy.
35,695 in the 1970s
#173
Brent Brent means burned land, from ground cleared by fire — a place name recording a specific agricultural practice rather than a hill or a holy site, which are the two readings usually offered for it.
35,590 in the 1970s
#179
Billy Billy is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector."
33,927 in the 1970s
#180
Antonio Antonio is a boy's name of Etruscan origin whose meaning is unknown.
33,739 in the 1970s
#181
Kyle Kyle is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "narrow strait," taken from a district of Ayrshire.
33,614 in the 1970s
#183
Derrick Derrick means ruler of the people, and the crane is named after a man — Thomas Derrick, an Elizabethan hangman whose gallows design was distinctive enough that his name became the word for it.
33,212 in the 1970s
#186
Johnny Johnny is a boy's name, the pet form of John, meaning God is gracious.
32,420 in the 1970s
#187
Erik Erik is a boy's name meaning ever-ruler or sole ruler, from Old Norse.
32,268 in the 1970s
#190
Marc Marc is a boy's name from a Roman name probably meaning dedicated to Mars, the god of war, and it is the source of the month of March.
31,998 in the 1970s
#191
Carl Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles.
31,757 in the 1970s
#192
Philip Philip is a boy's name from Greek elements meaning lover of horses.
31,541 in the 1970s
#197
Bobby Bobby is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
30,238 in the 1970s
#198
Roger Roger is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning famous spear.
29,919 in the 1970s
#200
Brett Brett means a Breton — someone from Brittany, which is named for the Britons who fled there when the Anglo-Saxons arrived.
29,580 in the 1970s
#201
Cory Cory has at least three unrelated origins — a Norse island name, an Irish surname and a Greek word for a maiden — and English cannot distinguish them.
29,452 in the 1970s
#204
Danny Danny is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," a diminutive of Daniel.
29,124 in the 1970s
#206
Curtis Curtis is a boy's name from a Norman French nickname meaning courteous, and it is one of very few names that describes manners rather than birth, appearance or trade.
29,045 in the 1970s
#209
Jon Jon is a boy's name meaning God is gracious, and it is both an English shortening of Jonathan and the standard Scandinavian and Catalan form of John — two routes to the same three letters.
28,895 in the 1970s

What made a 1970s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1970 and 1979, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1970s names" you will find elsewhere is somebody's sense of the period; this one is the register.

Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade

A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.

Where to Go Next

Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.