1970s Baby Names

14,880 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

#2
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
583,649 in the 1970s
#12
Amy Amy is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "beloved," and unusually the name is a past participle — someone who has been loved rather than someone lovable.
269,765 in the 1970s
#13
Melissa Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter.
254,161 in the 1970s
#14
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
250,202 in the 1970s
#17
Kimberly Kimberly is a girl's name that reached America by way of a South African diamond town, which was itself named after a British colonial secretary.
229,955 in the 1970s
#18
Lisa Lisa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," a short form of Elisabeth that became a name in its own right.
229,494 in the 1970s
#19
Angela Angela is a girl's name from the Greek for messenger, the word that also gives us angel.
226,033 in the 1970s
#22
Heather Heather is a girl's name taken directly from the flowering shrub that covers Scottish and northern English moorland.
204,534 in the 1970s
#32
Stephanie Stephanie is a girl's name from the Greek for crown or garland, the feminine of Stephen.
161,091 in the 1970s
#34
Nicole Nicole is a girl's name, the French feminine of Nicholas, meaning victory of the people.
145,304 in the 1970s
#35
Jessica Jessica is a girl's name invented by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice in 1596.
144,020 in the 1970s
#36
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
143,473 in the 1970s
#41
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
137,818 in the 1970s
#44
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
126,934 in the 1970s
#45
Christina Christina is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, and the fullest of the family that includes Christine and Kristina.
126,254 in the 1970s
#46
Amanda Amanda is a girl's name from the Latin for she who must be loved, and one of the few names on this site that can be dated to a specific literary invention — Colley Cibber used it for a character in his 1696 play Love's Last Shift.
124,362 in the 1970s
#47
Julie Julie is a girl's name, the French form of Julia, from a Roman family name of uncertain origin.
122,394 in the 1970s
#48
Sarah Sarah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
119,261 in the 1970s
#49
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
118,658 in the 1970s
#58
Christine Christine is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, the French form of Christina.
103,656 in the 1970s
#60
Tammy Tammy is a girl's name meaning palm tree, a pet form of Tamara.
99,287 in the 1970s
#61
Karen Karen is a girl's name, the Danish form of Katherine, and it inherits that name's genuinely unknown meaning.
95,549 in the 1970s
#62
Dawn Dawn is a girl's name taken directly from the English word for daybreak, and it is the English counterpart of Aurora rather than a translation of it.
92,799 in the 1970s
#65
Susan Susan is a girl's name from a Hebrew word for lily, taken in turn from an Egyptian word for lotus.
88,630 in the 1970s
#66
Andrea Andrea is a name meaning "manly" or "brave," from the Greek aner.
87,971 in the 1970s
#68
Tina Tina is a girl's name that serves as the tail end of several unrelated names — Christina, Martina, Valentina and Bettina — so its meaning depends entirely on which one a family had in mind.
85,087 in the 1970s
#75
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
81,549 in the 1970s
#76
Cynthia Cynthia is a girl's name that began as a title for the moon goddess — it means she of Mount Cynthus, the peak on Delos where Artemis was said to have been born.
80,529 in the 1970s
#77
Rachel Rachel is a girl's name from Hebrew meaning ewe, borne by Jacob's wife in Genesis.
78,040 in the 1970s
#78
Lori Lori is a girl's name, a short form of Laura meaning laurel.
78,038 in the 1970s
#79
April April is a girl's name taken from the month, whose Latin name probably means to open — the month when buds open.
77,186 in the 1970s
#82
Maria Maria is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Latin and Greek form of Miryam.
77,018 in the 1970s
#83
Wendy Wendy is usually credited to J.
74,481 in the 1970s
#84
Crystal Crystal is a girl's name from the Greek for ice, taken from the mineral rather than from any personal name.
74,004 in the 1970s
#86
Erin Erin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "Ireland."
70,769 in the 1970s
#89
Carrie Carrie is a girl's name, a pet form of Caroline meaning free man through Charles.
67,042 in the 1970s
#94
Tiffany Tiffany is a medieval name meaning manifestation of God, given to girls born at Epiphany — a genuinely old name that now reads as thoroughly modern.
65,427 in the 1970s
#95
Tara Tara is a girl's name from the hill in County Meath where the High Kings were inaugurated, and its meaning is a place of assembly.
65,324 in the 1970s
#97
Sandra Sandra is a girl's name that began as an Italian short form of Alessandra and became independent in the twentieth century.
64,670 in the 1970s
#99
Stacey Stacey is the e-spelling of Stacy, from Eustace or Anastasia.
63,448 in the 1970s
#101
Monica Monica is a girl's name whose meaning is genuinely unknown, and whose saint — the mother of Augustine — came from Roman North Africa, so the name may be Berber rather than Latin or Greek at all.
62,005 in the 1970s
#102
Danielle Danielle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Daniel, from a Hebrew name meaning God is my judge.
61,407 in the 1970s
#107
Pamela Pamela is a girl's name invented by a poet: Sir Philip Sidney coined it for his Arcadia around 1580, apparently from Greek elements meaning all sweetness.
58,267 in the 1970s
#108
Tonya Tonya is a short form of Antonia, and its meaning is unknown — the Roman family name Antonius has no established derivation, and the flower reading widely given for it is a Renaissance invention.
58,047 in the 1970s
#109
Sara Sara is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
57,160 in the 1970s
#110
Michele Michele is a girl's name, the single-l spelling of Michelle, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
57,144 in the 1970s
#111
Teresa Teresa is a girl's name whose meaning is genuinely uncertain, though harvester is the usual reading.
56,270 in the 1970s
#112
Denise Denise is a girl's name, the French feminine of Denis, and like it traces to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
56,111 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.