1970s Baby Names

14,967 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 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
#80
Stacy Stacy comes from Eustace or Anastasia, two unrelated names, and its meanings are correspondingly different — fruitful or resurrection.
77,160 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 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
#101
Monica Monica is a girl's name whose meaning is 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
#103
Dana Dana is a name with several unrelated sources — a Danish origin, a Hebrew feminine of Daniel, and an Irish mother goddess.
59,683 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
#111
Teresa Teresa is a girl's name whose meaning is 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

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1970 and 1979. A name's position here is how many of them were.

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.