1970s Baby Names

25,022 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

#1
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
712,402 in the 1970s
#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
#3
Christopher Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ," from Christos and pherein, to carry.
478,191 in the 1970s
#4
Jason Jason is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "healer."
465,183 in the 1970s
#5
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
448,198 in the 1970s
#6
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
447,543 in the 1970s
#7
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
405,005 in the 1970s
#8
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
399,853 in the 1970s
#9
Brian Brian is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed, and neither is secure.
324,243 in the 1970s
#10
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
285,259 in the 1970s
#11
Matthew Matthew is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of Yahweh," from Mattityahu.
278,959 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
#15
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
246,336 in the 1970s
#16
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
246,007 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
#20
Kevin Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "gentle birth," and its saint founded Glendalough and by tradition lived to 120.
213,465 in the 1970s
#21
Eric Eric is a boy's name of Old Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler" or "sole ruler."
212,825 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
#23
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
204,081 in the 1970s
#24
Jeffrey Jeffrey is a boy's name from Germanic roots whose first element is genuinely disputed, though the second means peace.
203,818 in the 1970s
#25
Scott Scott is a boy's name meaning a Scot, from the surname given to people from Scotland.
195,404 in the 1970s
#26
Mark Mark is a boy's name of Latin origin, most likely meaning "of Mars," borne by the evangelist who wrote the earliest gospel.
195,227 in the 1970s
#27
Steven Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen.
189,169 in the 1970s
#28
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
187,856 in the 1970s
#29
Timothy Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "honoring God."
182,362 in the 1970s
#30
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is genuinely unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
176,284 in the 1970s
#31
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
164,227 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
#33
Kelly Kelly is a name from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, borne almost entirely by men for most of its history and now 86 percent female in our data.
150,866 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
#37
Ryan Ryan is a boy's name of Irish origin, anglicized from Ó Riain.
141,771 in the 1970s
#38
Joshua Joshua is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation," from Yehoshua.
141,119 in the 1970s
#39
Jeremy Jeremy is a boy's name, the medieval English form of Jeremiah, from a Hebrew name generally read as God will exalt.
140,156 in the 1970s
#40
Shannon Shannon is a name from Ireland's longest river, and it is 86 percent female in our records.
138,442 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
#42
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
137,205 in the 1970s
#43
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
133,592 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

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.