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

#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
#50
Shawn Shawn is a boy's name, the phonetic American respelling of the Irish Seán, which is itself the Irish form of John.
117,152 in the 1970s
#51
Gregory Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert.
116,235 in the 1970s
#52
Chad Chad is a boy's name from a seventh-century English saint, and it has since become an American internet stereotype and, separately, the name of a country and a disputed ballot.
114,098 in the 1970s
#53
Kenneth Kenneth is a boy's name anglicizing two separate Gaelic names, one meaning born of fire and one meaning handsome.
112,247 in the 1970s
#54
Tracy Tracy is a Norman place name that became a surname, then a boys' name, then overwhelmingly a girls' name — about 81 percent of recorded births are female.
108,955 in the 1970s
#55
Jonathan Jonathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh has given," from Yehonatan.
108,561 in the 1970s
#56
Stephen Stephen is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, borne by the first Christian martyr.
108,456 in the 1970s
#57
Jamie Jamie is a unisex name of Hebrew origin, a Scottish diminutive of James meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel."
104,141 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
#59
Aaron Aaron is a boy's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is not established.
102,569 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
#63
Adam Adam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "earth" or "ground," from adamah.
92,215 in the 1970s
#64
Patrick Patrick is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "nobleman."
91,798 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
#67
Justin Justin is a boy's name from the Latin for just or righteous.
87,132 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
#69
Sean Sean is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "God is gracious," the Irish form of John by way of Norman French.
84,407 in the 1970s
#70
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
84,021 in the 1970s
#71
Todd Todd is a boy's name from a northern English dialect word for a fox, given as a nickname to someone crafty or red-haired.
83,705 in the 1970s
#72
Donald Donald is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall, meaning world ruler.
83,017 in the 1970s
#73
Ronald Ronald is a boy's name from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, meaning ruler's counsel, brought to Scotland by Norse settlement.
82,328 in the 1970s
#74
Benjamin Benjamin is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of the right hand," from Binyamin.
81,782 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
#81
Keith Keith is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, probably from a Brittonic word for a wood.
77,159 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
#85
Bryan Bryan is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed.
71,748 in the 1970s
#86
Erin Erin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "Ireland."
70,769 in the 1970s
#87
Gary Gary is a boy's name that reached the charts by an unusually traceable route: a surname became a steel town in Indiana, the town's name was given to an actor, and the actor made it a first name.
68,747 in the 1970s
#88
Jose Jose is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," the Spanish and Portuguese form of Joseph.
67,114 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
#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
#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
#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

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.