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

#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
#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
#99
Stacey Stacey is the e-spelling of Stacy, from Eustace or Anastasia.
63,448 in the 1970s
#100
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
62,649 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
#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
#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 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
#113
Jill Jill is a girl's name, a medieval short form of Gillian, and it is half of the oldest surviving English nursery rhyme pair.
55,245 in the 1970s
#114
Katherine Katherine is a girl's name whose meaning is not settled.
54,251 in the 1970s
#115
Melanie Melanie is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "black" or "dark."
53,498 in the 1970s
#116
Leslie Leslie is a Scottish place name turned surname turned given name, and it has crossed sexes: about 71 percent of recorded births are female, though the name began firmly male and remains so in Britain.
52,033 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
#119
Holly Holly is a girl's name of Old English origin taken from the tree, from holegn.
50,656 in the 1970s
#120
Robin Robin is a name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
50,514 in the 1970s
#121
Erica Erica is a girl's name with two independent sources: the feminine of Eric, meaning eternal ruler, and the botanical Latin name of heather.
49,864 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
#125
Brenda Brenda is a girl's name from an Old Norse word for a sword or a torch, and it appears to have been invented for a novel — Walter Scott used it in The Pirate in 1822, and no earlier use is recorded.
48,797 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
#127
Terry Terry is a name serving as a short form of Terence and of the Germanic Theodoric, two unrelated names, and it is mixed — about 18 percent of recorded births are female.
48,204 in the 1970s
#128
Sharon Sharon is a girl's name taken from a place rather than a person — the fertile coastal plain of Sharon in Israel, known from the rose of Sharon in the Song of Songs.
48,093 in the 1970s
#129
Deborah Deborah is a girl's name from the Hebrew for bee, borne by the only woman to lead Israel as a judge.
48,070 in the 1970s
#130
Tanya Tanya is a Russian pet form of Tatiana, whose meaning is not known — the Roman family name behind it may be Sabine rather than Latin, and the Sabine language is barely attested at all.
48,044 in the 1970s
#131
Donna Donna is a girl's name from the Italian word for a lady, a title used as a name.
47,560 in the 1970s
#132
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
47,290 in the 1970s
#133
Amber Amber is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "ambergris."
47,220 in the 1970s
#134
Emily Emily is a girl's name of Latin origin, from the Roman family name Aemilius.
46,987 in the 1970s
#135
Linda Linda is a girl's name usually read as beautiful in Spanish or as a Germanic element meaning soft or tender.
46,124 in the 1970s
#136
Jesse Jesse is a name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is debated.
46,019 in the 1970s
#137
Kathleen Kathleen is a girl's name anglicizing the Irish Caitlín, a form of Catherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
45,025 in the 1970s
#138
Jeffery Jeffery is a boy's name whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
44,857 in the 1970s
#139
Christy Christy serves both Christine and Christopher, so it is used for both sexes — 98 percent of recorded births are female, but the masculine use remains ordinary in Ireland.
44,840 in the 1970s
#140
Kristen Kristen is a girl's name meaning a follower of Christ, and in Denmark it is a man's name — the Danish Kristen is masculine and Kirsten the feminine.
44,803 in the 1970s
#141
Catherine Catherine is a girl's name of Greek origin whose meaning is unknown — the familiar reading of pure is a later reshaping, not the original sense.
44,023 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
#144
Kristin Kristin is a girl's name meaning a follower of Christ, and it is the smaller of a pair — Kristen holds 222,720 recorded births to its 181,344, and both charted only ever in America.
43,042 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.