1980s Baby Names

30,334 names were given to children in the United States between 1980 and 1989, 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.
669,009 in the 1980s
#2
Christopher Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ," from Christos and pherein, to carry.
558,503 in the 1980s
#3
Jessica Jessica is a girl's name invented by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice in 1596.
471,530 in the 1980s
#4
Matthew Matthew is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of Yahweh," from Mattityahu.
461,518 in the 1980s
#5
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
442,597 in the 1980s
#6
Joshua Joshua is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation," from Yehoshua.
399,085 in the 1980s
#7
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
386,222 in the 1980s
#8
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.
370,884 in the 1980s
#9
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
359,097 in the 1980s
#10
Ashley Ashley is a name of Old English origin meaning "ash tree clearing."
357,399 in the 1980s
#11
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
348,066 in the 1980s
#12
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
323,861 in the 1980s
#13
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
323,285 in the 1980s
#14
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
301,405 in the 1980s
#15
Jason Jason is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "healer."
293,983 in the 1980s
#16
Justin Justin is a boy's name from the Latin for just or righteous.
291,884 in the 1980s
#17
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
286,782 in the 1980s
#18
Ryan Ryan is a boy's name of Irish origin, anglicized from Ó Riain.
285,116 in the 1980s
#19
Sarah Sarah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
273,757 in the 1980s
#20
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
249,961 in the 1980s
#21
Brian Brian is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed, and neither is secure.
235,361 in the 1980s
#22
Brandon Brandon is a boy's name from an English place name meaning broom-covered hill, often confused with the Irish Brendan.
234,305 in the 1980s
#23
Jonathan Jonathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh has given," from Yehonatan.
231,536 in the 1980s
#24
Nicholas Nicholas is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people," from nike, victory, and laos, the people.
224,702 in the 1980s
#25
Stephanie Stephanie is a girl's name from the Greek for crown or garland, the feminine of Stephen.
219,181 in the 1980s
#26
Melissa Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter.
218,843 in the 1980s
#27
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
213,523 in the 1980s
#28
Nicole Nicole is a girl's name, the French feminine of Nicholas, meaning victory of the people.
211,316 in the 1980s
#29
Eric Eric is a boy's name of Old Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler" or "sole ruler."
205,707 in the 1980s
#30
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.
199,972 in the 1980s
#31
Adam Adam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "earth" or "ground," from adamah.
196,102 in the 1980s
#32
Heather Heather is a girl's name taken directly from the flowering shrub that covers Scottish and northern English moorland.
192,487 in the 1980s
#33
Kevin Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "gentle birth," and its saint founded Glendalough and by tradition lived to 120.
189,934 in the 1980s
#34
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
178,967 in the 1980s
#35
Steven Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen.
178,622 in the 1980s
#36
Timothy Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "honoring God."
174,003 in the 1980s
#37
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.
159,292 in the 1980s
#38
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
155,875 in the 1980s
#39
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
154,839 in the 1980s
#40
Amber Amber is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "ambergris."
154,477 in the 1980s
#41
Jeremy Jeremy is a boy's name, the medieval English form of Jeremiah, from a Hebrew name generally read as God will exalt.
154,428 in the 1980s
#42
Megan Megan is a girl's name, the Welsh pet form of Margaret, from a Greek word for pearl that reached Europe from Persian.
154,070 in the 1980s
#43
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.
151,187 in the 1980s
#44
Rachel Rachel is a girl's name from Hebrew meaning ewe, borne by Jacob's wife in Genesis.
147,336 in the 1980s
#45
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.
147,079 in the 1980s
#46
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.
146,852 in the 1980s
#47
Lauren Lauren is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," which became a women's name because a film studio invented one.
146,101 in the 1980s
#48
Jeffrey Jeffrey is a boy's name from Germanic roots whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
145,673 in the 1980s

What Made a 1980s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1980 and 1989. 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.