1980s Baby Names

9,885 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

#1,167
Josh Josh is a boy's name, the short form of Joshua, from a Hebrew name meaning the Lord is salvation.
2,818 in the 1980s
#1,168
Wyatt Wyatt is a boy's name of English origin meaning "brave in war," from the medieval given name Wyot, itself from Old English elements meaning war and hardy.
2,815 in the 1980s
#1,169
Clyde Clyde took nothing from Bonnie and Clyde.
2,812 in the 1980s
#1,170
Chaz
2,804 in the 1980s
#1,174
Chester Chester is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "fortress" or "walled camp."
2,801 in the 1980s
#1,175
Efrain
2,799 in the 1980s
#1,176
Jovan
2,798 in the 1980s
#1,179
Kristofer
2,795 in the 1980s
#1,186
Dion
2,772 in the 1980s
#1,188
Reuben Reuben is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "behold, a son."
2,771 in the 1980s
#1,190
Sammy Sammy means God has heard, or possibly name of God — the Hebrew admits both readings, and the Bible's own explanation of Samuel uses a pun on asking that fits neither.
2,765 in the 1980s
#1,192
Myron Myron means myrrh, and the resin was worth its weight in gold — traded up the incense routes from southern Arabia, used for embalming, and one of the three gifts in Matthew.
2,747 in the 1980s
#1,195
Nick Nick means victory of the people, and the compound is political rather than personal — the Greek joins victory to the citizen body, so it describes a public triumph and not an individual one.
2,733 in the 1980s
#1,202
Emilio Emilio is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "rival" or "eager."
2,698 in the 1980s
#1,206
Conor Conor is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "lover of hounds," from the Irish Conchobhar.
2,676 in the 1980s
#1,207
Stewart
2,666 in the 1980s
#1,216
Santiago Santiago is a boy's name of Spanish origin meaning "Saint James."
2,646 in the 1980s
#1,220
Wendell Wendell names a people rather than a quality — the Wends were the Slavic populations of eastern Germany, so the name records who someone's neighbors thought they were rather than anything they did.
2,635 in the 1980s
#1,221
Jess
2,629 in the 1980s
#1,224
Jameson Jameson is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of James."
2,610 in the 1980s
#1,225
Freddy Freddy is far stronger in England than in America — 328th in England and Wales on 135 births against 1422nd in the United States on 127, despite the two countries being nowhere near comparable in size.
2,609 in the 1980s
#1,226
Keenan
2,607 in the 1980s
#1,228
Adan
2,589 in the 1980s
#1,229
Zackery
2,586 in the 1980s
#1,232
Arnold Arnold means eagle power, and England and Wales ranks it 631st on 59 births — well above the United States at 1478th, which is not what the name's twentieth-century American associations would predict.
2,578 in the 1980s
#1,233
Carson Carson is a name of Scottish and Irish origin meaning "son of Carr."
2,569 in the 1980s
#1,234
Brice Brice means speckled, and the fourth-century saint who carried it was a difficult man — Brictius succeeded Martin of Tours after years of insulting him publicly, and was driven out before being restored.
2,557 in the 1980s
#1,235
Jim Jim is a boy's name meaning supplanter, shortened from James — which is the same name as Jacob, split into two by Latin.
2,552 in the 1980s
#1,236
Garry Garry means spear, and it reached English through a steel town — Gary, Indiana was named for a US Steel chairman, and the place name did more for the given name than any of its Germanic ancestors.
2,550 in the 1980s
#1,237
Donnell
2,545 in the 1980s
#1,238
Rex Rex means king, and it is the plain Latin nominative — which makes it the pair to Regis, the genitive meaning of the king.
2,543 in the 1980s
#1,239
Lyle Lyle is a boy's name from the Norman French for "the island," and the l at the front is the definite article rather than part of the word.
2,542 in the 1980s
#1,240
Kaleb Kaleb respells Caleb, and the Hebrew reads as dog — which was not an insult but a claim of loyalty, since Caleb is one of only two spies who trusted the report on Canaan.
2,542 in the 1980s
#1,242
Myles Myles is a boy's name and a variant spelling of Miles, whose origin is disputed.
2,527 in the 1980s
#1,245
Deangelo
2,521 in the 1980s
#1,249
Humberto
2,509 in the 1980s
#1,250
Lane Lane means a narrow way between hedges, and it is one of only two names in this sweep our data marks as rising — it peaked in 2019 and stands at 250th in the United States on 1,495 births.
2,509 in the 1980s
#1,252
Randal
2,497 in the 1980s
#1,257
Deon
2,487 in the 1980s
#1,269
Vicente
2,455 in the 1980s
#1,275
Marques
2,439 in the 1980s
#1,277
Joaquin Joaquin is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "established by God".
2,433 in the 1980s
#1,284
Alvaro
2,422 in the 1980s
#1,286
Harvey Harvey is a boy's name of Breton origin meaning "battle worthy."
2,412 in the 1980s
#1,287
Solomon Solomon means peace, and it charts in all seven markets we track — the same Hebrew shalom behind the Arabic Suleiman, so one name covers the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions at once.
2,411 in the 1980s
#1,288
Thaddeus
2,409 in the 1980s
#1,289
Sonny Sonny is a boy's name of English origin meaning exactly what it looks like — son.
2,409 in the 1980s
#1,293
Jonas Jonas means dove, and the prophet's story turns on it — a man named for the bird sent out to find land is himself sent overseas, refuses, and is carried there inside a fish instead.
2,389 in the 1980s

What made a 1980s name

Nothing about the sound of it. A name is on this page because children in the United States were registered with it between 1980 and 1989, and its position is simply how many. Every list of "1980s 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.