1980s Baby Names

2,345 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

#1,921
Afton
1,236 in the 1980s
#1,931
Hayden Hayden is a name of Old English origin meaning "hay valley" or "hedged hill."
1,229 in the 1980s
#1,978
Daniele Daniele means God is my judge, and it is masculine in Italy and feminine in France — the same spelling, opposite sexes, and birth records are 99 percent female because the French use dominates.
1,187 in the 1980s
#1,981
Michal
1,186 in the 1980s
#1,983
Nicola
1,184 in the 1980s
#2,038
Ramsey
1,123 in the 1980s
#2,070
Whitley
1,088 in the 1980s 7 of 10 years
#2,072
Denver Denver is a unisex name of English origin meaning "the Danes' crossing".
1,086 in the 1980s
#2,087
Rian Rian is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little king," from the Old Irish rí, king, with a diminutive ending.
1,074 in the 1980s
#2,100
Yuri
1,060 in the 1980s
#2,105
Brandyn
1,056 in the 1980s
#2,114
Spenser
1,049 in the 1980s 7 of 10 years
#2,118
Kendell
1,047 in the 1980s
#2,133
Daniell
1,035 in the 1980s
#2,136
Layne Layne is a unisex name meaning "a small road," from the English surname Lane, which described someone living by a narrow path.
1,033 in the 1980s
#2,141
Schuyler
1,031 in the 1980s
#2,143
Sammie
1,029 in the 1980s
#2,146
Shiloh Shiloh is a unisex name of Hebrew origin taken from a place rather than a word, the sanctuary town where the Israelites kept the Ark of the Covenant.
1,026 in the 1980s
#2,154
Tai
1,022 in the 1980s
#2,162
Charley Charley means free man, and it is one of the few mixed names on this site — 39 percent of recorded births are female, and it is rising.
1,013 in the 1980s
#2,165
Bryn
1,010 in the 1980s
#2,177
Lorin
998 in the 1980s
#2,185
Echo
993 in the 1980s
#2,201
Nicky
976 in the 1980s
#2,217
Shae
965 in the 1980s
#2,241
Austen
950 in the 1980s
#2,249
Darby
947 in the 1980s
#2,259
Jory
941 in the 1980s
#2,274
Marlo
927 in the 1980s
#2,298
Jaymie
913 in the 1980s
#2,302
Kasi
911 in the 1980s
#2,307
Juliann
907 in the 1980s
#2,311
Sky
904 in the 1980s
#2,320
Danyell
895 in the 1980s
#2,354
Garland
875 in the 1980s
#2,359
Sage Sage is a name of Latin origin meaning "wise."
870 in the 1980s
#2,377
Emerson Emerson is a name of English origin meaning "son of Emery."
858 in the 1980s
#2,381
Codie
855 in the 1980s
#2,398
Kolby
843 in the 1980s
#2,406
Peyton Peyton is a name of Old English origin meaning "Pæga's settlement."
841 in the 1980s
#2,419
Unique
835 in the 1980s
#2,431
Deandrea
828 in the 1980s
#2,432
Kayce Kayce is a unisex name of modern American coinage, a respelling of Casey or of the initials K.
827 in the 1980s
#2,436
Misha
824 in the 1980s
#2,443
Arin
820 in the 1980s
#2,446
Lyndon
818 in the 1980s
#2,464
London London is a girls' name in America and barely used in England — 81 percent of recorded births are female, it ranks 431st in the United States, and 3,355th in the country containing the city it names.
807 in the 1980s
#2,478
Tegan
801 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.