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

#49
Kyle Kyle is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "narrow strait," taken from a district of Ayrshire.
144,366 in the 1980s
#50
Benjamin Benjamin is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of the right hand," from Binyamin.
142,164 in the 1980s
#51
Crystal Crystal is a girl's name from the Greek for ice, taken from the mineral rather than from any personal name.
141,629 in the 1980s
#52
Brittany Brittany is a girl's name taken from the French region, which is named for British settlers who crossed the Channel in late antiquity.
141,498 in the 1980s
#53
Aaron Aaron is a boy's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is not established.
139,788 in the 1980s
#54
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
136,806 in the 1980s
#55
Danielle Danielle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Daniel, from a Hebrew name meaning God is my judge.
135,215 in the 1980s
#56
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
135,207 in the 1980s
#57
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
132,901 in the 1980s
#58
Emily Emily is a girl's name of Latin origin, from the Roman family name Aemilius.
132,291 in the 1980s
#59
Mark Mark is a boy's name of Latin origin, most likely meaning "of Mars," borne by the evangelist who wrote the earliest gospel.
130,249 in the 1980s
#60
Jacob Jacob is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel," from Ya'aqov.
124,948 in the 1980s
#61
Samantha Samantha is a girl's name of uncertain origin, first recorded in America in the eighteenth century.
121,578 in the 1980s
#62
Kelly Kelly is a name from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, borne almost entirely by men for most of its history and now 86 percent female on record.
119,313 in the 1980s
#63
Erin Erin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "Ireland."
118,013 in the 1980s
#64
Angela Angela is a girl's name from the Greek for messenger, the word that also gives us angel.
117,078 in the 1980s
#65
Jamie Jamie is a unisex name of Hebrew origin, a Scottish diminutive of James meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel."
114,968 in the 1980s
#66
Stephen Stephen is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, borne by the first Christian martyr.
114,369 in the 1980s
#67
Patrick Patrick is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "nobleman."
112,153 in the 1980s
#68
Scott Scott is a boy's name meaning a Scot, from the surname given to people from Scotland.
108,744 in the 1980s
#69
Nathan Nathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he gave," from Natan.
106,660 in the 1980s
#70
Sara Sara is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
105,120 in the 1980s
#71
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
105,105 in the 1980s
#72
Sean Sean is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "God is gracious," the Irish form of John by way of Norman French.
104,680 in the 1980s
#73
Travis Travis is a boy's name from an occupational surname meaning a toll collector, one who worked at a crossing.
103,689 in the 1980s
#74
Lisa Lisa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," a short form of Elisabeth that became a name in its own right.
103,036 in the 1980s
#75
Zachary Zachary is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord has remembered."
102,435 in the 1980s
#76
Katherine Katherine is a girl's name whose meaning is not settled.
99,625 in the 1980s
#77
Andrea Andrea is a name meaning "manly" or "brave," from the Greek aner.
99,530 in the 1980s
#78
Dustin Dustin is a boy's name from the Old Norse Thorstein, meaning Thor's stone — the dust in the spelling is pure coincidence.
98,153 in the 1980s
#79
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
96,472 in the 1980s
#80
Gregory Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert.
94,273 in the 1980s
#81
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.
93,682 in the 1980s
#82
Courtney Courtney is a name from a Norman family whose surname is usually read as short nose, though a place-name derivation competes.
92,054 in the 1980s
#83
Kenneth Kenneth is a boy's name anglicizing two separate Gaelic names, one meaning born of fire and one meaning handsome.
89,841 in the 1980s
#84
Jesse Jesse is a name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is debated.
89,019 in the 1980s
#85
Tyler Tyler is a boy's name from a medieval trade — a man who laid roof tiles — and the leader of the Peasants' Revolt carried it as a job description.
88,238 in the 1980s
#86
Jose Jose is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," the Spanish and Portuguese form of Joseph.
87,486 in the 1980s
#87
Shannon Shannon is a name from Ireland's longest river, and it is 86 percent female on record.
86,539 in the 1980s
#88
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.
83,833 in the 1980s
#89
Alexander Alexander is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "defender of men," from alexein, to defend, and aner, man.
83,538 in the 1980s
#90
Bryan Bryan is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed.
81,081 in the 1980s
#91
April April is a girl's name taken from the month, whose Latin name probably means to open — the month when buds open.
76,227 in the 1980s
#92
Samuel Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "God has heard," from Shemu'el.
73,975 in the 1980s
#93
Derek Derek is a boy's name from the Germanic Theodoric, meaning ruler of the people — and it is the same name as Terry and Thierry, three forms of one original that no longer resemble each other.
73,381 in the 1980s
#94
Katie Katie is a girl's name of Greek origin, a diminutive of Katherine whose meaning has never been settled.
73,125 in the 1980s
#95
Lindsey Lindsey is a girl's name from a district of Lincolnshire, and it originally meant an island — Lindsey was cut off by marsh and river, so the wetland reading and the island reading describe the same place.
73,023 in the 1980s
#96
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.
71,041 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.