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

#97
Jordan Jordan is a name from the river, whose Hebrew name Yarden means "to descend" or "flow down" — the Jordan drops sharply from its source to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth's land surface.
70,959 in the 1980s
#98
Bradley Bradley is a boy's name from an English place name meaning broad meadow.
69,780 in the 1980s
#99
Chad Chad is a boy's name from a seventh-century English saint, and it has since become an American internet stereotype and, separately, the name of a country and a disputed ballot.
69,431 in the 1980s
#100
Lindsay Lindsay and Lindsey are the same place — a district of Lincolnshire that was effectively an island in fen.
69,149 in the 1980s
#101
Christine Christine is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, the French form of Christina.
68,403 in the 1980s
#102
Shawn Shawn is a boy's name, the phonetic American respelling of the Irish Seán, which is itself the Irish form of John.
68,302 in the 1980s
#103
Alicia Alicia is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble," a Latinate form of Alice.
67,248 in the 1980s
#104
Maria Maria is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Latin and Greek form of Miryam.
66,714 in the 1980s
#105
Vanessa Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift around 1713, built from the name of a woman he was writing to — and it later became the name of a genus of butterflies.
66,187 in the 1980s
#106
Casey Casey is a name of Irish origin meaning "vigilant" or "watchful."
63,886 in the 1980s
#107
Kathryn Kathryn is a girl's name, the y-spelling of Katherine, and it inherits that name's unknown meaning.
62,723 in the 1980s
#108
Allison Allison is a girl's name of Norman French origin, from Alis — the medieval form of Alice — plus a diminutive ending.
62,642 in the 1980s
#109
Cody Cody is a boy's name of Irish origin, anglicising Ó Cuidighthigh, meaning "descendant of the helpful one."
62,222 in the 1980s
#110
Julie Julie is a girl's name, the French form of Julia, from a Roman family name of uncertain origin.
61,952 in the 1980s
#111
Edward Edward is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "wealthy guardian."
61,256 in the 1980s
#112
Jared Jared is a boy's name from Hebrew meaning descent, borne by the father of Enoch — the one man in Genesis who does not die but is taken.
60,653 in the 1980s
#113
Anna Anna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah.
57,590 in the 1980s
#114
Peter Peter is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "rock."
57,071 in the 1980s
#115
Corey Corey is a boy's name from an Irish surname, generally given as dweller near a hollow.
56,715 in the 1980s
#116
Tara Tara is a girl's name from the hill in County Meath where the High Kings were inaugurated, and its meaning is a place of assembly.
56,538 in the 1980s
#117
Kayla Kayla is a girl's name with no established etymology, an American coinage of the 1950s that a soap opera turned into a top-name.
55,445 in the 1980s
#118
Natalie Natalie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "birthday of the Lord," from natalis.
54,677 in the 1980s
#119
Victoria Victoria is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "victory."
53,545 in the 1980s
#120
Keith Keith is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, probably from a Brittonic word for a wood.
53,046 in the 1980s
#121
Marcus Marcus is a boy's name of Latin origin most likely meaning "of Mars," and it was one of only about eighteen first names Roman men used.
52,324 in the 1980s
#122
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.
52,198 in the 1980s
#123
Juan Juan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious."
51,979 in the 1980s
#124
Jacqueline Jacqueline is a girl's name, the French feminine of Jacques, and it inherits the meaning supplanter from Jacob.
51,839 in the 1980s
#125
Donald Donald is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall, meaning world ruler.
51,225 in the 1980s
#126
Holly Holly is a girl's name of Old English origin taken from the tree, from holegn.
49,875 in the 1980s
#127
Ronald Ronald is a boy's name from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, meaning ruler's counsel, brought to Scotland by Norse settlement.
47,045 in the 1980s
#128
Cory Cory has at least three unrelated origins — a Norse island name, an Irish surname and a Greek word for a maiden — and English cannot distinguish them.
46,429 in the 1980s
#129
Kristina Kristina means a follower of Christ, the Scandinavian and Slavic form of Christina.
46,126 in the 1980s
#130
George George is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "farmer" or "worker of the earth," from ge, earth, and ergon, work.
46,081 in the 1980s
#131
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
46,026 in the 1980s
#132
Whitney Whitney was already climbing before Whitney Houston, and the debut album accelerated it rather than starting it — 1,632 births in 1982, 2,488 by 1984, then 4,068 in 1985 and 9,781 in 1986.
46,002 in the 1980s
#133
Patricia Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick.
45,501 in the 1980s
#134
Brandy Brandy is named for the drink, and the drink means burned wine — the Dutch brandewijn described wine heated to distil it, so the name records a manufacturing process rather than a quality.
45,102 in the 1980s
#135
Cassandra Cassandra is a girl's name from Greek myth, borne by a prophet cursed to see the future and never be believed.
45,057 in the 1980s
#136
Joel Joel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin that joins two names for God, and the prophet's book supplied the line quoted at Pentecost.
43,980 in the 1980s
#137
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.
43,873 in the 1980s
#138
Chelsea Chelsea is a girl's name from a London district whose name means chalk landing place — a wharf where chalk was unloaded from boats on the Thames.
43,344 in the 1980s
#139
Brandi Brandi respells Brandy, and the drink behind it means burned wine — the Dutch brandewijn described wine heated to distill it.
43,090 in the 1980s
#140
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.
42,631 in the 1980s
#141
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.
42,593 in the 1980s
#142
Brett Brett means a Breton — someone from Brittany, which is named for the Britons who fled there when the Anglo-Saxons arrived.
42,339 in the 1980s
#143
Antonio Antonio is a boy's name of Etruscan origin whose meaning is unknown.
42,125 in the 1980s
#144
Douglas Douglas is a boy's name from the Scottish Gaelic for dark water, originally a river and then a powerful border family.
42,024 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.