1990s Baby Names

22,219 names were given to children in the United States between 1990 and 1999, 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

#5
Jessica Jessica is a girl's name invented by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice in 1596.
303,905 in the 1990s
#6
Ashley Ashley is a name of Old English origin meaning "ash tree clearing."
303,144 in the 1990s
#18
Emily Emily is a girl's name of Latin origin, from the Roman family name Aemilius.
237,646 in the 1990s
#21
Sarah Sarah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
224,781 in the 1990s
#22
Samantha Samantha is a girl's name of uncertain origin, first recorded in America in the eighteenth century.
224,384 in the 1990s
#30
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.
191,521 in the 1990s
#31
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.
191,186 in the 1990s
#34
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.
173,146 in the 1990s
#36
Megan Megan is a girl's name, the Welsh pet form of Margaret, from a Greek word for pearl that reached Europe from Persian.
160,642 in the 1990s
#37
Hannah Hannah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," from Channah.
159,027 in the 1990s
#38
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.
156,123 in the 1990s
#39
Lauren Lauren is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," which became a women's name because a film studio invented one.
154,043 in the 1990s
#40
Stephanie Stephanie is a girl's name from the Greek for crown or garland, the feminine of Stephen.
150,367 in the 1990s
#41
Rachel Rachel is a girl's name from Hebrew meaning ewe, borne by Jacob's wife in Genesis.
149,427 in the 1990s
#42
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
148,527 in the 1990s
#46
Nicole Nicole is a girl's name, the French feminine of Nicholas, meaning victory of the people.
136,383 in the 1990s
#56
Victoria Victoria is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "victory."
117,721 in the 1990s
#58
Amber Amber is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "ambergris."
115,825 in the 1990s
#59
Alyssa Alyssa is a girl's name from the flower alyssum, whose Greek name means without madness — the plant was believed to cure rabies.
115,390 in the 1990s
#60
Danielle Danielle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Daniel, from a Hebrew name meaning God is my judge.
109,965 in the 1990s
#61
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
109,907 in the 1990s
#65
Jasmine Jasmine is a girl's name of Persian origin taken from the flower, whose name comes from yasmin.
105,748 in the 1990s
#67
Brianna Brianna is a girl's name, the feminine of Brian, whose Irish meaning has never been securely established.
99,269 in the 1990s
#68
Katherine Katherine is a girl's name whose meaning is not settled.
97,053 in the 1990s
#70
Alexandra Alexandra is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "defender of men," and it appears as a title of the goddess Hera before it was ever a personal name.
95,101 in the 1990s
#71
Madison Madison is a name of English origin meaning "son of Maud," a medieval surname formed from the woman's name Maud plus -son.
94,051 in the 1990s
#76
Melissa Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter.
90,255 in the 1990s
#78
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
86,887 in the 1990s
#79
Kelsey Kelsey is a girl's name from an English place name, and its two proposed meanings — ship's victory and Cenel's island — have nothing in common.
86,599 in the 1990s
#80
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.
84,969 in the 1990s
#81
Anna Anna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah.
78,721 in the 1990s
#82
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.
78,124 in the 1990s
#84
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.
77,722 in the 1990s
#86
Olivia Olivia is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "olive tree," used as the feminine form of Oliver.
76,038 in the 1990s
#88
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
75,920 in the 1990s
#90
Shelby Shelby is a girl's name from an English place name of Norse formation meaning a willow farm.
75,266 in the 1990s
#91
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.
75,018 in the 1990s
#92
Allison Allison is a girl's name of Norman French origin, from Alis — the medieval form of Alice — plus a diminutive ending.
74,580 in the 1990s
#94
Abigail Abigail is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my father's joy," from Avigayil.
72,926 in the 1990s
#95
Sara Sara is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
72,320 in the 1990s
#97
Heather Heather is a girl's name taken directly from the flowering shrub that covers Scottish and northern English moorland.
71,757 in the 1990s
#98
Maria Maria is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Latin and Greek form of Miryam.
71,444 in the 1990s
#99
Haley Haley means hay meadow, from an English place name.
71,437 in the 1990s
#102
Kaitlyn Kaitlyn is a girl's name that respells the Irish Caitlín — which came into Irish from French, and into French from Greek.
67,649 in the 1990s
#103
Laura Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "laurel," the tree whose leaves crowned Roman victors and poets.
67,445 in the 1990s
#106
Erin Erin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "Ireland."
66,970 in the 1990s
#109
Andrea Andrea is a name meaning "manly" or "brave," from the Greek aner.
65,889 in the 1990s
#112
Natalie Natalie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "birthday of the Lord," from natalis.
63,516 in the 1990s

What Made a 1990s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1990 and 1999. 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.