Most Popular Baby Names in 1982

In this article we'll look at what the most popular baby names were for the year 1982. These names are taken directly from the Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

The table below shows the top 250 most popular baby names in 1982, with a total count for the number of births registered with that given name.

You can also use the links below to research more about the most popular baby names.

Top 1000 most popular boy names: 1-250 | 251-500 | 501-750 | 751-1000

Top 1000 most popular girl names: 1-250 | 251-500 | 501-750 | 751-1000

Boys Girls
Rank Name Count Name Count
1 Michael 68,244 Jennifer 57,119
2 Christopher 59,233 Jessica 45,454
3 Matthew 46,069 Amanda 34,216
4 Jason 40,642 Sarah 28,487
5 David 40,466 Melissa 25,868
6 James 38,879 Nicole 21,707
7 Joshua 38,029 Stephanie 20,859
8 John 34,715 Elizabeth 20,510
9 Robert 34,427 Crystal 19,106
10 Daniel 32,664 Amy 18,800
11 Joseph 31,053 Michelle 17,766
12 Justin 29,109 Heather 17,497
13 Ryan 26,706 Tiffany 17,174
14 Brian 25,833 Kimberly 16,102
15 William 25,603 Rebecca 15,727
16 Jonathan 23,131 Angela 15,002
17 Andrew 22,840 Ashley 14,857
18 Brandon 20,224 Amber 14,682
19 Adam 20,104 Christina 14,517
20 Eric 19,882 Erin 14,363
21 Nicholas 19,649 Rachel 13,870
22 Anthony 19,648 Laura 13,309
23 Thomas 17,587 Lisa 12,637
24 Kevin 17,468 Emily 12,519
25 Timothy 17,466 Kelly 12,171
26 Steven 17,145 Lauren 11,594
27 Richard 16,723 Andrea 11,375
28 Jeremy 16,471 Sara 11,344
29 Jeffrey 16,039 Jamie 11,040
30 Aaron 14,413 Mary 10,855
31 Charles 14,312 Danielle 10,207
32 Mark 13,877 April 10,061
33 Benjamin 13,825 Kristen 9,535
34 Scott 12,211 Megan 9,519
35 Paul 11,308 Erica 9,341
36 Nathan 10,806 Katherine 9,180
37 Patrick 10,699 Kristin 8,733
38 Stephen 10,633 Shannon 8,622
39 Travis 10,417 Lindsay 8,259
40 Gregory 10,149 Lindsey 7,958
41 Jacob 10,063 Julie 7,694
42 Dustin 9,552 Maria 7,342
43 Jesse 9,506 Courtney 7,100
44 Sean 9,371 Samantha 6,770
45 Kenneth 9,358 Katie 6,681
46 Jose 8,618 Christine 6,556
47 Kyle 8,211 Tara 6,524
48 Chad 7,909 Kathryn 6,285
49 Bryan 7,497 Vanessa 6,153
50 Derek 6,992 Brandy 6,079
51 Bradley 6,985 Natalie 5,965
52 Shawn 6,847 Monica 5,734
53 Edward 6,292 Alicia 5,615
54 Jared 6,264 Jacqueline 5,492
55 Zachary 6,147 Brandi 5,470
56 Samuel 6,013 Anna 5,270
57 Peter 5,784 Carrie 5,187
58 Donald 5,714 Allison 5,172
59 Keith 5,620 Patricia 5,168
60 Ronald 5,209 Leslie 4,985
61 Juan 5,119 Holly 4,682
62 George 4,994 Cassandra 4,664
63 Marcus 4,987 Diana 4,427
64 Gary 4,639 Cynthia 4,426
65 Alexander 4,596 Melanie 4,255
66 Tyler 4,585 Victoria 4,255
67 Phillip 4,523 Dana 4,238
68 Douglas 4,514 Karen 4,156
69 Joel 4,445 Kristina 4,149
70 Raymond 4,296 Veronica 4,147
71 Carlos 4,263 Natasha 4,128
72 Brett 4,030 Catherine 4,100
73 Craig 4,022 Stacy 4,098
74 Corey 3,941 Misty 4,071
75 Nathaniel 3,938 Valerie 3,988
76 Antonio 3,884 Susan 3,966
77 Larry 3,719 Kathleen 3,949
78 Derrick 3,655 Candice 3,792
79 Philip 3,643 Leah 3,763
80 Erik 3,634 Sandra 3,652
81 Frank 3,605 Erika 3,596
82 Todd 3,599 Pamela 3,546
83 Ian 3,580 Krystal 3,504
84 Shane 3,540 Julia 3,502
85 Jordan 3,535 Stacey 3,460
86 Casey 3,426 Heidi 3,392
87 Dennis 3,392 Katrina 3,323
88 Gabriel 3,372 Tracy 3,282
89 Jeremiah 3,329 Jill 3,270
90 Luis 3,328 Tina 3,219
91 Brent 3,326 Latoya 3,200
92 Jeffery 3,312 Brooke 3,145
93 Cory 3,240 Alexis 3,123
94 Randy 3,231 Brittany 3,102
95 Cody 3,179 Dawn 3,088
96 Shaun 3,154 Jillian 3,055
97 Russell 3,036 Margaret 2,997
98 Wesley 3,029 Lori 2,979
99 Victor 3,004 Nichole 2,922
100 Jerry 2,943 Denise 2,895
101 Curtis 2,940 Renee 2,893
102 Seth 2,910 Teresa 2,883
103 Vincent 2,866 Candace 2,851
104 Carl 2,805 Kristy 2,842
105 Terry 2,763 Wendy 2,822
106 Lucas 2,742 Nancy 2,806
107 Alan 2,687 Linda 2,791
108 Evan 2,670 Robin 2,768
109 Mario 2,660 Theresa 2,752
110 Miguel 2,631 Meghan 2,734
111 Jesus 2,624 Alison 2,726
112 Tony 2,607 Bethany 2,714
113 Bobby 2,606 Kara 2,662
114 Christian 2,575 Tanya 2,601
115 Troy 2,534 Christy 2,599
116 Billy 2,528 Monique 2,574
117 Adrian 2,516 Miranda 2,520
118 Johnny 2,489 Brenda 2,517
119 Luke 2,478 Casey 2,477
120 Blake 2,352 Rachael 2,472
121 Ricardo 2,295 Jenny 2,455
122 Allen 2,215 Anne 2,446
123 Lee 2,206 Melinda 2,411
124 Andre 2,200 Gina 2,384
125 Kristopher 2,189 Lacey 2,382
126 Martin 2,170 Tonya 2,379
127 Roger 2,166 Kelli 2,373
128 Lawrence 2,136 Sabrina 2,370
129 Ricky 2,119 Tamara 2,360
130 Randall 2,114 Barbara 2,346
131 Jimmy 2,092 Molly 2,317
132 Jamie 2,091 Ebony 2,279
133 Clinton 2,080 Kayla 2,275
134 Henry 2,078 Tammy 2,264
135 Mitchell 2,070 Michele 2,226
136 Manuel 2,054 Kari 2,220
137 Danny 2,046 Jaime 2,196
138 Marc 2,044 Cassie 2,193
139 Jorge 2,026 Colleen 2,146
140 Albert 2,023 Kristi 2,144
141 Jon 2,020 Jaclyn 2,140
142 Lance 1,973 Desiree 2,096
143 Alex 1,965 Rebekah 2,059
144 Willie 1,959 Sharon 2,027
145 Rodney 1,947 Alisha 2,015
146 Trevor 1,944 Carolyn 2,009
147 Walter 1,911 Bridget 2,008
148 Micheal 1,908 Beth 2,003
149 Joe 1,873 Sheena 1,957
150 Roberto 1,845 Meredith 1,953
151 Isaac 1,841 Stefanie 1,949
152 Johnathan 1,837 Tabitha 1,936
153 Jonathon 1,830 Latasha 1,922
154 Noah 1,814 Marie 1,922
155 Francisco 1,812 Ann 1,920
156 Austin 1,801 Deanna 1,894
157 Arthur 1,794 Abigail 1,885
158 Gerald 1,719 Tasha 1,884
159 Wayne 1,714 Cheryl 1,876
160 Mathew 1,713 Deborah 1,843
161 Clayton 1,706 Joanna 1,835
162 Louis 1,695 Shawna 1,770
163 Brad 1,687 Kendra 1,763
164 Jay 1,668 Virginia 1,761
165 Maurice 1,646 Carla 1,758
166 Jack 1,624 Angel 1,744
167 Roy 1,616 Cindy 1,729
168 Jermaine 1,608 Adrienne 1,726
169 Bruce 1,590 Chelsea 1,716
170 Caleb 1,583 Morgan 1,716
171 Colin 1,537 Mandy 1,714
172 Hector 1,528 Regina 1,713
173 Alejandro 1,496 Krista 1,695
174 Darren 1,490 Suzanne 1,626
175 Oscar 1,486 Hannah 1,580
176 Calvin 1,477 Jodi 1,570
177 Cameron 1,471 Audrey 1,543
178 Ruben 1,471 Caroline 1,536
179 Ross 1,465 Donna 1,530
180 Garrett 1,454 Alexandra 1,529
181 Angel 1,442 Marissa 1,521
182 Darrell 1,392 Janet 1,499
183 Omar 1,385 Angelica 1,497
184 Reginald 1,378 Priscilla 1,489
185 Fernando 1,367 Whitney 1,478
186 Frederick 1,366 Trisha 1,459
187 Jaime 1,349 Aimee 1,451
188 Neil 1,344 Martha 1,449
189 Edwin 1,341 Jasmine 1,449
190 Jessie 1,329 Yolanda 1,439
191 Jerome 1,309 Claudia 1,438
192 Javier 1,294 Jacquelyn 1,438
193 Eddie 1,293 Autumn 1,426
194 Geoffrey 1,290 Nina 1,426
195 Tyrone 1,280 Felicia 1,425
196 Ronnie 1,273 Cristina 1,422
197 Kelly 1,271 Evelyn 1,377
198 Terrance 1,267 Toni 1,372
199 Rafael 1,257 Bonnie 1,368
200 Ernest 1,240 Ana 1,361
201 Eugene 1,228 Diane 1,349
202 Raul 1,220 Kate 1,341
203 Sergio 1,205 Joy 1,335
204 Pedro 1,204 Cara 1,328
205 Leonard 1,202 Paula 1,326
206 Brendan 1,199 Mindy 1,322
207 Theodore 1,192 Carmen 1,315
208 Barry 1,183 Robyn 1,314
209 Kurt 1,183 Debra 1,313
210 Tommy 1,172 Abby 1,300
211 Grant 1,170 Summer 1,262
212 Clifford 1,141 Carly 1,250
213 Marvin 1,136 Janelle 1,245
214 Levi 1,135 Kristine 1,233
215 Dale 1,134 Naomi 1,221
216 Micah 1,122 Shanna 1,213
217 Bret 1,098 Rosa 1,204
218 Glenn 1,088 Kellie 1,194
219 Shannon 1,088 Caitlin 1,191
220 Ivan 1,087 Laurie 1,185
221 Ramon 1,079 Tia 1,182
222 Terrence 1,074 Ruth 1,178
223 Dominic 1,057 Adriana 1,176
224 Jarrod 1,045 Sophia 1,161
225 Harold 1,044 Jessie 1,144
226 Melvin 1,035 Shelly 1,136
227 Devin 1,033 Rhonda 1,131
228 Marco 1,032 Olivia 1,127
229 Steve 1,024 Melody 1,114
230 Drew 1,015 Alyssa 1,109
231 Alberto 1,010 Rose 1,099
232 Joey 1,001 Sheila 1,099
233 Stanley 1,000 Marisa 1,096
234 Eduardo 998 Terri 1,091
235 Julian 993 Randi 1,086
236 Armando 987 Gloria 1,074
237 Darryl 987 Nikki 1,074
238 Francis 983 Charlene 1,059
239 Cedric 977 Tamika 1,056
240 Karl 974 Lydia 1,052
241 Dwayne 963 Sonia 1,047
242 Damien 951 Sherry 1,046
243 Taylor 949 Christie 1,040
244 Ralph 948 Kerri 1,029
245 Chase 938 Haley 1,024
246 Clint 928 Annie 1,015
247 Andy 927 Jenna 1,011
248 Spencer 926 Anita 1,010
249 Nicolas 892 Sonya 1,007
250 Andres 890 Yvonne 1,007

What's in a (Popular) Name?

How do we know which baby names are hot each year? It's simple! The Social Security Administration collects data as parents register their newborns for a Social Security card. So, instead of waiting for the 10-year census, we get an annual update on the trending names!

Popular Baby Names vs. Popular First Names: Any Differences?

If you're wondering why the most popular baby names and the most popular first names aren't the same, remember: first names include everyone, not just babies. With 16.5% of the population over 65, names popular in their generation, like 'Chase' or 'Annie', still top the charts. As the birth rate declines, we won't see baby names like 'Michael' or 'Jennifer' topping the overall popular names list until the Baby Boomer generation decreases significantly.

What Factors Influence Baby Name Popularity?

Ever wondered how a name like 'Jason' or 'Elizabeth' hits the charts? It's not an exact science, but here are some cool factors:

Celebrity Influence

Americans adore their stars! A favorite celeb can influence baby names, so if you see more little 'Matthews' or 'Jessicas' running around, you might have a Hollywood A-lister to thank!

Character-Inspired Names

Bookworms and movie buffs often name their kids after beloved characters. If 'David' or 'Stephanie' sound familiar, check out the latest bestseller or box-office hit!

Following the Trend

We humans are trend-followers. So, if a friend's baby 'James' or 'Crystal' has a cute ring to it, don't be surprised if it catches on!

The Power of Recall

Names heard repeatedly stick in our minds. So if 'Daniel' or 'Sarah' are on repeat, you'll likely see them in the baby name charts.

Family Tradition

Some names like 'Joshua' or 'Tiffany' stand the test of time, thanks to the tradition of naming babies after older relatives.

Religion and Politics

Religious texts and political figures inspire many parents. Evergreen choices like 'John' or 'Nicole' show the lasting impact of religion and politics on baby names.

So, while we can't always predict why a name like 'Robert' or 'Lauren' becomes popular, these factors give us some fun insights into the ever-changing landscape of baby names!

Historical Data for Baby Names

If you're interested to see how the trends and popularity of baby names have changed, you can use the links below to view the historical data by decade.

Most popular first names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Most popular boy names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Most popular girl names, 1880-present | since 1950 | since 1960 | since 1970 | since 1980 | since 1990 | since 2000 | since 2010

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and excludes any names with fewer than 5 occurrences in any geographic area.