Most Popular Baby Names Since 1970

In this article we'll look at what the most popular baby names are since 1970. 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 10 most popular baby names since 1970, with a total count for the number of births registered with that given name since 1970.

Boys Girls
Rank Name Count Name Count
1 Michael 2,256,830 Jennifer 1,251,363
2 Christopher 1,713,524 Jessica 1,027,001
3 Matthew 1,457,510 Ashley 850,606
4 David 1,403,488 Sarah 795,414
5 James 1,385,552 Emily 776,912
6 John 1,251,927 Elizabeth 763,186
7 Daniel 1,227,378 Amanda 744,414
8 Joshua 1,220,671 Melissa 610,600
9 William 1,139,609 Stephanie 596,268
10 Joseph 1,139,521 Samantha 573,313

More Popular Baby Names

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

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.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Most Popular Baby Names Since 1970". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 19, 2024. https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1970/.

  • "Most Popular Baby Names Since 1970". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1970/. Accessed 19 March, 2024

  • Most Popular Baby Names Since 1970. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/baby-names/popular-baby-names-since-1970/.