Most popular baby names of 1980
Top 100 boys & girls in 1980 (decade snapshot). Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
In 1980, the most popular US baby name for girls was Jennifer (58,374 babies) and for boys was Michael (68,683 babies), according to the Social Security Administration. The top five girl names were Jennifer, Amanda, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah; the top five boy names were Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, James. The full top 100 for each sex, with birth counts, is below.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names. Data as of SSA national data through 2025, state data through 2025, retrieved June 2026.
Top 100 girl names, 1980
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer | 58,374 |
| 2 | Amanda | 35,811 |
| 3 | Jessica | 33,924 |
| 4 | Melissa | 31,629 |
| 5 | Sarah | 25,757 |
| 6 | Heather | 19,973 |
| 7 | Nicole | 19,917 |
| 8 | Amy | 19,833 |
| 9 | Elizabeth | 19,529 |
| 10 | Michelle | 19,119 |
| 11 | Kimberly | 18,497 |
| 12 | Angela | 17,969 |
| 13 | Stephanie | 17,841 |
| 14 | Tiffany | 16,228 |
| 15 | Christina | 16,141 |
| 16 | Lisa | 15,664 |
| 17 | Rebecca | 15,281 |
| 18 | Crystal | 14,253 |
| 19 | Kelly | 13,710 |
| 20 | Erin | 13,428 |
| 21 | Laura | 12,916 |
| 22 | Amber | 12,553 |
| 23 | Rachel | 11,618 |
| 24 | Jamie | 11,529 |
| 25 | Mary | 11,474 |
| 26 | April | 11,472 |
| 27 | Sara | 11,148 |
| 28 | Andrea | 10,450 |
| 29 | Shannon | 9,670 |
| 30 | Megan | 9,134 |
| 31 | Emily | 9,001 |
| 32 | Julie | 8,906 |
| 33 | Danielle | 8,845 |
| 34 | Erica | 8,760 |
| 35 | Katherine | 8,017 |
| 36 | Maria | 7,875 |
| 37 | Kristin | 7,701 |
| 38 | Lauren | 7,476 |
| 39 | Kristen | 7,316 |
| 40 | Ashley | 7,296 |
| 41 | Christine | 7,085 |
| 42 | Brandy | 6,410 |
| 43 | Tara | 6,283 |
| 44 | Katie | 6,137 |
| 45 | Monica | 6,034 |
| 46 | Carrie | 5,761 |
| 47 | Alicia | 5,753 |
| 48 | Courtney | 5,618 |
| 49 | Misty | 5,541 |
| 50 | Kathryn | 5,527 |
| 51 | Patricia | 5,310 |
| 52 | Holly | 5,282 |
| 53 | Stacy | 5,057 |
| 54 | Karen | 5,055 |
| 55 | Anna | 5,038 |
| 56 | Tracy | 4,969 |
| 57 | Brooke | 4,951 |
| 58 | Samantha | 4,913 |
| 59 | Allison | 4,868 |
| 60 | Melanie | 4,841 |
| 61 | Leslie | 4,776 |
| 62 | Susan | 4,704 |
| 63 | Brandi | 4,703 |
| 64 | Cynthia | 4,700 |
| 65 | Natalie | 4,645 |
| 66 | Jill | 4,558 |
| 67 | Dawn | 4,479 |
| 68 | Dana | 4,438 |
| 69 | Vanessa | 4,426 |
| 70 | Veronica | 4,378 |
| 71 | Lindsay | 4,353 |
| 72 | Tina | 4,260 |
| 73 | Kristina | 4,222 |
| 74 | Stacey | 4,222 |
| 75 | Wendy | 4,141 |
| 76 | Lori | 4,085 |
| 77 | Catherine | 4,080 |
| 78 | Kristy | 4,059 |
| 79 | Heidi | 4,027 |
| 80 | Sandra | 4,002 |
| 81 | Jacqueline | 3,879 |
| 82 | Kathleen | 3,857 |
| 83 | Christy | 3,673 |
| 84 | Leah | 3,642 |
| 85 | Valerie | 3,613 |
| 86 | Pamela | 3,533 |
| 87 | Erika | 3,516 |
| 88 | Tanya | 3,436 |
| 89 | Natasha | 3,428 |
| 90 | Katrina | 3,397 |
| 91 | Lindsey | 3,386 |
| 92 | Melinda | 3,201 |
| 93 | Monique | 3,163 |
| 94 | Teresa | 3,149 |
| 95 | Denise | 3,145 |
| 96 | Tammy | 3,134 |
| 97 | Tonya | 3,080 |
| 98 | Julia | 3,069 |
| 99 | Candice | 3,012 |
| 100 | Gina | 2,991 |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names. Data as of SSA national data through 2025, state data through 2025, retrieved June 2026.
Top 100 boy names, 1980
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 68,683 |
| 2 | Christopher | 49,079 |
| 3 | Jason | 48,164 |
| 4 | David | 41,891 |
| 5 | James | 39,312 |
| 6 | Matthew | 37,834 |
| 7 | Joshua | 36,052 |
| 8 | John | 35,274 |
| 9 | Robert | 34,266 |
| 10 | Joseph | 30,185 |
| 11 | Daniel | 29,888 |
| 12 | Brian | 28,715 |
| 13 | Justin | 26,763 |
| 14 | William | 25,639 |
| 15 | Ryan | 24,795 |
| 16 | Eric | 22,611 |
| 17 | Nicholas | 21,018 |
| 18 | Jeremy | 19,892 |
| 19 | Andrew | 19,730 |
| 20 | Timothy | 19,146 |
| 21 | Jonathan | 18,986 |
| 22 | Adam | 18,868 |
| 23 | Kevin | 17,972 |
| 24 | Anthony | 17,604 |
| 25 | Thomas | 17,564 |
| 26 | Richard | 16,656 |
| 27 | Jeffrey | 16,379 |
| 28 | Steven | 15,916 |
| 29 | Charles | 14,959 |
| 30 | Mark | 14,169 |
| 31 | Brandon | 14,161 |
| 32 | Benjamin | 13,622 |
| 33 | Scott | 13,300 |
| 34 | Aaron | 13,166 |
| 35 | Paul | 11,819 |
| 36 | Nathan | 11,138 |
| 37 | Travis | 10,764 |
| 38 | Patrick | 10,352 |
| 39 | Chad | 10,142 |
| 40 | Stephen | 10,062 |
| 41 | Kenneth | 9,608 |
| 42 | Gregory | 9,267 |
| 43 | Jacob | 8,520 |
| 44 | Dustin | 8,416 |
| 45 | Jesse | 8,374 |
| 46 | Jose | 8,323 |
| 47 | Shawn | 7,698 |
| 48 | Sean | 7,596 |
| 49 | Bryan | 7,513 |
| 50 | Derek | 7,240 |
| 51 | Bradley | 7,210 |
| 52 | Edward | 6,762 |
| 53 | Donald | 6,269 |
| 54 | Samuel | 6,014 |
| 55 | Peter | 5,967 |
| 56 | Keith | 5,887 |
| 57 | Kyle | 5,775 |
| 58 | Ronald | 5,757 |
| 59 | Juan | 5,434 |
| 60 | George | 5,300 |
| 61 | Jared | 5,205 |
| 62 | Douglas | 5,180 |
| 63 | Gary | 5,037 |
| 64 | Erik | 4,918 |
| 65 | Phillip | 4,633 |
| 66 | Raymond | 4,578 |
| 67 | Joel | 4,564 |
| 68 | Corey | 4,437 |
| 69 | Shane | 4,365 |
| 70 | Larry | 4,262 |
| 71 | Marcus | 4,260 |
| 72 | Zachary | 4,245 |
| 73 | Craig | 4,234 |
| 74 | Derrick | 4,135 |
| 75 | Todd | 4,128 |
| 76 | Jeremiah | 4,093 |
| 77 | Antonio | 4,085 |
| 78 | Carlos | 4,084 |
| 79 | Shaun | 3,923 |
| 80 | Dennis | 3,804 |
| 81 | Frank | 3,734 |
| 82 | Philip | 3,563 |
| 83 | Cory | 3,556 |
| 84 | Brent | 3,537 |
| 85 | Gabriel | 3,493 |
| 86 | Nathaniel | 3,492 |
| 87 | Randy | 3,390 |
| 88 | Luis | 3,359 |
| 89 | Curtis | 3,332 |
| 90 | Jeffery | 3,324 |
| 91 | Alexander | 3,279 |
| 92 | Russell | 3,269 |
| 93 | Casey | 3,215 |
| 94 | Jerry | 3,189 |
| 95 | Wesley | 3,165 |
| 96 | Brett | 3,128 |
| 97 | Luke | 3,109 |
| 98 | Lucas | 3,080 |
| 99 | Seth | 3,050 |
| 100 | Billy | 2,991 |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names. Data as of SSA national data through 2025, state data through 2025, retrieved June 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
What were the most popular baby names in 1980?
In 1980, the most popular US girl name was Jennifer (58,374 babies) and the most popular boy name was Michael (68,683 babies), per the Social Security Administration. The top five girls were Jennifer, Amanda, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah; the top five boys were Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, James.
How many babies got the #1 name in 1980?
In 1980, Jennifer was given to 58,374 baby girls and Michael to 68,683 baby boys, the highest counts that year in SSA national data.
Source
U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, national data for 1980. SSA national data through 2025, state data through 2025, retrieved June 2026. Public domain (U.S. Government). See our methodology.
Last updated: 2026-06-22