Most popular baby names of 1996
Top 100 boys & girls in 1996. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
In 1996, the most popular US baby name for girls was Emily (25,150 babies) and for boys was Michael (38,373 babies), according to the Social Security Administration. The top five girl names were Emily, Jessica, Ashley, Sarah, Samantha; the top five boy names were Michael, Matthew, Jacob, Christopher, Joshua. 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, 1996
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily | 25,150 |
| 2 | Jessica | 24,201 |
| 3 | Ashley | 23,678 |
| 4 | Sarah | 21,048 |
| 5 | Samantha | 20,552 |
| 6 | Taylor | 19,155 |
| 7 | Hannah | 18,596 |
| 8 | Alexis | 16,592 |
| 9 | Rachel | 16,121 |
| 10 | Elizabeth | 16,003 |
| 11 | Kayla | 15,269 |
| 12 | Megan | 14,770 |
| 13 | Amanda | 13,980 |
| 14 | Brittany | 13,797 |
| 15 | Madison | 13,412 |
| 16 | Lauren | 12,595 |
| 17 | Brianna | 11,925 |
| 18 | Victoria | 11,859 |
| 19 | Jennifer | 11,732 |
| 20 | Stephanie | 11,643 |
| 21 | Courtney | 11,344 |
| 22 | Nicole | 11,135 |
| 23 | Alyssa | 11,024 |
| 24 | Rebecca | 10,626 |
| 25 | Morgan | 10,295 |
| 26 | Alexandra | 10,025 |
| 27 | Amber | 9,771 |
| 28 | Jasmine | 9,707 |
| 29 | Danielle | 9,286 |
| 30 | Haley | 9,042 |
| 31 | Katherine | 8,877 |
| 32 | Abigail | 8,604 |
| 33 | Anna | 8,575 |
| 34 | Olivia | 8,126 |
| 35 | Shelby | 7,950 |
| 36 | Kelsey | 7,655 |
| 37 | Maria | 7,598 |
| 38 | Allison | 7,455 |
| 39 | Sydney | 7,259 |
| 40 | Kaitlyn | 7,241 |
| 41 | Kimberly | 7,176 |
| 42 | Melissa | 7,170 |
| 43 | Savannah | 7,000 |
| 44 | Mary | 6,968 |
| 45 | Brooke | 6,724 |
| 46 | Natalie | 6,693 |
| 47 | Michelle | 6,598 |
| 48 | Julia | 6,314 |
| 49 | Jordan | 6,299 |
| 50 | Sara | 6,288 |
| 51 | Erin | 6,256 |
| 52 | Tiffany | 6,158 |
| 53 | Emma | 6,151 |
| 54 | Gabrielle | 5,888 |
| 55 | Chelsea | 5,864 |
| 56 | Destiny | 5,856 |
| 57 | Christina | 5,804 |
| 58 | Sabrina | 5,774 |
| 59 | Marissa | 5,752 |
| 60 | Vanessa | 5,746 |
| 61 | Andrea | 5,671 |
| 62 | Sierra | 5,487 |
| 63 | Mariah | 5,446 |
| 64 | Katelyn | 5,421 |
| 65 | Paige | 5,342 |
| 66 | Laura | 5,227 |
| 67 | Madeline | 4,912 |
| 68 | Cheyenne | 4,866 |
| 69 | Jacqueline | 4,862 |
| 70 | Kristen | 4,851 |
| 71 | Heather | 4,759 |
| 72 | Briana | 4,735 |
| 73 | Kelly | 4,734 |
| 74 | Breanna | 4,701 |
| 75 | Mackenzie | 4,597 |
| 76 | Miranda | 4,568 |
| 77 | Alexandria | 4,563 |
| 78 | Caroline | 4,466 |
| 79 | Erica | 4,460 |
| 80 | Shannon | 4,337 |
| 81 | Katie | 4,329 |
| 82 | Monica | 4,326 |
| 83 | Jenna | 4,288 |
| 84 | Caitlin | 4,268 |
| 85 | Bailey | 4,192 |
| 86 | Lindsey | 4,112 |
| 87 | Kathryn | 4,102 |
| 88 | Amy | 4,067 |
| 89 | Cassandra | 4,018 |
| 90 | Angela | 3,867 |
| 91 | Alicia | 3,861 |
| 92 | Crystal | 3,786 |
| 93 | Hailey | 3,762 |
| 94 | Grace | 3,742 |
| 95 | Catherine | 3,739 |
| 96 | Jamie | 3,599 |
| 97 | Angelica | 3,404 |
| 98 | Leah | 3,326 |
| 99 | Molly | 3,312 |
| 100 | Alexa | 3,260 |
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, 1996
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 38,373 |
| 2 | Matthew | 32,077 |
| 3 | Jacob | 31,925 |
| 4 | Christopher | 30,904 |
| 5 | Joshua | 29,175 |
| 6 | Nicholas | 27,724 |
| 7 | Tyler | 26,956 |
| 8 | Brandon | 25,847 |
| 9 | Austin | 25,663 |
| 10 | Andrew | 25,244 |
| 11 | Daniel | 25,128 |
| 12 | Joseph | 24,758 |
| 13 | David | 23,022 |
| 14 | Zachary | 22,369 |
| 15 | John | 22,188 |
| 16 | Ryan | 21,809 |
| 17 | James | 21,165 |
| 18 | William | 20,546 |
| 19 | Anthony | 20,508 |
| 20 | Justin | 20,015 |
| 21 | Jonathan | 18,602 |
| 22 | Alexander | 17,964 |
| 23 | Robert | 17,676 |
| 24 | Christian | 15,824 |
| 25 | Kyle | 15,600 |
| 26 | Kevin | 14,589 |
| 27 | Jordan | 13,852 |
| 28 | Thomas | 13,804 |
| 29 | Benjamin | 13,784 |
| 30 | Samuel | 13,629 |
| 31 | Cody | 12,954 |
| 32 | Jose | 12,155 |
| 33 | Dylan | 12,037 |
| 34 | Aaron | 11,971 |
| 35 | Eric | 11,611 |
| 36 | Brian | 10,476 |
| 37 | Nathan | 10,287 |
| 38 | Steven | 9,650 |
| 39 | Adam | 9,557 |
| 40 | Timothy | 8,919 |
| 41 | Jason | 8,695 |
| 42 | Logan | 8,374 |
| 43 | Charles | 8,248 |
| 44 | Patrick | 8,194 |
| 45 | Richard | 8,182 |
| 46 | Sean | 7,896 |
| 47 | Hunter | 7,603 |
| 48 | Caleb | 7,550 |
| 49 | Cameron | 7,388 |
| 50 | Noah | 7,184 |
| 51 | Jesse | 7,075 |
| 52 | Juan | 7,010 |
| 53 | Alex | 6,915 |
| 54 | Connor | 6,911 |
| 55 | Mark | 6,599 |
| 56 | Jeremy | 6,412 |
| 57 | Luis | 6,407 |
| 58 | Dakota | 6,067 |
| 59 | Stephen | 6,008 |
| 60 | Devin | 6,001 |
| 61 | Gabriel | 5,900 |
| 62 | Ethan | 5,853 |
| 63 | Trevor | 5,842 |
| 64 | Jared | 5,821 |
| 65 | Evan | 5,577 |
| 66 | Bryan | 5,560 |
| 67 | Carlos | 5,464 |
| 68 | Tristan | 5,458 |
| 69 | Nathaniel | 5,420 |
| 70 | Ian | 5,411 |
| 71 | Isaiah | 5,324 |
| 72 | Jeffrey | 5,263 |
| 73 | Travis | 5,159 |
| 74 | Jesus | 5,115 |
| 75 | Luke | 5,017 |
| 76 | Chase | 4,992 |
| 77 | Kenneth | 4,973 |
| 78 | Paul | 4,883 |
| 79 | Dustin | 4,874 |
| 80 | Antonio | 4,866 |
| 81 | Elijah | 4,818 |
| 82 | Taylor | 4,798 |
| 83 | Bradley | 4,755 |
| 84 | Blake | 4,747 |
| 85 | Garrett | 4,653 |
| 86 | Isaac | 4,566 |
| 87 | Marcus | 4,546 |
| 88 | Mitchell | 4,391 |
| 89 | Jack | 4,245 |
| 90 | Tanner | 4,180 |
| 91 | Miguel | 4,160 |
| 92 | Adrian | 4,112 |
| 93 | Lucas | 4,106 |
| 94 | Corey | 4,087 |
| 95 | Peter | 4,082 |
| 96 | Edward | 4,073 |
| 97 | Malik | 4,026 |
| 98 | Gregory | 3,994 |
| 99 | Dalton | 3,980 |
| 100 | Victor | 3,924 |
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 1996?
In 1996, the most popular US girl name was Emily (25,150 babies) and the most popular boy name was Michael (38,373 babies), per the Social Security Administration. The top five girls were Emily, Jessica, Ashley, Sarah, Samantha; the top five boys were Michael, Matthew, Jacob, Christopher, Joshua.
How many babies got the #1 name in 1996?
In 1996, Emily was given to 25,150 baby girls and Michael to 38,373 baby boys, the highest counts that year in SSA national data.
Source
U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, national data for 1996. 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