Top 100 Baby Names for the 1980s

Updated: May 7, 2024 by Olivia Mittak | Leave a comment

What do leg warmers, parachute pants, and the end of the Soviet Union have in common? The 1980s!

The Bible, the Cold War, and boy bands that had better hair than girl bands were the perfect inspiration for a host of 1980s baby names. Do any of these top 100 sound familiar?

1980s Boy Names

Michael has been a top-boy name for over a century. But as parents sought to honor the political heroes working to end the Cold War — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan — its appeal only grew.

Popular names from the 1980s also expressed a love of places far and wide. Ireland gave us Sean, Adam, and Kevin, while British royalty-inspired classics like William and Charles.

Biblical names continued to be fashionable, but trends shifted from kingly figures like David and Joseph to humble characters, including Daniel, Joshua, and Jacob.

1980s kids — ©Isaac Quesada / Unsplash – Original / License

Hospitals in the United States today are full of common names like Liam, Oliver, Emma, and Olivia. However, back in the 1980s, popular names were Christopher, Joshua, Jennifer, and Jessica. Let’s take a closer look at the stats.

Most Popular Boys Names from 1980s

Top 100	Boys	Number
1	Michael	663,827
2	Christopher	554,909
3	Matthew	459,019
4	Joshua	396,581
5	David	383,739
6	James	356,518
7	Daniel	345,574
8	Robert	321,686
9	John	321,185
10	Joseph	299,451
11	Jason	292,129
12	Justin	289,832
13	Andrew	285,102
14	Ryan	278,996
15	William	248,305
16	Brian	234,017
17	Brandon	232,231
18	Jonathan	229,969
19	Nicholas	223,327
20	Anthony	211,868
21	Eric	204,256
22	Adam	195,096
23	Kevin	188,684
24	Thomas	177,836
25	Steven	177,462
26	Timothy	172,849
27	Richard	154,759
28	Jeremy	153,430
29	Jeffrey	144,811
30	Kyle	141,950
31	Benjamin	141,410
32	Aaron	138,373
33	Charles	131,924
34	Mark	129,458
35	Jacob	124,260
36	Stephen	113,630
37	Patrick	111,428
38	Scott	108,168
39	Nathan	106,002
40	Paul	104,403
41	Sean	103,871
42	Travis	102,949
43	Zachary	101,836
44	Dustin	97,322
45	Gregory	93,665
46	Kenneth	89,124
47	Jose	86,633
48	Tyler	86,460
49	Jesse	85,926
50	Alexander	82,028
51	Bryan	80,503
52	Samuel	73,457
53	Derek	72,926
54	Bradley	69,362
55	Chad	69,062
56	Shawn	65,604
57	Edward	60,838
58	Jared	60,307
59	Cody	60,287
60	Jordan	57,172
61	Peter	56,730
62	Corey	53,612
63	Keith	52,645
64	Marcus	51,812
65	Juan	51,445
66	Donald	50,848
67	Ronald	46,669
68	George	45,719
69	Phillip	45,710
70	Cory	44,366
71	Joel	43,576
72	Shane	43,177
73	Douglas	41,751
74	Antonio	41,620
75	Carlos	41,503
76	Raymond	41,503
77	Brett	41,299
78	Gary	40,233
79	Alex	38,714
80	Nathaniel	38,653
81	Craig	38,106
82	Ian	37,782
83	Luis	37,446
84	Derrick	36,350
85	Erik	36,347
86	Casey	35,975
87	Philip	35,741
88	Frank	33,612
89	Evan	32,483
90	Gabriel	32,329
91	Victor	32,283
92	Vincent	32,064
93	Austin	31,308
94	Brent	31,286
95	Larry	31,282
96	Seth	31,132
97	Wesley	31,092
98	Dennis	30,467
99	Todd	30,337
100	Christian	30,288

1980s Girl Names

Biblical girl names were also a hit — Sarah and Rachel gained in popularity. But, the British royal family couldn't be ignored.

“Elizabeth” flew to the top of the list of regal names from the 80s while a young new princess named Diana made a splash in the United States. “Diana” rose from its number 97 spot in the 1970s to a cool 75.

But despite the continued popularity of classic names, baby names from the 80s trended toward the fun and romantic. Monikers like “Tara,” ”Brandi” and “Misty” had pop vibes, while “Kayla” entered the top 100 for the first time in homage to the romance of the decade on NBC’s daytime soap Days of our Lives.

Enchanting names from afar were among the foremost choices for girls. “Heather,” a flowering evergreen from the barren lands of Scotland, and “Kimberly,” meaning “from the wood of the royal forest” were favorites.

Other trends in 1980s names were girl-versions of boy names like Danielle, Samantha, and Jamie, and Old English boy names for girls including Ashley and Lindsay.

Portrait of baby girl in winter jacket and hat — Capricorns are ambitious self-starters. They can self-motivate and tend to be quite successful!
©Patryk Kosmider/Shutterstock.com

Most Popular Girls Names from 1980s

Top 100	Girls	Number
1	Jessica	469,518
2	Jennifer	440,896
3	Amanda	369,738
4	Ashley	352,189
5	Sarah	272,635
6	Stephanie	218,171
7	Melissa	217,932
8	Nicole	210,501
9	Elizabeth	198,976
10	Heather	191,854
11	Tiffany	158,627
12	Michelle	154,028
13	Amber	153,952
14	Megan	153,504
15	Amy	150,669
16	Rachel	146,680
17	Kimberly	146,445
18	Christina	146,014
19	Lauren	145,156
20	Crystal	141,009
21	Brittany	140,858
22	Rebecca	136,242
23	Laura	134,610
24	Danielle	134,380
25	Emily	131,759
26	Samantha	121,141
27	Angela	116,587
28	Erin	115,814
29	Kelly	109,555
30	Sara	104,674
31	Lisa	102,613
32	Katherine	99,182
33	Andrea	98,260
34	Jamie	96,558
35	Mary	95,860
36	Erica	93,155
37	Courtney	84,312
38	Kristen	83,227
39	Shannon	78,420
40	April	75,950
41	Katie	72,878
42	Lindsey	71,941
43	Kristin	70,556
44	Lindsay	68,490
45	Christine	68,016
46	Alicia	66,965
47	Maria	65,757
48	Vanessa	65,729
49	Kathryn	62,442
50	Allison	62,330
51	Julie	61,689
52	Anna	57,325
53	Tara	56,338
54	Kayla	55,291
55	Natalie	54,440
56	Victoria	53,271
57	Monica	51,865
58	Jacqueline	51,559
59	Holly	49,656
60	Kristina	45,949
61	Patricia	45,126
62	Cassandra	44,910
63	Brandy	44,526
64	Whitney	44,374
65	Chelsea	43,162
66	Brandi	42,889
67	Catherine	42,432
68	Cynthia	41,666
69	Kathleen	39,398
70	Veronica	39,236
71	Leslie	38,727
72	Natasha	38,210
73	Krystal	37,495
74	Stacy	36,990
75	Diana	36,899
76	Erika	36,853
77	Dana	36,823
78	Jenna	36,601
79	Meghan	36,211
80	Carrie	36,082
81	Leah	36,052
82	Melanie	35,952
83	Brooke	34,978
84	Karen	34,916
85	Alexandra	34,817
86	Valerie	34,629
87	Caitlin	33,592
88	Julia	33,359
89	Jasmine	32,955
90	Alyssa	32,952
91	Hannah	32,703
92	Stacey	32,138
93	Brittney	31,536
94	Susan	30,549
95	Margaret	30,352
96	Sandra	30,042
97	Candice	29,848
98	Latoya	29,537
99	Bethany	29,338
100	Misty	29,115

Does a baby name always have to have a classical meaning to reflect a child’s one-of-a-kind personality? Maybe not.

Why the name “Jessica” topped the list of the '80s' most popular girls name is a mystery — cultural inspirations are absent. And the most popular name for boys, “Michael,” could reflect Christian tradition or a fascination with the “King of Pop.”

Names with meaning matter, but ultimately, it’s what they mean to you that's the most important.

Are Popular '80s Names Still Popular in 2023?

If you're looking to the '80s for name inspiration for your baby, then chances are good you're curious if the top names are still popular in 2023. Let's take a look at how the top five boys' and girls' names from the '80s fair today.

The top five names for boys in the '80s were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, and David. Michael retains a lot of popularity today, ranking at 26 in 2023. Christopher still retains a spot in the Top 100 at rank 94. Matthew doesn't quite make it into 2023's Top 50, ranking at 56. Joshua has just fallen out of the Top 100, ranking at 101 in 2023. Finally, David is still fairly popular, ranking at 45.

In the '80s, the top five names for girls were Jessica, Jennifer, Amanda, Ashley, and Sarah. Jessica has fallen far out of popularity, ranking at 1,006 in 2023. Jennifer doesn't fair much better, though it does make the Top 1,000 at position 997. Amanda is only slightly more popular than Jennifer in 2023, ranking at 923. Ashley fairs better than all of these names, still making the Top 500 at 362. Finally, Sarah in 2023 ranks as the most popular of these five names at 238.

If you're looking for an uncommon name for your baby girl, then the top names from the '80s are certainly a great start!