Birth year roster

Top names in 1970

The 100 most common names on 1970 birth certificates, for girls and boys, ranked by SSA records.

Jennifer and Michael led the 1970 baby-name charts, the top names among Gen X births. Jennifer was the #1 girls’ name for 15 years in all (1970–1984); Michael was the #1 boys’ name for 44 years in all (between 1954 and 1998). Of the 200 names below, 154 are now endangered or extinct; the tag on each shows where it stands today.

Explore the 1970s decade

Girls

#1Jennifer Endangered46,150
#2Lisa Endangered38,967
#3Kimberly Endangered34,130
#4Michelle Endangered34,047
#5Amy Endangered25,212
#6Angela Endangered24,929
#7Melissa Endangered23,735
#8Tammy Endangered19,587
#9Mary Endangered19,204
#10Tracy Endangered18,464
#11Julie Endangered17,158
#12Karen Endangered16,699
#13Laura Endangered16,490
#14Christine Endangered16,061
#15Susan Endangered15,738
#16Dawn Endangered15,681
#17Stephanie Endangered15,387
#18Elizabeth Stable15,108
#19Heather Endangered14,669
#20Kelly Endangered14,607
#21Tina Endangered13,861
#22Shannon Endangered13,547
#23Lori Endangered13,448
#24Patricia Endangered13,406
#25Cynthia Endangered12,913
#26Pamela Endangered12,907
#27Sandra Endangered11,246
#28Wendy Endangered11,100
#29Rebecca Endangered10,854
#30Nicole Endangered10,691
#31Michele Endangered10,090
#32Donna Endangered9,968
#33Deborah Endangered9,845
#34Teresa Endangered9,612
#35Christina Endangered9,588
#36Denise Endangered9,343
#37Sharon Endangered9,177
#38Linda Endangered8,731
#39Maria Stable8,686
#40Brenda Endangered8,336
#41Barbara Endangered8,026
#42Stacy Endangered7,771
#43Andrea Declining7,708
#44Cheryl Endangered7,440
#45Kathleen Endangered7,410
#46Rhonda Endangered7,379
#47Debra Endangered7,198
#48Stacey Endangered7,154
#49Tonya Endangered7,140
#50Nancy Endangered7,063
#51Robin Endangered7,004
#52Jill Endangered6,806
#53Theresa Endangered6,411
#54Dana Endangered6,406
#55Tracey Endangered6,230
#56Monica Endangered6,188
#57Paula Endangered6,055
#58Rachel Endangered6,029
#59Catherine Endangered6,004
#60Sherry Endangered5,917
#61Gina Endangered5,874
#62Ann Endangered5,740
#63Kristin Endangered5,633
#64Leslie Endangered5,622
#65Sarah Endangered5,614
#66Jacqueline Endangered5,576
#67Katherine Declining5,443
#68Renee Endangered5,373
#69Tara Endangered5,329
#70Diane Endangered5,188
#71Carol Endangered5,064
#72Cindy Endangered5,049
#73Carrie Endangered4,978
#74Holly Stable4,940
#75Sheila Endangered4,937
#76Tanya Endangered4,862
#77Kathy Endangered4,797
#78Kim Endangered4,729
#79Tamara Endangered4,721
#80Margaret Endangered4,704
#81Heidi Stable4,642
#82April Endangered4,603
#83Kristen Endangered4,600
#84Carolyn Endangered4,518
#85Victoria Declining4,460
#86Regina Stable4,433
#87Suzanne Endangered4,425
#88Laurie Endangered4,392
#89Diana Stable4,373
#90Deanna Endangered4,331
#91Melanie Declining4,330
#92Beth Endangered4,247
#93Melinda Endangered4,225
#94Carla Endangered4,214
#95Jodi Endangered4,186
#96Janet Endangered4,158
#97Valerie Stable4,130
#98Jessica Endangered4,021
#99Tiffany Endangered3,999
#100Traci Declining3,854

Boys

#1Michael Past peak85,266
#2James Stable61,735
#3David Past peak61,728
#4John Past peak58,491
#5Robert Endangered57,177
#6Christopher Endangered41,747
#7William Declining38,887
#8Brian Endangered31,917
#9Mark Endangered31,461
#10Richard Endangered30,442
#11Jeffrey Endangered30,139
#12Scott Endangered28,565
#13Jason Endangered27,272
#14Kevin Endangered26,968
#15Steven Endangered26,793
#16Joseph Declining26,714
#17Thomas Stable26,669
#18Eric Endangered23,571
#19Daniel Declining23,521
#20Timothy Endangered22,422
#21Charles Stable22,411
#22Anthony Declining21,176
#23Paul Endangered20,196
#24Matthew Declining20,185
#25Kenneth Endangered16,800
#26Gregory Endangered16,286
#27Stephen Endangered14,758
#28Todd Endangered14,426
#29Ronald Endangered13,618
#30Donald Endangered12,397
#31Edward Endangered12,275
#32Andrew Declining11,989
#33Patrick Declining11,730
#34Shawn Endangered10,945
#35Gary Endangered10,716
#36Douglas Endangered10,409
#37Sean Endangered10,341
#38Keith Endangered9,615
#39Craig Endangered9,364
#40George Stable8,911
#41Troy Endangered8,448
#42Jonathan Declining8,194
#43Larry Endangered8,104
#44Peter Stable8,056
#45Jerry Endangered7,422
#46Dennis Endangered7,312
#47Bradley Declining6,818
#48Frank Endangered6,805
#49Raymond Endangered6,788
#50Jeffery Endangered6,701
#51Chad Endangered6,628
#52Aaron Declining6,584
#53Bryan Declining6,452
#54Terry Endangered6,186
#55Rodney Endangered5,856
#56Jose Stable5,691
#57Tony Endangered5,480
#58Russell Stable5,106
#59Randy Endangered5,036
#60Marc Endangered5,009
#61Roger Endangered4,583
#62Samuel Stable4,558
#63Chris Endangered4,460
#64Shane Endangered4,451
#65Johnny Endangered4,438
#66Carl Endangered4,402
#67Gerald Endangered4,399
#68Jon Endangered4,371
#69Travis Endangered4,321
#70Jeremy Endangered4,318
#71Marcus Declining4,315
#72Adam Declining4,313
#73Phillip Endangered4,275
#74Brent Endangered4,269
#75Darren Endangered4,197
#76Lance Endangered4,160
#77Derek Stable4,147
#78Billy Endangered4,121
#79Vincent Stable4,021
#80Wayne Endangered4,006
#81Benjamin Declining3,926
#82Joel Declining3,839
#83Lawrence Endangered3,824
#84Corey Endangered3,814
#85Danny Endangered3,768
#86Jimmy Endangered3,660
#87Bobby Endangered3,636
#88Curtis Endangered3,615
#89Walter Stable3,584
#90Joe Endangered3,570
#91Alan Stable3,553
#92Philip Endangered3,520
#93Martin Stable3,500
#94Bruce Endangered3,482
#95Juan Stable3,476
#96Derrick Endangered3,446
#97Jay Stable3,415
#98Carlos Stable3,380
#99Brett Endangered3,370
#100Randall Endangered3,271