Popular Names of 1966

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1966, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1966
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Lisa	56,918	991
2	Kimberly	32,232	303
3	Mary	28,890	125
4	Michelle	27,159	465
5	Karen	25,450	1,281
6	Susan	23,776	1,091
7	Patricia	20,112	1,336
8	Tammy	18,621	3,703
9	Angela	18,532	408
10	Jennifer	18,215	586
11	Cynthia	17,418	1,014
12	Donna	17,037	1,965
13	Julie	16,331	873
14	Deborah	16,250	864
15	Pamela	16,249	2,251
16	Elizabeth	15,887	17
17	Sandra	15,851	1,210
18	Linda	15,566	902
19	Laura	15,553	379
20	Christine	15,546	1,274

Table 2. Male names, 1966
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	79,985	21
2	David	66,408	35
3	James	65,163	6
4	John	65,016	23
5	Robert	59,317	92
6	William	38,237	9
7	Mark	34,801	245
8	Richard	34,457	234
9	Jeffrey	30,200	552
10	Thomas	29,003	34
11	Timothy	28,923	203
12	Christopher	27,866	68
13	Steven	27,698	271
14	Brian	27,253	339
15	Joseph	26,981	29
16	Scott	26,036	534
17	Kevin	25,592	221
18	Paul	23,578	262
19	Daniel	23,269	22
20	Charles	22,252	48

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As recorded on the Social Security card application. Names given to fewer than five babies of a sex in a year are not published, so the file is a floor.