Popular Names of 1971

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1971, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1971
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jennifer	56,771	586
2	Michelle	33,160	465
3	Lisa	32,907	991
4	Kimberly	30,708	303
5	Amy	26,237	257
6	Angela	25,901	408
7	Melissa	23,875	420
8	Tammy	17,656	3,703
9	Mary	16,703	125
10	Julie	15,322	873
11	Stephanie	15,135	557
12	Heather	15,017	1,264
13	Tracy	14,330	2,171
14	Dawn	14,288	2,174
15	Karen	14,214	1,281
16	Laura	13,875	379
17	Susan	13,782	1,091
18	Christine	13,678	1,274
19	Elizabeth	13,606	17
20	Tina	13,266	2,815

Table 2. Male names, 1971
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	77,577	21
2	James	54,597	6
3	David	53,113	35
4	John	51,512	23
5	Robert	50,634	92
6	Christopher	48,225	68
7	William	35,413	9
8	Jason	34,173	165
9	Brian	32,624	339
10	Scott	30,901	534
11	Richard	26,154	234
12	Jeffrey	25,834	552
13	Mark	25,132	245
14	Kevin	24,850	221
15	Joseph	24,517	29
16	Steven	23,686	271
17	Thomas	23,149	34
18	Eric	22,962	273
19	Matthew	22,543	32
20	Daniel	21,785	22

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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.