Popular Names of 1972

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1972, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1972
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jennifer	63,600	586
2	Michelle	29,285	465
3	Lisa	27,543	991
4	Kimberly	26,282	303
5	Amy	25,873	257
6	Angela	23,561	408
7	Melissa	22,494	420
8	Stephanie	16,890	557
9	Heather	16,320	1,264
10	Nicole	15,755	383
11	Tammy	14,211	3,703
12	Julie	14,062	873
13	Mary	13,757	125
14	Rebecca	13,252	350
15	Elizabeth	12,182	17
16	Christine	11,986	1,274
17	Laura	11,778	379
18	Tina	11,523	2,815
19	Tracy	11,436	2,171
20	Dawn	11,340	2,174

Table 2. Male names, 1972
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	71,393	21
2	Christopher	52,172	68
3	James	47,063	6
4	David	46,322	35
5	John	43,158	23
6	Robert	43,013	92
7	Jason	37,423	165
8	Brian	36,306	339
9	William	30,510	9
10	Matthew	22,928	32
11	Scott	22,838	534
12	Joseph	22,454	29
13	Kevin	22,354	221
14	Richard	22,302	234
15	Daniel	22,092	22
16	Eric	22,027	273
17	Jeffrey	21,677	552
18	Mark	21,490	245
19	Steven	19,851	271
20	Thomas	19,557	34

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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.