Popular Names of 1976

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1976, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1976
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jennifer	59,473	586
2	Amy	31,339	257
3	Melissa	25,094	420
4	Heather	24,192	1,264
5	Angela	22,038	408
6	Michelle	19,550	465
7	Kimberly	18,962	303
8	Jessica	18,368	665
9	Lisa	17,346	991
10	Amanda	15,588	493
11	Stephanie	15,180	557
12	Rebecca	14,491	350
13	Nicole	14,453	383
14	Christina	14,033	770
15	Sarah	13,993	90
16	Elizabeth	13,547	17
17	Shannon	13,368	2,405
18	Jamie	12,539	858
19	Kelly	11,791	852
20	Laura	11,252	379

Table 2. Male names, 1976
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	66,915	21
2	Jason	52,643	165
3	Christopher	45,190	68
4	David	39,265	35
5	James	38,294	6
6	John	33,976	23
7	Robert	33,789	92
8	Brian	30,517	339
9	Matthew	29,951	32
10	Daniel	24,702	22
11	William	24,428	9
12	Joseph	24,055	29
13	Eric	21,359	273
14	Jeremy	20,126	292
15	Kevin	18,474	221
16	Ryan	17,484	99
17	Jeffrey	17,013	552
18	Joshua	16,845	66
19	Richard	16,752	234
20	Steven	16,650	271

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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.