Popular Names of 1978

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1978, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1978
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jennifer	56,314	586
2	Melissa	28,327	420
3	Jessica	26,102	665
4	Amy	23,213	257
5	Heather	22,270	1,264
6	Amanda	20,520	493
7	Angela	20,517	408
8	Sarah	19,976	90
9	Michelle	18,856	465
10	Nicole	17,279	383
11	Lisa	17,033	991
12	Kelly	16,976	852
13	Kimberly	16,879	303
14	Elizabeth	16,807	17
15	Christina	16,367	770
16	Stephanie	16,233	557
17	Rebecca	13,796	350
18	Crystal	12,594	1,145
19	Laura	11,240	379
20	Jamie	10,982	858

Table 2. Male names, 1978
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	67,127	21
2	Jason	51,600	165
3	Christopher	47,236	68
4	David	40,684	35
5	James	39,894	6
6	Matthew	34,282	32
7	John	34,014	23
8	Robert	33,374	92
9	Brian	29,432	339
10	Joseph	26,663	29
11	Daniel	26,441	22
12	Joshua	25,204	66
13	William	24,170	9
14	Ryan	21,322	99
15	Kevin	20,094	221
16	Eric	19,761	273
17	Timothy	19,597	203
18	Jeremy	19,509	292
19	Jeffrey	16,989	552
20	Anthony	16,808	46

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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.