Popular Names of 1980

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1980, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1980
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jennifer	58,374	586
2	Amanda	35,811	493
3	Jessica	33,924	665
4	Melissa	31,629	420
5	Sarah	25,757	90
6	Heather	19,973	1,264
7	Nicole	19,917	383
8	Amy	19,833	257
9	Elizabeth	19,529	17
10	Michelle	19,119	465
11	Kimberly	18,497	303
12	Angela	17,969	408
13	Stephanie	17,841	557
14	Tiffany	16,228	880
15	Christina	16,141	770
16	Lisa	15,664	991
17	Rebecca	15,281	350
18	Crystal	14,253	1,145
19	Kelly	13,710	852
20	Erin	13,428	833

Table 2. Male names, 1980
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	68,683	21
2	Christopher	49,079	68
3	Jason	48,164	165
4	David	41,891	35
5	James	39,312	6
6	Matthew	37,834	32
7	Joshua	36,052	66
8	John	35,274	23
9	Robert	34,266	92
10	Joseph	30,185	29
11	Daniel	29,888	22
12	Brian	28,715	339
13	Justin	26,763	233
14	William	25,639	9
15	Ryan	24,795	99
16	Eric	22,611	273
17	Nicholas	21,018	112
18	Jeremy	19,892	292
19	Andrew	19,730	73
20	Timothy	19,146	203

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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.