Popular Names of 1986

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1986, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025.

Table 1. Female names, 1986
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jessica	52,682	665
2	Ashley	49,671	164
3	Amanda	40,532	493
4	Jennifer	36,187	586
5	Sarah	28,163	90
6	Stephanie	22,651	557
7	Nicole	21,292	383
8	Brittany	20,313	928
9	Heather	19,790	1,264
10	Elizabeth	19,074	17
11	Megan	18,590	889
12	Melissa	17,667	420
13	Amber	16,954	520
14	Lauren	16,684	401
15	Rachel	15,455	250
16	Danielle	14,942	549
17	Tiffany	14,483	880
18	Kimberly	14,420	303
19	Christina	14,384	770
20	Laura	14,172	379

Table 2. Male names, 1986
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	64,235	21
2	Christopher	56,693	68
3	Matthew	46,929	32
4	Joshua	37,542	66
5	David	37,150	35
6	Daniel	36,573	22
7	James	34,057	6
8	Andrew	33,858	73
9	Robert	31,350	92
10	John	30,209	23
11	Ryan	29,524	99
12	Joseph	28,834	29
13	Brandon	27,254	261
14	Justin	26,638	233
15	William	24,333	9
16	Jonathan	23,973	89
17	Nicholas	22,800	112
18	Jason	22,415	165
19	Anthony	21,956	46
20	Brian	21,027	339

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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.