Popular Names of 1989

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1989, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Jarvis peaked among human males this year, at 358th.

Table 1. Female names, 1989
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jessica	47,887	665
2	Ashley	47,588	164
3	Brittany	37,792	928
4	Amanda	36,834	493
5	Sarah	27,797	90
6	Samantha	24,792	151
7	Jennifer	24,006	586
8	Stephanie	22,766	557
9	Lauren	21,065	401
10	Elizabeth	20,298	17
11	Megan	19,780	889
12	Nicole	19,032	383
13	Emily	17,323	34
14	Amber	16,760	520
15	Heather	16,248	1,264
16	Tiffany	15,716	880
17	Danielle	15,366	549
18	Rachel	15,357	250
19	Melissa	15,203	420
20	Kayla	14,903	364

Table 2. Male names, 1989
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	65,415	21
2	Christopher	53,186	68
3	Matthew	45,375	32
4	Joshua	44,100	66
5	David	35,225	35
6	Daniel	35,007	22
7	Andrew	34,817	73
8	Justin	32,852	233
9	James	32,720	6
10	Robert	30,072	92
11	Joseph	29,884	29
12	John	29,853	23
13	Ryan	28,408	99
14	Nicholas	28,230	112
15	William	24,673	9
16	Anthony	24,423	46
17	Jonathan	23,608	89
18	Brandon	23,310	261
19	Kevin	21,209	221
20	Kyle	20,882	509

Select another year

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.