Popular Names of 1990

The 20 most popular names given to female and to male babies born in 1990, as recorded, with each name’s rank in 2025. Cassandra peaked among human females this year, at 49th.

Table 1. Female names, 1990
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Jessica	46,486	665
2	Ashley	45,561	164
3	Brittany	36,536	928
4	Amanda	34,413	493
5	Samantha	25,868	151
6	Sarah	25,824	90
7	Stephanie	24,864	557
8	Jennifer	22,236	586
9	Elizabeth	20,750	17
10	Lauren	20,506	401
11	Megan	20,259	889
12	Emily	19,370	34
13	Nicole	17,954	383
14	Kayla	17,538	364
15	Amber	15,866	520
16	Rachel	15,710	250
17	Courtney	15,380	2,335
18	Danielle	14,339	549
19	Heather	14,220	1,264
20	Melissa	14,000	420

Table 2. Male names, 1990
Rank	Name	Number	Rank in 2025
1	Michael	65,321	21
2	Christopher	52,362	68
3	Matthew	44,826	32
4	Joshua	43,237	66
5	Daniel	33,830	22
6	David	33,748	35
7	Andrew	33,673	73
8	James	32,359	6
9	Justin	30,649	233
10	Joseph	30,137	29
11	Ryan	29,263	99
12	John	29,089	23
13	Robert	28,886	92
14	Nicholas	27,913	112
15	Anthony	25,088	46
16	William	24,906	9
17	Jonathan	24,077	89
18	Kyle	22,710	509
19	Brandon	22,163	261
20	Jacob	22,022	43

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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.