Most Popular First Names of the 1970s
The top first names registered in the United States between 1970 and 1979, ranked by total births recorded with the Social Security Administration. The sparkline for each name shows how it trended across the 10 years of the decade.
During this decade, the SSA recorded 9,453,038 male and 6,135,542 female births across the top 50 names shown below. Click any name for a full statistical profile.
How to read this table
Each name is ranked by total birth registrations across all 10 years of the 1970s. The Trend column shows a sparkline of annual births within the decade. Hover over any sparkline to see the exact count for each year.
The Change column compares the first year (1970) to the last year (1979). A positive percentage means the name was gaining popularity by the end of the decade. A negative one means it was on the decline.
Top Male Names
9,453,038 births across top 50
| # | Name | Births | Trend | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 707,368 | -20.6% | |
| 2 | Christopher | 475,446 | +21.4% | |
| 3 | Jason | 462,749 | +84.7% | |
| 4 | David | 445,741 | -31.9% | |
| 5 | James | 444,749 | -36.3% | |
| 6 | John | 402,636 | -39.5% | |
| 7 | Robert | 397,249 | -40.5% | |
| 8 | Brian | 322,694 | -10.2% | |
| 9 | William | 283,415 | -36.5% | |
| 10 | Matthew | 277,752 | +76.5% | |
| 11 | Joseph | 244,838 | +7.2% | |
| 12 | Daniel | 244,463 | +21.3% | |
| 13 | Kevin | 212,244 | -30.5% | |
| 14 | Eric | 211,494 | -14% | |
| 15 | Jeffrey | 202,861 | -44% | |
| 16 | Richard | 202,808 | -45.1% | |
| 17 | Scott | 194,543 | -49.5% | |
| 18 | Mark | 194,288 | -54.3% | |
| 19 | Steven | 188,096 | -39% | |
| 20 | Thomas | 186,766 | -38.3% | |
| 21 | Timothy | 181,268 | -14.9% | |
| 22 | Anthony | 174,886 | -17.3% | |
| 23 | Charles | 163,030 | -33.9% | |
| 24 | Joshua | 140,325 | +1331.7% | |
| 25 | Ryan | 139,643 | +899.2% | |
| 26 | Jeremy | 139,321 | +386.5% | |
| 27 | Paul | 136,404 | -42.4% | |
| 28 | Andrew | 132,943 | +55.3% | |
| 29 | Gregory | 115,573 | -44.1% | |
| 30 | Chad | 113,538 | +53.3% | |
| 31 | Kenneth | 111,497 | -45% | |
| 32 | Jonathan | 107,935 | +74.9% | |
| 33 | Stephen | 107,812 | -32.9% | |
| 34 | Shawn | 105,794 | -27.7% | |
| 35 | Aaron | 101,485 | +98.6% | |
| 36 | Adam | 91,752 | +295.2% | |
| 37 | Patrick | 91,251 | -14.9% | |
| 38 | Justin | 86,547 | +630.1% | |
| 39 | Sean | 83,843 | -33.7% | |
| 40 | Edward | 83,436 | -44% | |
| 41 | Todd | 83,325 | -65.4% | |
| 42 | Donald | 82,440 | -47.5% | |
| 43 | Ronald | 81,732 | -58.2% | |
| 44 | Benjamin | 81,337 | +218.7% | |
| 45 | Keith | 76,694 | -35.6% | |
| 46 | Bryan | 71,342 | +15.3% | |
| 47 | Gary | 68,265 | -53% | |
| 48 | Jose | 66,388 | +37.9% | |
| 49 | Nathan | 65,868 | +321.1% | |
| 50 | Douglas | 65,164 | -50.3% |
Top Female Names
6,135,542 births across top 50
| # | Name | Births | Trend | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer | 581,733 | +22.9% | |
| 2 | Amy | 268,995 | -14.3% | |
| 3 | Melissa | 253,268 | +43.5% | |
| 4 | Michelle | 249,136 | -43.4% | |
| 5 | Kimberly | 229,098 | -48.3% | |
| 6 | Lisa | 228,687 | -55.6% | |
| 7 | Angela | 225,266 | -18.7% | |
| 8 | Heather | 203,906 | +42% | |
| 9 | Stephanie | 160,466 | +5.3% | |
| 10 | Nicole | 144,670 | +82.5% | |
| 11 | Jessica | 143,498 | +590.8% | |
| 12 | Elizabeth | 142,855 | +19.6% | |
| 13 | Rebecca | 137,291 | +34% | |
| 14 | Kelly | 133,548 | +4.7% | |
| 15 | Mary | 126,254 | -45% | |
| 16 | Christina | 125,750 | +71.6% | |
| 17 | Amanda | 123,925 | +800.3% | |
| 18 | Julie | 121,926 | -46.1% | |
| 19 | Sarah | 118,831 | +274.4% | |
| 20 | Laura | 118,207 | -28% | |
| 21 | Shannon | 113,798 | -23.5% | |
| 22 | Christine | 103,237 | -52.1% | |
| 23 | Tammy | 98,830 | -80.8% | |
| 24 | Tracy | 95,537 | -70.8% | |
| 25 | Karen | 95,173 | -66.5% | |
| 26 | Dawn | 92,445 | -69.9% | |
| 27 | Susan | 88,310 | -67% | |
| 28 | Andrea | 86,424 | +34.1% | |
| 29 | Tina | 84,767 | -66.2% | |
| 30 | Patricia | 81,110 | -57.9% | |
| 31 | Cynthia | 80,200 | -61.8% | |
| 32 | Lori | 77,779 | -67% | |
| 33 | Rachel | 77,750 | +69.6% | |
| 34 | April | 76,946 | +136.9% | |
| 35 | Maria | 76,351 | -15.5% | |
| 36 | Wendy | 74,186 | -59.5% | |
| 37 | Crystal | 73,759 | +252.7% | |
| 38 | Stacy | 69,901 | -26.5% | |
| 39 | Erin | 67,891 | +223.5% | |
| 40 | Jamie | 67,845 | +279.6% | |
| 41 | Carrie | 66,827 | +27.7% | |
| 42 | Tiffany | 65,160 | +140.2% | |
| 43 | Tara | 65,072 | +27.7% | |
| 44 | Sandra | 64,337 | -64.5% | |
| 45 | Monica | 61,681 | +6.4% | |
| 46 | Danielle | 60,919 | +136.9% | |
| 47 | Stacey | 59,210 | -35.5% | |
| 48 | Pamela | 58,038 | -73.9% | |
| 49 | Tonya | 57,789 | -51.1% | |
| 50 | Sara | 56,960 | +182.8% |
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