Born in 1970 · Gen X
Baby names of 1970
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,606,373 babies born in 1970: 1,748,144 girls and 1,858,229 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 21.7% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 23.2% in 1960. The name most tied to 1970 is Tracy: among girls, it was 6.8× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,606,373
- 1,748,144 girls · 1,858,229 boys
- Different names
- 9,355
- for girls, plus 5,433 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 21.7%
- of babies got one · girls 16.3%, boys 26.8%
Top 10 names of 1970
- Jennifer was the #1 name for girls every year from 1970 to 1984.
- Michael was the #1 name for boys every year from 1961 to 1998.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1970, 21.7% of babies were given one of that year's 10 most popular names. Across all years, that share fell from 29.0% in 1935 to 7.5% in 2025.
Names that sound like 1970
These names were far more common in 1970 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1970 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracy | Girl | #10 | 6.8× |
| Traci | Girl | #100 | 6.8× |
| Tricia | Girl | #124 | 6.8× |
| Tracey | Girl | #55 | 6.8× |
| Darrin | Boy | #180 | 6.8× |
| Tracie | Girl | #147 | 6.7× |
| Tonia | Girl | #219 | 6.2× |
| Stacy | Boy | #212 | 6.1× |
| Shawn | Girl | #168 | 5.4× |
| Tammy | Girl | #8 | 5.4× |
Names that peaked in 1970
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1970, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1970.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tracy | Girl | #10 |
| Dawn | Girl | #16 |
| Craig | Boy | #39 |
| Tracey | Girl | #55 |
| Marc | Boy | #60 |
| Deanna | Girl | #90 |
| Brent | Boy | #74 |
| Jodi | Girl | #95 |
| Lance | Boy | #76 |
| Traci | Girl | #100 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1970
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1970 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Terra277 babies
- Lashonda210 babies
- Tera191 babies
- Toya167 babies
- Carissa166 babies
- Stefani149 babies
- Kasey146 babies
- Kesha145 babies
Boys
- Jermaine171 babies
- Malik126 babies
- Jeromy99 babies
- Che92 babies
- Jammie92 babies
- Bronson87 babies
- Dax87 babies
- Brandt85 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1970 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1970 and 2025.
Girls
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data