Born in 1972 · Gen X
Baby names of 1972
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,142,852 babies born in 1972: 1,521,244 girls and 1,621,608 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.2% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.5% in 1962. The name most tied to 1972 is Catina: among girls, it was 90× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,142,852
- 1,521,244 girls · 1,621,608 boys
- Different names
- 9,666
- for girls, plus 5,751 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.2%
- of babies got one · girls 17.6%, boys 26.5%
Top 10 names of 1972
- 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 1972, 22.2% 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 1972
These names were far more common in 1972 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1972 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catina | Girl | #202 | 90× |
| Katina | Girl | #117 | 40× |
| Tricia | Girl | #120 | 7.3× |
| Tonia | Girl | #217 | 6.9× |
| Tonya | Girl | #37 | 6.6× |
| Shannon | Boy | #94 | 6.5× |
| Tracie | Girl | #163 | 5.7× |
| Stacy | Boy | #234 | 5.3× |
| Latonya | Girl | #232 | 5.2× |
| Chad | Boy | #25 | 5.0× |
Names that peaked in 1972
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1972, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1972.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tara | Girl | #38 |
| Kristi | Girl | #102 |
| Shannon | Boy | #94 |
| Katina | Girl | #117 |
| Shelley | Girl | #126 |
| Nikki | Girl | #173 |
| Catina | Girl | #202 |
| Lamont | Boy | #214 |
| Marlon | Boy | #217 |
| Rene | Boy | #259 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1972
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1972 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Katina2,747 babies
- Catina1,372 babies
- Cher235 babies
- Lakisha227 babies
- Chastity220 babies
- Nikole213 babies
- Contina209 babies
- Chiquita206 babies
Boys
- Demond403 babies
- Kareem378 babies
- Vidal160 babies
- Zachariah134 babies
- Jamar109 babies
- Abdul98 babies
- Jermain94 babies
- Tremayne94 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1972 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1972 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