Born in 1973 · Gen X
Baby names of 1973
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,016,785 babies born in 1973: 1,458,209 girls and 1,558,576 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.2% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.6% in 1963. The name most tied to 1973 is Catina: among girls, it was 101× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,016,785
- 1,458,209 girls · 1,558,576 boys
- Different names
- 9,810
- for girls, plus 5,877 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.2%
- of babies got one · girls 17.7%, boys 26.5%
Top 10 names of 1973
- 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 1973, 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 1973
These names were far more common in 1973 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1973 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catina | Girl | #207 | 101× |
| Katina | Girl | #120 | 40× |
| Tricia | Girl | #123 | 7.3× |
| Tonya | Girl | #36 | 6.7× |
| Shannon | Boy | #100 | 6.1× |
| Tonia | Girl | #227 | 6.0× |
| Latonya | Girl | #213 | 5.6× |
| Chad | Boy | #25 | 5.3× |
| Tracie | Girl | #168 | 5.1× |
| Jermaine | Boy | #127 | 4.9× |
Names that peaked in 1973
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1973, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1973.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Brian | Boy | #8 |
| Chad | Boy | #25 |
| Shawn | Boy | #27 |
| Tonya | Girl | #36 |
| Monica | Girl | #40 |
| Melanie | Girl | #43 |
| Shane | Boy | #54 |
| Melinda | Girl | #72 |
| Bridget | Girl | #112 |
| Aimee | Girl | #126 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1973
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1973 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Alethea322 babies
- Carly240 babies
- Aisha223 babies
- Cicely212 babies
- Anitra174 babies
- Bianca171 babies
- Vonetta161 babies
- Latarsha157 babies
Boys
- Vashon96 babies
- Taurus87 babies
- Chadrick80 babies
- Tarik78 babies
- Dominique73 babies
- Donta71 babies
- Jevon69 babies
- Zachery69 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1973 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1973 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