Born in 1974 · Gen X
Baby names of 1974
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,039,868 babies born in 1974: 1,467,534 girls and 1,572,334 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 22.3% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.5% in 1964. The name most tied to 1974 is Nakia: among girls, it was 14× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,039,868
- 1,467,534 girls · 1,572,334 boys
- Different names
- 10,247
- for girls, plus 6,004 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 22.3%
- of babies got one · girls 17.8%, boys 26.5%
Top 10 names of 1974
- 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 1974, 22.3% 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 1974
These names were far more common in 1974 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1974 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nakia | Girl | #226 | 14× |
| Latonya | Girl | #197 | 6.3× |
| Jason | Boy | #2 | 6.2× |
| Tonya | Girl | #37 | 6.1× |
| Tricia | Girl | #143 | 6.1× |
| Tonia | Girl | #220 | 5.8× |
| Shannon | Boy | #101 | 5.7× |
| Christie | Girl | #110 | 5.6× |
| Chad | Boy | #26 | 5.5× |
| Christy | Girl | #57 | 5.3× |
Names that peaked in 1974
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1974, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1974.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer | Girl | #1 |
| Jason | Boy | #2 |
| Rebecca | Girl | #10 |
| Tanya | Girl | #46 |
| Heidi | Girl | #60 |
| Tamara | Girl | #64 |
| Veronica | Girl | #71 |
| Joy | Girl | #109 |
| Kristie | Girl | #138 |
| Robyn | Girl | #169 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1974
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1974 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Nakia1,135 babies
- Sunshine255 babies
- Lindsey234 babies
- Nia223 babies
- Nikia188 babies
- Regan188 babies
- Jamila182 babies
- Tanika181 babies
Boys
- Nakia613 babies
- Telly294 babies
- Ahmad111 babies
- Jamil85 babies
- Toma84 babies
- Trinity83 babies
- Jereme82 babies
- Dejuan79 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1974 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1974 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