Born in 1976 · Gen X
Baby names of 1976
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,034,106 babies born in 1976: 1,465,099 girls and 1,569,007 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 21.3% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.3% in 1966. The name most tied to 1976 is Tennille: among girls, it was 109× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,034,106
- 1,465,099 girls · 1,569,007 boys
- Different names
- 10,913
- for girls, plus 6,495 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 21.3%
- of babies got one · girls 17.2%, boys 25.2%
Top 10 names of 1976
- 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 1976, 21.3% 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 1976
These names were far more common in 1976 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1976 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennille | Girl | #300 | 109× |
| Jaime | Girl | #29 | 19× |
| Farrah | Girl | #276 | 16× |
| Tamika | Girl | #144 | 11× |
| Lakisha | Girl | #261 | 11× |
| Mandy | Girl | #100 | 9.3× |
| Tameka | Girl | #260 | 9.1× |
| Misty | Girl | #46 | 9.0× |
| Jason | Boy | #2 | 6.5× |
| Amie | Girl | #224 | 6.0× |
Names that peaked in 1976
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1976, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1976.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Eric | Boy | #13 |
| Shannon | Girl | #17 |
| Jamie | Girl | #18 |
| Jaime | Girl | #29 |
| Jamie | Boy | #62 |
| Damon | Boy | #104 |
| Jaime | Boy | #168 |
| Joey | Boy | #194 |
| Amie | Girl | #224 |
| Leticia | Girl | #232 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1976
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1976 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Farrah836 babies
- Tennille769 babies
- Nadia585 babies
- Jaimie464 babies
- Rhiannon272 babies
- Jillian255 babies
- Jammie251 babies
- Khalilah205 babies
Boys
- Jamaal230 babies
- Jovan128 babies
- Seneca107 babies
- Jermey103 babies
- Torey94 babies
- Hakim90 babies
- Cortney83 babies
- Jamin83 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1976 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1976 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