Born in 1977 · Gen X
Baby names of 1977
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,176,366 babies born in 1977: 1,533,146 girls and 1,643,220 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.9% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.2% in 1967. The name most tied to 1977 is Kizzy: among girls, it was 274× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,176,366
- 1,533,146 girls · 1,643,220 boys
- Different names
- 11,329
- for girls, plus 6,861 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.9%
- of babies got one · girls 16.7%, boys 24.9%
Top 10 names of 1977
- 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 1977, 20.9% 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 1977
These names were far more common in 1977 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1977 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kizzy | Girl | #223 | 274× |
| Farrah | Girl | #177 | 27× |
| Jaime | Girl | #46 | 15× |
| Lakisha | Girl | #214 | 15× |
| Tameka | Girl | #241 | 11× |
| Mandy | Girl | #94 | 10× |
| Tamika | Girl | #158 | 10× |
| Misty | Girl | #40 | 9.9× |
| Aisha | Girl | #175 | 8.9× |
| Jason | Boy | #2 | 6.5× |
Names that peaked in 1977
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1977, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1977.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremy | Boy | #15 |
| Kelly | Girl | #10 |
| Bryan | Boy | #42 |
| Misty | Girl | #40 |
| Jenny | Girl | #108 |
| Summer | Girl | #119 |
| Shawna | Girl | #139 |
| Aisha | Girl | #175 |
| Farrah | Girl | #177 |
| Shana | Girl | #183 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1977
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1977 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Kizzy1,117 babies
- Devon329 babies
- Raven299 babies
- Qiana250 babies
- Talia219 babies
- Hayley218 babies
- Shawnte207 babies
- Shante199 babies
Boys
- Levar523 babies
- Lavar279 babies
- Kunta215 babies
- Jedediah124 babies
- Jerimiah121 babies
- Kinte104 babies
- Rashawn101 babies
- Jeramiah98 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1977 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1977 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