Born in 1980 · Gen X
Baby names of 1980
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,444,258 babies born in 1980: 1,660,307 girls and 1,783,951 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.5% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 21.7% in 1970. The name most tied to 1980 is Lakisha: among girls, it was 11× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen X
- Born 1965–1980
- Babies on record
- 3,444,258
- 1,660,307 girls · 1,783,951 boys
- Different names
- 12,161
- for girls, plus 7,293 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.5%
- of babies got one · girls 17.1%, boys 23.6%
Top 10 names of 1980
- 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 1980, 20.5% 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 1980
These names were far more common in 1980 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1980 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakisha | Girl | #274 | 11× |
| Tameka | Girl | #294 | 8.0× |
| Jaime | Girl | #116 | 7.9× |
| Mandy | Girl | #132 | 7.9× |
| Latoya | Girl | #123 | 7.5× |
| Misty | Girl | #49 | 7.1× |
| Latasha | Girl | #141 | 7.0× |
| Tamika | Girl | #202 | 6.6× |
| Brandy | Girl | #42 | 6.3× |
| Shaun | Boy | #79 | 5.4× |
Names that peaked in 1980
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1980, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1980.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| April | Girl | #26 |
| Bradley | Boy | #51 |
| Erik | Boy | #64 |
| Joel | Boy | #67 |
| Derrick | Boy | #74 |
| Katrina | Girl | #90 |
| Monique | Girl | #93 |
| Mario | Boy | #102 |
| Tasha | Girl | #130 |
| Meredith | Girl | #140 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1980
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1980 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Anya334 babies
- Mariana242 babies
- Renada240 babies
- Kacie189 babies
- Britney184 babies
- Cheyenne176 babies
- Reyna171 babies
- Blair170 babies
Boys
- Yoel127 babies
- Omari91 babies
- Jarad90 babies
- Jessy90 babies
- Brandan88 babies
- Dustan83 babies
- Isaias82 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1980 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1980 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