Born in 1981 · Millennials
Baby names of 1981
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,459,237 babies born in 1981: 1,668,060 girls and 1,791,177 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.6% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 21.8% in 1971. The name most tied to 1981 is Latoya: among girls, it was 14× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Millennials
- Born 1981–1996
- Babies on record
- 3,459,237
- 1,668,060 girls · 1,791,177 boys
- Different names
- 12,198
- for girls, plus 7,289 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.6%
- of babies got one · girls 17.3%, boys 23.6%
Top 10 names of 1981
- 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 1981, 20.6% 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 1981
These names were far more common in 1981 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1981 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latoya | Girl | #69 | 14× |
| Jaime | Girl | #124 | 7.1× |
| Latasha | Girl | #139 | 6.8× |
| Brandy | Girl | #41 | 6.3× |
| Mandy | Girl | #136 | 6.1× |
| Misty | Girl | #61 | 5.3× |
| Candice | Girl | #86 | 5.2× |
| Tamika | Girl | #221 | 4.9× |
| Shaun | Boy | #86 | 4.7× |
| Tasha | Girl | #141 | 4.6× |
Names that peaked in 1981
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1981, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1981.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah | Girl | #4 |
| Aaron | Boy | #30 |
| Benjamin | Boy | #32 |
| Andrea | Girl | #24 |
| Sara | Girl | #26 |
| Kristin | Girl | #31 |
| Brandi | Girl | #50 |
| Clinton | Boy | #124 |
| Roberto | Boy | #147 |
| Tiffani | Girl | #364 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1981
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1981 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1981 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1981 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