Born in 1984 · Millennials
Baby names of 1984
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,488,665 babies born in 1984: 1,683,817 girls and 1,804,848 boys. Jennifer and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.9% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 22.3% in 1974. The name most tied to 1984 is Sheena: among girls, it was 31× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Millennials
- Born 1981–1996
- Babies on record
- 3,488,665
- 1,683,817 girls · 1,804,848 boys
- Different names
- 12,181
- for girls, plus 7,341 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.9%
- of babies got one · girls 18.1%, boys 23.5%
Top 10 names of 1984
- 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 1984, 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 1984
These names were far more common in 1984 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1984 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheena | Girl | #80 | 31× |
| Krystle | Girl | #229 | 24× |
| Marquita | Girl | #195 | 16× |
| Latoya | Girl | #60 | 14× |
| Trista | Girl | #214 | 7.4× |
| Lindsay | Girl | #36 | 6.7× |
| Candice | Girl | #86 | 5.2× |
| Lindsey | Girl | #35 | 5.0× |
| Krystal | Girl | #74 | 5.0× |
| Lacy | Girl | #260 | 4.7× |
Names that peaked in 1984
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1984, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1984.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher | Boy | #2 |
| Adam | Boy | #18 |
| Stephanie | Girl | #6 |
| Dustin | Boy | #41 |
| Lindsey | Girl | #35 |
| Alicia | Girl | #40 |
| Marcus | Boy | #57 |
| Latoya | Girl | #60 |
| Sheena | Girl | #80 |
| Joanna | Girl | #88 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1984
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1984 (records go back to 1880).
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1984 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1984 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