Born in 1986 · Millennials
Baby names of 1986
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,557,062 babies born in 1986: 1,715,547 girls and 1,841,515 boys. Jessica and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.2% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 21.3% in 1976. The name most tied to 1986 is Krystle: among girls, it was 62× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Millennials
- Born 1981–1996
- Babies on record
- 3,557,062
- 1,715,547 girls · 1,841,515 boys
- Different names
- 12,836
- for girls, plus 7,830 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.2%
- of babies got one · girls 18.1%, boys 22.2%
Top 10 names of 1986
- Jessica was the #1 name for girls every year from 1985 to 1990.
- Michael was the #1 name for boys every year from 1961 to 1998.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 1986, 20.2% 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 1986
These names were far more common in 1986 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1986 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krystle | Girl | #161 | 62× |
| Sheena | Girl | #173 | 16× |
| Sade | Girl | #213 | 11× |
| Whitney | Girl | #32 | 10× |
| Nikita | Girl | #250 | 7.1× |
| Krystal | Girl | #61 | 6.8× |
| Latoya | Girl | #111 | 5.7× |
| Brittany | Girl | #8 | 5.7× |
| Lindsay | Girl | #46 | 5.3× |
| Ashley | Girl | #2 | 5.3× |
Names that peaked in 1986
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1986, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1986.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Amber | Girl | #13 |
| Sean | Boy | #37 |
| Whitney | Girl | #32 |
| Katie | Girl | #38 |
| Brett | Boy | #69 |
| Mallory | Girl | #83 |
| Felicia | Girl | #89 |
| Krista | Girl | #93 |
| Cristina | Girl | #163 |
| Christa | Girl | #178 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1986
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1986 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Ashton954 babies
- Eliana481 babies
- Halley333 babies
- Kaleigh288 babies
- Nakita269 babies
- Phylicia214 babies
- Alexander207 babies
- Brittaney203 babies
Boys
- Cordero173 babies
- Jayce171 babies
- Maximilian116 babies
- Yaakov114 babies
- Kyler104 babies
- Alexandro102 babies
- Zechariah97 babies
- Giancarlo96 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1986 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1986 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