Born in 1987 · Millennials
Baby names of 1987
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,605,616 babies born in 1987: 1,738,632 girls and 1,866,984 boys. Jessica and Michael were the most popular names, and 20.1% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 20.9% in 1977. The name most tied to 1987 is Krystle: among girls, it was 35× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Millennials
- Born 1981–1996
- Babies on record
- 3,605,616
- 1,738,632 girls · 1,866,984 boys
- Different names
- 13,263
- for girls, plus 8,152 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 20.1%
- of babies got one · girls 18.2%, boys 21.8%
Top 10 names of 1987
- 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 1987, 20.1% 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 1987
These names were far more common in 1987 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1987 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krystle | Girl | #220 | 35× |
| Sheena | Girl | #232 | 11× |
| Whitney | Girl | #32 | 9.9× |
| Brittany | Girl | #7 | 7.1× |
| Brittney | Girl | #61 | 6.5× |
| Ashley | Girl | #2 | 6.2× |
| Krystal | Girl | #70 | 5.9× |
| Lindsay | Girl | #49 | 4.7× |
| Ashlee | Girl | #112 | 4.6× |
| Mallory | Girl | #91 | 4.5× |
Names that peaked in 1987
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1987, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1987.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica | Girl | #1 |
| Ashley | Girl | #2 |
| Amanda | Girl | #3 |
| Andrew | Boy | #6 |
| Anthony | Boy | #17 |
| Danielle | Girl | #14 |
| Derek | Boy | #54 |
| Kendra | Girl | #77 |
| Casey | Girl | #81 |
| Bethany | Girl | #87 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1987
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1987 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Janay596 babies
- Channing330 babies
- Ayla329 babies
- Cayla290 babies
- Yessenia249 babies
- Skye240 babies
- Kelsi226 babies
- Jerica211 babies
Boys
- Mychal143 babies
- Conner135 babies
- Cordaro107 babies
- Dashawn107 babies
- Holden107 babies
- Octavius106 babies
- Rashaad100 babies
- Montrell98 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1987 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1987 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