Born in 1989 · Millennials
Baby names of 1989
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,844,480 babies born in 1989: 1,843,552 girls and 2,000,928 boys. Jessica and Michael were the most popular names, and 18.7% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 20.7% in 1979. The name most tied to 1989 is Christop: among boys, it was 5,408× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Millennials
- Born 1981–1996
- Babies on record
- 3,844,480
- 1,843,552 girls · 2,000,928 boys
- Different names
- 14,550
- for girls, plus 9,232 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 18.7%
- of babies got one · girls 16.9%, boys 20.4%
Top 10 names of 1989
- 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 1989, 18.7% 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 1989
These names were far more common in 1989 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 1989 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christop | Boy | #241 | 5,408× |
| Brittany | Girl | #3 | 15× |
| Brittani | Girl | #241 | 15× |
| Brittney | Girl | #41 | 12× |
| Chelsie | Girl | #266 | 7.9× |
| Chelsea | Girl | #27 | 7.5× |
| Chelsey | Girl | #140 | 7.4× |
| Whitney | Girl | #57 | 7.3× |
| Britney | Girl | #118 | 5.6× |
| Kelsey | Girl | #31 | 5.5× |
Names that peaked in 1989
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 1989, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 1989.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Brittany | Girl | #3 |
| Lauren | Girl | #9 |
| Corey | Boy | #55 |
| Brittney | Girl | #41 |
| Britney | Girl | #118 |
| Meagan | Girl | #120 |
| Christop | Boy | #241 |
| Terrell | Boy | #259 |
| Christin | Girl | #286 |
| Lamar | Boy | #325 |
New to the top 1,000 in 1989
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 1989 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Elizabet445 babies
- Infant392 babies
- Alexandr301 babies
- Britny278 babies
- Katherin277 babies
- Mikayla261 babies
- Audrianna257 babies
- Kirstie251 babies
Boys
- Christop1,082 babies
- Infant376 babies
- Alexande301 babies
- Hakeem279 babies
- Kadeem196 babies
- Gage171 babies
- Khiry159 babies
- Jasmine151 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 1989 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 1989 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