Top Baby Names in Connecticut, 1970s — Most Popular Boys & Girls Names

The most popular baby names in Connecticut from 1970 to 1979, ranked by total births during the decade.

What the Data Says About the 1970s in Connecticut

During the 1970s (1970–1979), the Social Security Administration recorded 207,518 births across the top 50 boy and top 50 girl names in Connecticut. The decade's leading boy name was Michael with 10,194 births, while Jennifer was the top girl name with 8,726 births. The top 50 boys in this decade collectively accounted for 127,042 births versus 80,476 for the top 50 girls — a common SSA pattern in which the boy-name pool is more concentrated among fewer high-frequency choices. These totals represent only names appearing five or more times per year in Connecticut; rarer names fall below the SSA's privacy-disclosure threshold and are excluded.

The 1970s sits within a specific cultural window of U.S. naming history. Mid-century decades like the 1970s spanned the post-war baby boom and the beginning of naming diversification, as parents increasingly departed from purely traditional choices. Michael and Jennifer leading Connecticut during this window reflects how regional preferences interact with broader national trends.

Decade totals are computed by summing SSA state-year records for Connecticut across all ten years of the 1970s. Because the SSA suppresses any name with fewer than five annual occurrences in a state, the true number of unique names given in Connecticut during this decade is larger than what this page lists. The dataset also treats every spelling as a separate name — for example, Kayla and Kaylah are tracked independently — so combined-spelling totals would shift the rankings somewhat. This page is provided for informational and research purposes and does not constitute naming, legal, or genealogical advice.

Boy Top 50 Boy Names

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 10,194
2 Christopher 6,857
3 David 6,624
4 Jason 5,598
5 John 5,545
6 Robert 5,178
7 James 4,837
8 Brian 4,282
9 Matthew 4,172
10 Joseph 3,650
11 Daniel 3,614
12 William 3,526
13 Jeffrey 3,271
14 Scott 3,086
15 Richard 3,002
16 Kevin 2,934
17 Thomas 2,914
18 Mark 2,844
19 Eric 2,737
20 Steven 2,224
21 Paul 2,161
22 Timothy 2,085
23 Anthony 2,009
24 Peter 1,994
25 Andrew 1,790
26 Jonathan 1,738
27 Stephen 1,723
28 Gregory 1,596
29 Todd 1,504
30 Sean 1,485
31 Edward 1,472
32 Ryan 1,381
33 Joshua 1,326
34 Keith 1,306
35 Charles 1,287
36 Adam 1,269
37 Kenneth 1,252
38 Patrick 1,186
39 Shawn 1,146
40 Jeremy 1,067
41 Justin 1,035
42 Jose 1,009
43 Marc 960
44 Benjamin 933
45 George 900
46 Craig 890
47 Frank 884
48 Nicholas 864
49 Douglas 855
50 Donald 846

Girl Top 50 Girl Names

Rank Name Births
1 Jennifer 8,726
2 Amy 3,423
3 Melissa 3,408
4 Lisa 3,147
5 Michelle 3,020
6 Heather 2,869
7 Kimberly 2,854
8 Jessica 2,580
9 Elizabeth 2,500
10 Christine 2,101
11 Nicole 2,089
12 Sarah 2,063
13 Kelly 1,934
14 Rebecca 1,830
15 Laura 1,613
16 Karen 1,599
17 Dawn 1,528
18 Susan 1,421
19 Stephanie 1,346
20 Christina 1,313
21 Mary 1,232
22 Shannon 1,218
23 Tracy 1,213
24 Julie 1,159
25 Kristen 1,152
26 Michele 1,130
27 Erin 1,103
28 Danielle 1,088
29 Tammy 1,033
30 Kathleen 1,029
31 Amanda 997
32 Stacey 995
33 Rachel 993
34 Maria 983
35 Katherine 969
36 Angela 918
37 Tara 916
38 Andrea 913
39 Patricia 892
40 Tina 882
41 Kristin 874
42 Cynthia 871
43 Wendy 861
44 Lori 850
45 Sandra 829
46 Jill 826
47 Deborah 825
48 Carrie 800
49 Sara 782
50 Catherine 779

Nearby Rankings

Related decade and state views for Connecticut

Compare 1970s leaders: Michael vs Jennifer → or pick any two names →

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files, 1910–2024 (ssa.gov).

Source: SSA Baby Names Methodology — names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year are included (ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html).

Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details.