Top Baby Names of 1966

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1966.

What the Data Says About 1966

The Social Security Administration's national 1966 file shows 2,327,436 births concentrated in the top 100 boy and top 100 girl names, the segment of U.S. baby-name data released to the public for that year. The #1 boy name of 1966 was Michael, with 79,985 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1966 was Lisa, with 56,918 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,318,691 births compared with 1,008,745 for the top 100 girls, consistent with the historical SSA pattern in which a smaller pool of boy names dominates a larger share of annual births while girl names are more evenly distributed.

1966 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1966 fall within the post-war baby-boom era; total U.S. birth volume was higher than today and a relatively small set of names (Robert, James, Linda, Mary) dominated national rankings. Michael and Lisa leading 1966 fits this broader cultural signature.

These rankings come directly from Social Security Administration card applications and represent approximately 96% of all U.S. births in 1966. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1966 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1966 is significantly larger than any public top-100 list can show. Each spelling variation is counted separately, Sophia and Sofia, Aiden and Ayden, so rankings reflect only the specific spelling filed on the SS card, not combined name pools. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute naming advice.

← 1965
1966
1967 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 79,985
2 David 66,408
3 James 65,163
4 John 65,016
5 Robert 59,317
6 William 38,237
7 Mark 34,801
8 Richard 34,457
9 Jeffrey 30,200
10 Thomas 29,003
11 Timothy 28,923
12 Christopher 27,866
13 Steven 27,698
14 Brian 27,253
15 Joseph 26,981
16 Scott 26,036
17 Kevin 25,592
18 Paul 23,578
19 Daniel 23,269
20 Charles 22,252
21 Kenneth 20,834
22 Anthony 20,624
23 Gregory 17,009
24 Ronald 16,952
25 Eric 16,475
26 Stephen 14,742
27 Donald 14,713
28 Gary 14,155
29 Todd 13,557
30 Edward 13,279
31 Patrick 12,405
32 Keith 11,614
33 Douglas 11,401
34 Matthew 10,803
35 Rodney 10,268
36 Andrew 10,235
37 George 9,941
38 Larry 8,709
39 Peter 8,584
40 Terry 8,455
41 Jerry 8,429
42 Jeffery 7,904
43 Frank 7,787
44 Dennis 7,786
45 Randy 7,758
46 Craig 7,729
47 Raymond 7,376
48 Troy 6,905
49 Tony 6,571
50 Sean 6,490
51 Roger 6,296
52 Bryan 5,890
53 Bruce 5,843
54 Shawn 5,725
55 Chris 5,257
56 Carl 5,227
57 Alan 4,943
58 Vincent 4,941
59 Wayne 4,891
60 Gerald 4,863
61 Russell 4,857
62 Danny 4,721
63 Darren 4,718
64 Ricky 4,680
65 Jonathan 4,662
66 Lawrence 4,644
67 Steve 4,617
68 Bradley 4,555
69 Mike 4,526
70 Randall 4,448
71 Phillip 4,402
72 Jeff 4,387
73 Johnny 4,363
74 Joe 4,334
75 Curtis 4,242
76 Jon 4,239
77 Jimmy 4,238
78 Martin 4,210
79 Jose 4,194
80 Billy 4,182
81 Samuel 4,155
82 Bobby 4,068
83 Walter 4,057
84 Dean 4,041
85 Dale 3,985
86 Philip 3,954
87 Barry 3,916
88 Darryl 3,817
89 Jason 3,770
90 Glenn 3,668
91 Jay 3,598
92 Henry 3,575
93 Willie 3,546
94 Roy 3,522
95 Darrell 3,497
96 Arthur 3,482
97 Allen 3,420
98 Tracy 3,380
99 Harold 3,323
100 Albert 3,297

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Lisa 56,918
2 Kimberly 32,232
3 Mary 28,890
4 Michelle 27,159
5 Karen 25,450
6 Susan 23,776
7 Patricia 20,112
8 Tammy 18,621
9 Angela 18,532
10 Jennifer 18,215
11 Cynthia 17,418
12 Donna 17,037
13 Julie 16,331
14 Deborah 16,250
15 Pamela 16,249
16 Elizabeth 15,887
17 Sandra 15,851
18 Linda 15,566
19 Laura 15,553
20 Christine 15,546
21 Lori 14,671
22 Melissa 14,254
23 Tina 13,892
24 Dawn 13,603
25 Brenda 13,294
26 Kelly 13,242
27 Barbara 13,123
28 Sharon 13,063
29 Teresa 13,024
30 Amy 12,998
31 Tracy 12,504
32 Denise 11,797
33 Nancy 11,729
34 Cheryl 11,713
35 Debra 11,261
36 Michele 10,689
37 Kathleen 10,491
38 Stephanie 10,160
39 Rhonda 9,805
40 Rebecca 9,777
41 Wendy 9,516
42 Robin 9,440
43 Kim 9,194
44 Maria 9,132
45 Diane 8,750
46 Theresa 8,699
47 Jacqueline 8,360
48 Carol 8,259
49 Jill 7,871
50 Paula 7,856
51 Sheila 7,208
52 Andrea 7,144
53 Sherry 6,983
54 Catherine 6,962
55 Margaret 6,960
56 Cindy 6,794
57 Janet 6,434
58 Gina 6,356
59 Kathy 6,319
60 Carolyn 6,121
61 Ann 5,993
62 Suzanne 5,684
63 Laurie 5,667
64 Diana 5,504
65 Beth 5,444
66 Renee 5,354
67 Christina 5,341
68 Dana 5,278
69 Tracey 5,127
70 Connie 5,102
71 Leslie 4,999
72 Terri 4,921
73 Debbie 4,846
74 Valerie 4,816
75 Monica 4,722
76 Stacey 4,586
77 Carla 4,508
78 Katherine 4,492
79 Annette 4,428
80 Janice 4,345
81 Lynn 4,306
82 Regina 4,295
83 Anne 4,151
84 Wanda 4,093
85 Sarah 4,034
86 Kathryn 4,008
87 Heidi 3,966
88 Anita 3,872
89 Shelly 3,856
90 Bonnie 3,842
91 Stacy 3,779
92 Sherri 3,747
93 Colleen 3,746
94 Darlene 3,728
95 Anna 3,682
96 Tonya 3,630
97 Judy 3,510
98 Tamara 3,482
99 Cathy 3,421
100 Joyce 3,399
← 1965
1967 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1966 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1965 Top Names
National top 100
1967 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1966 leaders: Michael vs Lisa → or pick any two names →

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

Source: SSA Baby Names Methodology, names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are excluded to protect privacy.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the U.S. Social Security Administration. See our methodology for details.