Top Baby Names of 1968

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1968.

What the Data Says About 1968

The Social Security Administration's national 1968 file shows 2,229,544 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 1968 was Michael, with 81,968 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1968 was Lisa, with 49,534 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,271,367 births compared with 958,177 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.

1968 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1968 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 1968 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 1968. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1968 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1968 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.

← 1967
1968
1969 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 Michael 81,968
2 David 63,679
3 John 60,903
4 James 60,665
5 Robert 58,174
6 William 36,927
7 Mark 35,401
8 Richard 32,976
9 Christopher 31,468
10 Brian 29,922
11 Jeffrey 28,369
12 Thomas 27,420
13 Timothy 26,496
14 Scott 26,022
15 Steven 25,493
16 Joseph 25,396
17 Kevin 23,862
18 Daniel 22,012
19 Paul 21,865
20 Charles 21,575
21 Anthony 20,231
22 Eric 18,501
23 Kenneth 18,077
24 Matthew 15,823
25 Ronald 15,415
26 Gregory 15,392
27 Stephen 14,761
28 Todd 14,659
29 Donald 13,362
30 Patrick 13,062
31 Edward 12,276
32 Gary 11,973
33 Douglas 11,405
34 Andrew 10,563
35 Keith 9,861
36 George 9,382
37 Sean 9,172
38 Larry 8,231
39 Peter 8,122
40 Troy 7,976
41 Craig 7,858
42 Rodney 7,505
43 Shawn 7,478
44 Jerry 7,450
45 Dennis 7,403
46 Jeffery 7,223
47 Jason 7,143
48 Terry 7,089
49 Frank 6,897
50 Raymond 6,883
51 Bryan 6,254
52 Tony 5,875
53 Jonathan 5,808
54 Randy 5,709
55 Roger 5,183
56 Russell 5,097
57 Bradley 4,804
58 Jose 4,794
59 Carl 4,645
60 Darren 4,642
61 Bruce 4,486
62 Gerald 4,475
63 Wayne 4,251
64 Chris 4,249
65 Jon 4,209
66 Samuel 4,123
67 Lawrence 4,098
68 Martin 4,073
69 Johnny 4,050
70 Ricky 4,036
71 Phillip 3,987
72 Danny 3,984
73 Vincent 3,982
74 Alan 3,976
75 Curtis 3,855
76 Billy 3,814
77 Jimmy 3,814
78 Dean 3,799
79 Randall 3,751
80 Joel 3,683
81 Bobby 3,628
82 Philip 3,622
83 Walter 3,589
84 Marc 3,537
85 Joe 3,522
86 Darrell 3,446
87 Aaron 3,428
88 Jay 3,428
89 Steve 3,408
90 Jeff 3,279
91 Dale 3,257
92 Glenn 3,246
93 Mike 3,214
94 Roy 3,177
95 Henry 3,129
96 Willie 3,109
97 Kelly 3,059
98 Arthur 3,039
99 Benjamin 3,017
100 Allen 2,961

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Lisa 49,534
2 Michelle 33,223
3 Kimberly 31,906
4 Jennifer 26,853
5 Melissa 21,733
6 Mary 21,727
7 Angela 20,670
8 Tammy 20,058
9 Karen 19,560
10 Susan 19,503
11 Laura 18,741
12 Kelly 17,138
13 Amy 17,090
14 Christine 16,525
15 Patricia 15,803
16 Julie 15,750
17 Elizabeth 14,887
18 Tina 14,772
19 Cynthia 14,050
20 Pamela 14,031
21 Dawn 13,441
22 Lori 13,126
23 Stephanie 12,953
24 Donna 12,748
25 Tracy 12,743
26 Sandra 12,686
27 Deborah 12,288
28 Linda 11,371
29 Michele 11,219
30 Teresa 10,912
31 Wendy 10,709
32 Sharon 10,340
33 Rebecca 10,225
34 Brenda 9,945
35 Denise 9,877
36 Barbara 9,740
37 Cheryl 9,138
38 Debra 9,095
39 Nancy 8,961
40 Kathleen 8,729
41 Maria 8,386
42 Rhonda 8,268
43 Robin 8,180
44 Christina 8,016
45 Paula 7,637
46 Jill 7,521
47 Theresa 7,307
48 Andrea 7,089
49 Carol 7,078
50 Jacqueline 6,745
51 Diane 6,583
52 Sherry 6,435
53 Shannon 6,403
54 Ann 6,177
55 Stacey 6,150
56 Catherine 6,129
57 Kim 6,089
58 Gina 6,045
59 Sheila 5,730
60 Tonya 5,661
61 Carolyn 5,538
62 Heather 5,502
63 Margaret 5,440
64 Stacy 5,384
65 Renee 5,356
66 Leslie 5,282
67 Cindy 5,238
68 Monica 5,221
69 Suzanne 5,040
70 Dana 5,012
71 Diana 4,995
72 Tracey 4,931
73 Janet 4,838
74 Beth 4,765
75 Katherine 4,716
76 Kathy 4,677
77 Valerie 4,550
78 Sarah 4,489
79 Laurie 4,342
80 Tamara 4,308
81 Regina 4,295
82 Victoria 4,286
83 Terri 4,267
84 Kristin 4,134
85 Lynn 4,103
86 Carrie 3,979
87 Connie 3,955
88 Anne 3,914
89 Heidi 3,913
90 Melinda 3,814
91 Carla 3,813
92 Rachel 3,727
93 Yolanda 3,697
94 Melanie 3,641
95 Sherri 3,641
96 April 3,622
97 Jodi 3,598
98 Shelly 3,595
99 Anna 3,569
100 Kathryn 3,561
← 1967
1969 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1968 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1967 Top Names
National top 100
1969 Top Names
National top 100
1960s Decade
Decade-level rollup
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Compare 1968 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.