Top Baby Names of 1981
Most popular names for boys and girls in 1981.
What the Data Says About 1981
The Social Security Administration's national 1981 file shows 2,166,447 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 1981 was Michael, with 68,759 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1981 was Jennifer, with 57,048 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,252,498 births compared with 913,949 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.
1981 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Late-20th-century years like 1981 reflect accelerating naming diversification, with Jennifer, Jessica, Michael, and Christopher giving way to more varied choices and the gradual fragmentation of top-10 dominance. Michael and Jennifer leading 1981 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 1981. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1981 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1981 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.
Top 100 Boys' Names Boy
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 68,759 |
| 2 | Christopher | 50,221 |
| 3 | Matthew | 43,328 |
| 4 | Jason | 41,928 |
| 5 | David | 40,633 |
| 6 | Joshua | 39,027 |
| 7 | James | 38,289 |
| 8 | John | 34,872 |
| 9 | Robert | 34,397 |
| 10 | Daniel | 30,989 |
| 11 | Joseph | 30,764 |
| 12 | Justin | 27,308 |
| 13 | Ryan | 26,814 |
| 14 | Brian | 26,582 |
| 15 | William | 24,801 |
| 16 | Jonathan | 22,593 |
| 17 | Eric | 20,715 |
| 18 | Andrew | 20,234 |
| 19 | Brandon | 20,205 |
| 20 | Adam | 20,042 |
| 21 | Nicholas | 19,777 |
| 22 | Jeremy | 19,111 |
| 23 | Anthony | 18,574 |
| 24 | Timothy | 18,228 |
| 25 | Kevin | 17,456 |
| 26 | Thomas | 17,160 |
| 27 | Richard | 16,855 |
| 28 | Steven | 16,484 |
| 29 | Jeffrey | 15,932 |
| 30 | Aaron | 14,692 |
| 31 | Charles | 14,428 |
| 32 | Benjamin | 14,361 |
| 33 | Mark | 13,544 |
| 34 | Scott | 12,721 |
| 35 | Paul | 11,778 |
| 36 | Nathan | 11,258 |
| 37 | Jesse | 10,444 |
| 38 | Patrick | 10,384 |
| 39 | Stephen | 10,302 |
| 40 | Travis | 10,109 |
| 41 | Kenneth | 9,473 |
| 42 | Dustin | 9,353 |
| 43 | Jacob | 9,345 |
| 44 | Sean | 8,892 |
| 45 | Jose | 8,773 |
| 46 | Gregory | 8,758 |
| 47 | Chad | 8,413 |
| 48 | Bryan | 7,215 |
| 49 | Shawn | 7,076 |
| 50 | Bradley | 6,896 |
| 51 | Edward | 6,661 |
| 52 | Kyle | 6,571 |
| 53 | Derek | 6,481 |
| 54 | Samuel | 6,037 |
| 55 | Peter | 5,999 |
| 56 | Donald | 5,911 |
| 57 | Jared | 5,865 |
| 58 | Keith | 5,621 |
| 59 | Ronald | 5,538 |
| 60 | Juan | 5,500 |
| 61 | George | 5,159 |
| 62 | Gary | 4,947 |
| 63 | Zachary | 4,846 |
| 64 | Douglas | 4,788 |
| 65 | Joel | 4,540 |
| 66 | Phillip | 4,539 |
| 67 | Marcus | 4,509 |
| 68 | Raymond | 4,367 |
| 69 | Corey | 4,247 |
| 70 | Alexander | 4,236 |
| 71 | Carlos | 4,182 |
| 72 | Craig | 4,095 |
| 73 | Larry | 3,954 |
| 74 | Todd | 3,953 |
| 75 | Antonio | 3,926 |
| 76 | Erik | 3,922 |
| 77 | Jeremiah | 3,896 |
| 78 | Derrick | 3,850 |
| 79 | Brett | 3,775 |
| 80 | Nathaniel | 3,719 |
| 81 | Shane | 3,711 |
| 82 | Frank | 3,640 |
| 83 | Dennis | 3,634 |
| 84 | Philip | 3,581 |
| 85 | Casey | 3,518 |
| 86 | Shaun | 3,383 |
| 87 | Gabriel | 3,373 |
| 88 | Lucas | 3,372 |
| 89 | Brent | 3,370 |
| 90 | Cory | 3,355 |
| 91 | Luis | 3,343 |
| 92 | Randy | 3,343 |
| 93 | Jeffery | 3,335 |
| 94 | Curtis | 3,198 |
| 95 | Seth | 3,137 |
| 96 | Tyler | 3,117 |
| 97 | Jerry | 3,056 |
| 98 | Russell | 3,048 |
| 99 | Wesley | 3,042 |
| 100 | Luke | 3,015 |
Top 100 Girls' Names Girl
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer | 57,048 |
| 2 | Jessica | 42,532 |
| 3 | Amanda | 34,373 |
| 4 | Sarah | 28,174 |
| 5 | Melissa | 28,005 |
| 6 | Amy | 20,344 |
| 7 | Nicole | 20,311 |
| 8 | Stephanie | 20,213 |
| 9 | Elizabeth | 20,169 |
| 10 | Heather | 17,946 |
| 11 | Michelle | 17,782 |
| 12 | Rebecca | 16,737 |
| 13 | Kimberly | 16,689 |
| 14 | Tiffany | 16,416 |
| 15 | Angela | 15,926 |
| 16 | Crystal | 15,888 |
| 17 | Christina | 14,392 |
| 18 | Lisa | 14,295 |
| 19 | Erin | 13,853 |
| 20 | Amber | 13,813 |
| 21 | Laura | 13,291 |
| 22 | Rachel | 12,590 |
| 23 | Kelly | 11,873 |
| 24 | Andrea | 11,685 |
| 25 | April | 11,405 |
| 26 | Sara | 11,358 |
| 27 | Mary | 11,043 |
| 28 | Jamie | 10,982 |
| 29 | Emily | 10,799 |
| 30 | Danielle | 10,039 |
| 31 | Kristin | 9,737 |
| 32 | Shannon | 9,227 |
| 33 | Megan | 8,966 |
| 34 | Ashley | 8,874 |
| 35 | Lauren | 8,813 |
| 36 | Erica | 8,624 |
| 37 | Julie | 8,568 |
| 38 | Kristen | 8,541 |
| 39 | Katherine | 8,433 |
| 40 | Maria | 7,683 |
| 41 | Brandy | 6,897 |
| 42 | Christine | 6,854 |
| 43 | Courtney | 6,638 |
| 44 | Katie | 6,600 |
| 45 | Tara | 6,366 |
| 46 | Alicia | 5,855 |
| 47 | Lindsay | 5,843 |
| 48 | Kathryn | 5,823 |
| 49 | Monica | 5,782 |
| 50 | Brandi | 5,527 |
| 51 | Samantha | 5,517 |
| 52 | Brooke | 5,330 |
| 53 | Patricia | 5,284 |
| 54 | Anna | 5,192 |
| 55 | Carrie | 5,093 |
| 56 | Leslie | 4,934 |
| 57 | Allison | 4,905 |
| 58 | Lindsey | 4,863 |
| 59 | Cynthia | 4,859 |
| 60 | Natalie | 4,859 |
| 61 | Misty | 4,799 |
| 62 | Vanessa | 4,749 |
| 63 | Holly | 4,564 |
| 64 | Karen | 4,539 |
| 65 | Stacy | 4,479 |
| 66 | Melanie | 4,474 |
| 67 | Jacqueline | 4,336 |
| 68 | Veronica | 4,313 |
| 69 | Latoya | 4,266 |
| 70 | Dana | 4,246 |
| 71 | Susan | 4,244 |
| 72 | Kristina | 4,060 |
| 73 | Catherine | 4,056 |
| 74 | Sandra | 4,036 |
| 75 | Diana | 3,971 |
| 76 | Pamela | 3,882 |
| 77 | Tracy | 3,869 |
| 78 | Jill | 3,857 |
| 79 | Dawn | 3,839 |
| 80 | Tina | 3,820 |
| 81 | Leah | 3,808 |
| 82 | Kathleen | 3,776 |
| 83 | Stacey | 3,754 |
| 84 | Heidi | 3,738 |
| 85 | Natasha | 3,730 |
| 86 | Candice | 3,698 |
| 87 | Victoria | 3,689 |
| 88 | Julia | 3,668 |
| 89 | Valerie | 3,611 |
| 90 | Wendy | 3,608 |
| 91 | Lori | 3,479 |
| 92 | Tanya | 3,408 |
| 93 | Erika | 3,398 |
| 94 | Kristy | 3,263 |
| 95 | Katrina | 3,258 |
| 96 | Denise | 3,201 |
| 97 | Teresa | 3,122 |
| 98 | Renee | 2,997 |
| 99 | Christy | 2,943 |
| 100 | Theresa | 2,943 |
Nearby Year & Decade Rankings
Compare 1981 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade
Compare 1981 leaders: Michael vs Jennifer → 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.