US baby names · Generation X · 1965–1980
Popular Gen X names: the top names of 1965–1980
The names US parents gave most often in the 16 Generation X birth years, ranked by how many of those years each name spent in the national top 10, then the names whose all-time peak falls in these years.
The short answer
The names most often in the US top 10 for Generation X births (1965–1980) were Jennifer for girls (15 of 16 years) and Michael for boys (16 of 16 years), in US Social Security Administration data.
Most often in the top 10, 1965–1980
Girls
| Name | Years in top 10 | Best rank | Years at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer | 15 of 16 | #1 | 11 |
| Michelle | 15 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Angela | 15 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Melissa | 14 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Kimberly | 13 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Lisa | 12 of 16 | #1 | 5 |
| Amy | 12 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Heather | 9 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Mary | 7 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Tammy | 6 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Jessica | 5 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Amanda | 5 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Nicole | 5 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Karen | 4 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Susan | 4 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Stephanie | 4 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Sarah | 3 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Patricia | 2 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Rebecca | 2 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Donna | 1 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Linda | 1 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Cynthia | 1 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Elizabeth | 1 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Julie | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Kelly | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Laura | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Tracy | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
Boys
| Name | Years in top 10 | Best rank | Years at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | 16 of 16 | #1 | 16 |
| David | 16 of 16 | #2 | — |
| James | 16 of 16 | #2 | — |
| John | 16 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Robert | 16 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Christopher | 14 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Brian | 13 of 16 | #8 | — |
| William | 11 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Jason | 10 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Matthew | 9 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Mark | 6 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Richard | 6 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Joseph | 3 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Joshua | 2 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Jeffrey | 2 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Thomas | 2 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Daniel | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Scott | 1 of 16 | #10 | — |
Names that peaked in Generation X birth years
Of the names that have ever reached a yearly top 100, these were given to the most babies in a single year between 1965 and 1980. Many of them never made the top 10.
Girls
| Name | Peak year | Babies that year | All years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer | 1972 | 63,600 | 1,471,703 |
| Lisa | 1965 | 60,271 | 967,229 |
| Michelle | 1969 | 34,319 | 816,510 |
| Kimberly | 1970 | 34,130 | 846,393 |
| Melissa | 1979 | 34,050 | 760,128 |
| Amy | 1975 | 32,254 | 701,631 |
| Angela | 1971 | 25,901 | 673,257 |
| Heather | 1975 | 24,301 | 525,910 |
| Tracy | 1970 | 18,464 | 251,393 |
| Kelly | 1977 | 18,234 | 473,965 |
| Dawn | 1970 | 15,681 | 289,641 |
| Tina | 1968 | 14,772 | 292,146 |
| Shannon | 1970 | 13,547 | 295,782 |
| Jamie | 1977 | 12,895 | 270,936 |
| April | 1980 | 11,472 | 242,925 |
| Wendy | 1967 | 11,223 | 262,325 |
| Michele | 1968 | 11,219 | 223,299 |
| Rhonda | 1965 | 10,949 | 208,069 |
| Stacy | 1971 | 9,117 | 164,011 |
| Carrie | 1977 | 8,661 | 266,350 |
| Jill | 1966 | 7,871 | 208,071 |
| Jaime | 1976 | 7,838 | 50,067 |
| Stacey | 1971 | 7,482 | 147,750 |
| Tonya | 1972 | 7,244 | 120,421 |
| Tara | 1972 | 7,234 | 175,812 |
| Dana | 1971 | 6,934 | 193,555 |
| Monica | 1979 | 6,585 | 251,274 |
| Gina | 1967 | 6,358 | 153,057 |
| Misty | 1977 | 6,315 | 84,654 |
| Melanie | 1972 | 6,296 | 262,640 |
Boys
| Name | Peak year | Babies that year | All years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason | 1977 | 55,631 | 1,052,030 |
| Brian | 1972 | 36,306 | 1,173,735 |
| Scott | 1971 | 30,901 | 774,997 |
| Eric | 1970 | 23,571 | 888,891 |
| Jeremy | 1977 | 21,610 | 446,425 |
| Chad | 1972 | 13,392 | 240,728 |
| Shawn | 1971 | 12,825 | 306,542 |
| Rodney | 1965 | 11,086 | 247,150 |
| Troy | 1970 | 8,448 | 216,308 |
| Bradley | 1980 | 7,210 | 313,008 |
| Shaun | 1978 | 6,105 | 70,481 |
| Darren | 1965 | 5,938 | 103,937 |
| Shane | 1973 | 5,710 | 192,583 |
| Marc | 1970 | 5,009 | 140,604 |
| Erik | 1980 | 4,918 | 157,461 |
| Jamie | 1976 | 4,621 | 88,654 |
| Brent | 1970 | 4,269 | 139,799 |
| Lance | 1970 | 4,160 | 105,839 |
| Derrick | 1980 | 4,135 | 145,347 |
| Tracy | 1966 | 3,380 | 61,501 |
| Kelly | 1967 | 3,093 | 82,400 |
| Shannon | 1972 | 3,014 | 52,379 |
"All years" is every baby given the name in 1880–2025, of that sex.
How this list is made
- Source: the US Social Security Administration national baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- The first table counts, for each name, how many of the 16 birth years it spent in the national top 10. Ties are broken by average rank. We hold the top 10 for every year, not a full count, so this ranks names by how steadily they stayed at the top, not by total babies.
- The second table uses the real number of babies given each name in its peak year.
- Spellings are counted separately, as SSA counts them. United States only.
- The Generation X years are 1965–1980, the boundaries used across this site.
Keep going
Other generations
Each year's top 10