US baby names · Millennials · 1981–1996
Popular Millennial names: the top names of 1981–1996
The names US parents gave most often in the 16 Millennials 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 Millennials births (1981–1996) were Jessica for girls (16 of 16 years) and Michael for boys (16 of 16 years), in US Social Security Administration data.
Most often in the top 10, 1981–1996
Girls
| Name | Years in top 10 | Best rank | Years at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica | 16 of 16 | #1 | 9 |
| Sarah | 16 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Elizabeth | 16 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Amanda | 15 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Ashley | 14 of 16 | #1 | 2 |
| Stephanie | 13 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Jennifer | 11 of 16 | #1 | 4 |
| Brittany | 10 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Samantha | 9 of 16 | #4 | — |
| Nicole | 8 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Emily | 6 of 16 | #1 | 1 |
| Heather | 6 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Melissa | 4 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Taylor | 4 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Megan | 3 of 16 | #10 | — |
| Hannah | 2 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Amy | 2 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Lauren | 2 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Alexis | 1 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Crystal | 1 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Rachel | 1 of 16 | #9 | — |
Boys
| Name | Years in top 10 | Best rank | Years at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | 16 of 16 | #1 | 16 |
| Christopher | 16 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Matthew | 16 of 16 | #2 | — |
| Joshua | 16 of 16 | #4 | — |
| Daniel | 15 of 16 | #5 | — |
| David | 12 of 16 | #4 | — |
| James | 12 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Andrew | 10 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Robert | 9 of 16 | #8 | — |
| John | 7 of 16 | #8 | — |
| Tyler | 5 of 16 | #5 | — |
| Brandon | 5 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Jacob | 4 of 16 | #3 | — |
| Nicholas | 4 of 16 | #6 | — |
| Justin | 4 of 16 | #7 | — |
| Joseph | 4 of 16 | #9 | — |
| Jason | 3 of 16 | #4 | — |
| Austin | 2 of 16 | #9 | — |
Names that peaked in Millennials 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 1981 and 1996. Many of them never made the top 10.
Girls
| Name | Peak year | Babies that year | All years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica | 1987 | 55,992 | 1,050,729 |
| Ashley | 1987 | 54,856 | 859,857 |
| Amanda | 1987 | 41,786 | 790,638 |
| Brittany | 1989 | 37,792 | 360,673 |
| Sarah | 1982 | 28,483 | 1,098,498 |
| Samantha | 1990 | 25,868 | 592,847 |
| Stephanie | 1990 | 24,864 | 745,148 |
| Nicole | 1985 | 22,966 | 594,500 |
| Taylor | 1993 | 21,270 | 330,145 |
| Lauren | 1989 | 21,065 | 475,577 |
| Elizabeth | 1990 | 20,750 | 1,688,757 |
| Megan | 1990 | 20,259 | 440,065 |
| Crystal | 1982 | 19,099 | 332,114 |
| Kayla | 1991 | 18,545 | 346,570 |
| Tiffany | 1988 | 18,364 | 338,864 |
| Danielle | 1987 | 17,010 | 371,803 |
| Amber | 1986 | 16,954 | 374,690 |
| Rebecca | 1981 | 16,737 | 755,992 |
| Christina | 1985 | 16,600 | 479,718 |
| Rachel | 1985 | 16,360 | 573,957 |
| Chelsea | 1992 | 16,177 | 162,884 |
| Courtney | 1990 | 15,380 | 258,399 |
| Erin | 1983 | 14,836 | 316,575 |
| Victoria | 1993 | 12,925 | 527,915 |
| Jasmine | 1993 | 12,063 | 258,626 |
| Kelsey | 1992 | 11,713 | 150,416 |
| Andrea | 1981 | 11,686 | 445,419 |
| Katherine | 1990 | 11,625 | 650,926 |
| Sara | 1981 | 11,359 | 436,193 |
| Morgan | 1995 | 10,877 | 223,626 |
Boys
| Name | Peak year | Babies that year | All years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher | 1984 | 60,021 | 2,069,596 |
| Matthew | 1983 | 50,209 | 1,654,075 |
| Joshua | 1989 | 44,100 | 1,248,929 |
| Daniel | 1985 | 38,559 | 1,982,812 |
| Andrew | 1987 | 36,206 | 1,329,454 |
| Justin | 1988 | 35,055 | 790,469 |
| Tyler | 1994 | 30,482 | 603,970 |
| Ryan | 1985 | 29,905 | 964,123 |
| Brandon | 1992 | 29,628 | 770,509 |
| Nicholas | 1995 | 29,160 | 926,047 |
| Austin | 1995 | 25,908 | 438,042 |
| Zachary | 1993 | 25,538 | 551,752 |
| Anthony | 1990 | 25,088 | 1,488,042 |
| Jonathan | 1988 | 24,349 | 870,866 |
| Adam | 1984 | 23,939 | 580,378 |
| Kyle | 1990 | 22,710 | 485,780 |
| Alexander | 1993 | 20,530 | 736,123 |
| Cody | 1992 | 19,876 | 292,009 |
| Jordan | 1990 | 16,137 | 401,196 |
| Benjamin | 1989 | 15,733 | 826,830 |
| Aaron | 1989 | 15,308 | 614,462 |
| Sean | 1990 | 12,018 | 423,637 |
| Travis | 1989 | 11,526 | 308,571 |
| Jesse | 1981 | 10,443 | 432,428 |
| Dustin | 1985 | 10,439 | 208,341 |
| Bryan | 1985 | 8,717 | 389,589 |
| Derek | 1989 | 8,365 | 239,060 |
| Taylor | 1992 | 8,239 | 113,541 |
| Corey | 1989 | 8,003 | 185,020 |
| Alex | 1993 | 7,639 | 286,169 |
"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 Millennials years are 1981–1996, the boundaries used across this site.
Keep going
Other generations
Each year's top 10