These Were The Most Popular US Baby Names 50 Years Ago

US Social Security data shows what parents were naming their newborns half a century ago.
From Tammy to Craig, many 1970s favourites are no longer popular baby names today.
Allen Donikowski via Getty Images
From Tammy to Craig, many 1970s favourites are no longer popular baby names today.

The list of the most popular baby names in the US doesn’t vary much from year to year, but when you look back over time, you’ll notice some interesting shifts.

Thanks to the Social Security Administration’s baby names database, it’s possible to see parents’ top picks going back to the 1880s and compare them to the trends today. We decided to do this with the most popular names 50 years ago.

While some names that made the list back then remain popular today (think classics like William, James, Elizabeth and Michael), others have dropped significantly down in the ranking (shout-out to Tammy, Lisa, Dawn, Chad and Craig). And, of course, Karen has certainly had a fall from grace.

Still, perhaps some of these names that dominated half a century ago are ripe for a comeback.

Below, find the 50 most popular baby names for boys and girls born in 1972.

Girls

  1. Jennifer

  2. Michelle

  3. Lisa

  4. Kimberly

  5. Amy

  6. Angela

  7. Melissa

  8. Stephanie

  9. Heather

  10. Nicole

  11. Tammy

  12. Julie

  13. Mary

  14. Rebecca

  15. Elizabeth

  16. Christine

  17. Laura

  18. Tina

  19. Tracy

  20. Dawn

  21. Karen

  22. Shannon

  23. Kelly

  24. Susan

  25. Christina

  26. Cynthia

  27. Patricia

  28. Lori

  29. Wendy

  30. Andrea

  31. Sandra

  32. Maria

  33. Stacy

  34. Pamela

  35. Denise

  36. Michele

  37. Tonya

  38. Tara

  39. Teresa

  40. Rachel

  41. Stacey

  42. Melanie

  43. Deborah

  44. Brenda

  45. Donna

  46. Jessica

  47. Monica

  48. April

  49. Sarah

  50. Sharon

Boys

  1. Michael

  2. Christopher

  3. James

  4. David

  5. John

  6. Robert

  7. Jason

  8. Brian

  9. William

  10. Matthew

  11. Scott

  12. Joseph

  13. Kevin

  14. Richard

  15. Daniel

  16. Eric

  17. Jeffrey

  18. Mark

  19. Steven

  20. Thomas

  21. Timothy

  22. Anthony

  23. Charles

  24. Paul

  25. Chad

  26. Gregory

  27. Kenneth

  28. Shawn

  29. Stephen

  30. Andrew

  31. Todd

  32. Ronald

  33. Sean

  34. Edward

  35. Patrick

  36. Donald

  37. Jonathan

  38. Keith

  39. Ryan

  40. Aaron

  41. Gary

  42. Jeremy

  43. Douglas

  44. George

  45. Bryan

  46. Craig

  47. Larry

  48. Peter

  49. Troy

  50. Jose

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