Growing up, did you ever look around your classrooms and notice the same names appearing among your classmates? If so, this tendency has likely followed you into adulthood, whether through your friend group or among your co-workers. That’s because certain names tend to be particularly popular in a given year, and the 1970s are no exception. Below are the ten most popular names in the United States this decade, in descending order, according to the Social Security Administration. How many of these names do you know well?
Related: Popular names from the 1960s
Matthew and Nicole
Who doesn’t know several Matts and Nicoles? It’s no surprise that they round out the top 10, with 277,828 and 144,670 babies with these names respectively in the 1970s.
Guillaume and Stéphanie
These names aren’t as popular these days, but you’ve probably encountered a few Williams (Don’t forget Bills and Wills) or Stephanies if you were born in the 1970s – or work with people who were. During this decade, 283,456 and 160,464 babies were given these respective names.
Brian and Heather
If you remember several Brians and Heathers from your school days, it should come as no surprise that there were 322,747 and 203,912 babies with those names respectively during that time.
Robert and Angela
Anyone with Bobs in their life shouldn’t be surprised that Robert is one of the most popular names of the 1970s. The seventh most popular girl’s name was only given to 225,264 babies, compared to 397,295 for Robert .
Jean and Lisa
These baby names may not seem as popular today, but many of them existed when they were children in the ’70s. Specifically, 402,715 John and 228,690 Lisa were born in the United States during of this decade.
James and Kimberly
Do you know a Jim or a Kim, or even several? No surprise there. In the 1970s, 444,823 and 229,106 babies were given the names James and Kimberly.
David and Michelle
Davids and Michelles were undeniably everywhere, especially if you were a child of the 1970s. During that time, a total of 445,842 and 249,138 babies were given these names, respectively.
Jason and Melissa
If you know a lot of Gen Xers named Jason or Melissa, that’s no coincidence. In the 1970s, 462,821 and 253,274 babies were given these respective first names.
Christopher and Amy
Who doesn’t know at least a dozen Christophers and at least a few Amys in their life? In the 1970s, there were 475,526 and 268,996 babies named Christopher and Amy, respectively.
Michael and Jennifer
These two names aren’t as popular among today’s newborns, but there are certainly plenty of them among millennials and Generation X. This is reflected in the numbers where, in the 1970s, 707,458 people were born with the name Michael and 581,753 people named Jennifer.
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