Top 10 most popular baby names in the U.S. 50 years ago

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Baby naming trends have changed a little over the years.

We looked at records kept by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to find out what names people were choosing to name their children back in 1974. Take a trip down memory lane and check out the list below:

Boy Names

1. Michael - 67,550
2. Jason - 54,762
3. Christopher - 48,593
4. David - 41, 804
5. James - 41,345
6. John - 37,628
7. Robert - 37, 017
8. Brian - 34,452
9. Matthew - 27,207
10. William - 26,984

Girl Names

1. Jennifer - 63,110
2. Amy - 29,564
3. Michelle - 25,830
4. Heather - 23,181
5. Angela - 22,804
6. Kimberly - 22,424
7. Melissa - 22,165
8. Lisa - 19,776
9. Stephanie - 16,981
10. Rebecca - 15,165

Last year, a report from BabyCenter SSA showed the most popular names for boys and girls for 2023. Among the top contenders for boy names were Noah, Liam and Oliver. For girls, the names Olivia, Emma and Amelia took the top spots.

The SSA started gathering baby names into lists in 1997 with names dating back to 1880. Every year, the list shows the impact of pop-culture on naming trends. Along with lists of each state’s most popular baby names, the SSA also keeps information on the 1,000 most popular boys' and girls’ names for the year and the fastest-rising girls’ and boys’ names.

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