Most Popular Baby Names of the 1980s

Known for the emergence of MTV, the rise of neon, and the invention of the mixtape, the 1980s were certainly a rockin’ era in American history.

Stacker used data from the Social Security Administration Baby Name Ranks from 2019 to find the number of babies given each name between 1980 and 1989.

– Rank in the 1980s: #50 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 62,333 – Rank in 2018: #69 (3,678 babies born) A derivative of Alice, which comes from the French “noble and graceful,” Allison become increasingly less popular between the 1980s and today.

Allison (Girl)

– Rank in the 1980s: #49 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 62,443 – Rank in 2018: #453 (692 babies born) With a wide variety of spellings and a popular name in the Christian world, Kathryn comes from the Greek origin meaning “chaste, pure.”

Kathryn (Girl)

– Rank in the 1980s: #48 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 86,453 – Rank in 2018: #119 (3,298 babies born) Tyler has quite a literal translation, and comes from the Old English language derived from an occupational surname to designate an actual “tile maker.”

Tyler (Boy)

Kenneth (Boy)

– Rank in the 1980s: #46 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 89,136 – Rank in 2018: #226 (1,655 babies born) Kenneth derives from the Gaelic origin, and means “handsome.”

– Rank in the 1980s: #46 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 66,962 – Rank in 2018: #391 (786 babies born) Alicia, a variant of “Alice,” comes from the Old French word for “noble and graceful,” and was first popularized in Lewis Carroll’s book, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Alicia (Girl)

– Rank in the 1980s: #44 – Average annual babies born in the 1980s: 97,320 – Rank in 2018: #525 (535 babies born) Dustin comes from an old Norse surname and means “valiant fighter.”

Dustin (Boy)