Top 100 baby names in the United States in 1981
See the most popular baby names, how many were recorded, and how each rank changed from 1980.
Top 100
| Rank | Name | Recorded count | Change from 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 69,237 | 0 |
| 2 | Jennifer | 57,238 | 0 |
| 3 | Christopher | 50,513 | 0 |
| 4 | Matthew | 43,531 | +3 |
| 5 | Jessica | 42,696 | +7 |
| 6 | Jason | 42,166 | -2 |
| 7 | David | 40,853 | -2 |
| 8 | Joshua | 39,264 | 0 |
| 9 | James | 38,555 | -3 |
| 10 | John | 35,063 | 0 |
| 11 | Robert | 34,623 | 0 |
| 12 | Amanda | 34,472 | -3 |
| 13 | Daniel | 31,198 | +2 |
| 14 | Joseph | 30,947 | 0 |
| 15 | Sarah | 28,284 | +4 |
| 16 | Melissa | 28,102 | -3 |
| 17 | Justin | 27,489 | 0 |
| 18 | Ryan | 27,486 | +2 |
| 19 | Brian | 26,727 | -3 |
| 20 | William | 24,969 | -2 |
| 21 | Jonathan | 22,740 | +10 |
| 22 | Eric | 20,846 | -1 |
| 23 | Brandon | 20,426 | +27 |
| 24 | Amy | 20,408 | +2 |
| 25 | Nicole | 20,395 | 0 |
| 26 | Andrew | 20,348 | +1 |
| 27 | Stephanie | 20,309 | +9 |
| 28 | Elizabeth | 20,258 | 0 |
| 29 | Adam | 20,121 | +3 |
| 30 | Nicholas | 19,899 | -8 |
| 31 | Jeremy | 19,221 | -7 |
| 32 | Anthony | 18,701 | +5 |
| 33 | Timothy | 18,373 | -4 |
| 34 | Heather | 17,995 | -11 |
| 35 | Michelle | 17,877 | -5 |
| 36 | Kevin | 17,565 | -2 |
| 37 | Thomas | 17,268 | +1 |
| 38 | Richard | 16,970 | +1 |
| 39 | Rebecca | 16,801 | +6 |
| 40 | Kimberly | 16,744 | -7 |
| 41 | Steven | 16,577 | +2 |
| 42 | Tiffany | 16,491 | -1 |
| 43 | Jeffrey | 16,022 | -3 |
| 44 | Angela | 15,976 | -9 |
| 45 | Crystal | 15,944 | +4 |
| 46 | Aaron | 14,847 | +9 |
| 47 | Charles | 14,529 | -1 |
| 48 | Christina | 14,459 | -6 |
| 49 | Benjamin | 14,429 | +3 |
| 50 | Lisa | 14,359 | -6 |
| 51 | Erin | 14,095 | +2 |
| 52 | Amber | 13,869 | +5 |
| 53 | Mark | 13,629 | -2 |
| 54 | Laura | 13,347 | +2 |
| 55 | Jamie | 13,338 | -7 |
| 56 | Kelly | 13,054 | -9 |
| 57 | Scott | 12,779 | -3 |
| 58 | Rachel | 12,640 | +1 |
| 59 | Paul | 11,851 | -1 |
| 60 | Andrea | 11,840 | +6 |
| 61 | April | 11,429 | 0 |
| 62 | Sara | 11,391 | +1 |
| 63 | Nathan | 11,325 | -1 |
| 64 | Mary | 11,109 | -4 |
| 65 | Emily | 10,847 | +8 |
| 66 | Jesse | 10,823 | +11 |
| 67 | Patrick | 10,442 | 0 |
| 68 | Shannon | 10,431 | -4 |
| 69 | Stephen | 10,365 | 0 |
| 70 | Travis | 10,192 | -5 |
| 71 | Danielle | 10,112 | +4 |
| 72 | Kristin | 9,801 | +13 |
| 73 | Kenneth | 9,557 | -3 |
| 74 | Ashley | 9,548 | +9 |
| 75 | Dustin | 9,452 | +4 |
| 76 | Jacob | 9,402 | +2 |
| 77 | Megan | 9,004 | -5 |
| 78 | Sean | 8,954 | +8 |
| 79 | Lauren | 8,890 | +9 |
| 80 | Jose | 8,848 | 0 |
| 81 | Gregory | 8,826 | -10 |
| 82 | Erica | 8,661 | -6 |
| 83 | Julie | 8,601 | -9 |
| 84 | Kristen | 8,592 | +5 |
| 85 | Katherine | 8,464 | -3 |
| 86 | Chad | 8,461 | -18 |
| 87 | Maria | 7,771 | -3 |
| 88 | Shawn | 7,414 | -7 |
| 89 | Courtney | 7,372 | +6 |
| 90 | Bryan | 7,264 | -3 |
| 91 | Brandy | 6,963 | +3 |
| 92 | Bradley | 6,939 | -1 |
| 93 | Christine | 6,879 | -1 |
| 94 | Kyle | 6,727 | +8 |
| 95 | Edward | 6,707 | -2 |
| 96 | Katie | 6,623 | +2 |
| 97 | Derek | 6,523 | -7 |
| 98 | Tara | 6,387 | -1 |
| 99 | Samuel | 6,080 | +1 |
| 100 | Peter | 6,030 | +1 |
Data from US Social Security Administration · through 2025.