Name Awesome

Most Popular Baby Names Of 1996

The 100 most-used girls’ and boys’ names among U.S. births in 1996 — 3,646,048 recorded births in total that year.

19951997 The 1990s as a wholeNames that peaked in 1996

Girls’ names

  1. 1Emily25,1501.4%
  2. 2Jessica24,2011.4%
  3. 3Ashley23,6781.4%
  4. 4Sarah21,0481.2%
  5. 5Samantha20,5521.2%
  6. 6Taylor19,1551.1%
  7. 7Hannah18,5961.1%
  8. 8Alexis16,5920.9%
  9. 9Rachel16,1210.9%
  10. 10Elizabeth16,0030.9%
  11. 11Kayla15,2690.9%
  12. 12Megan14,7700.8%
  13. 13Amanda13,9800.8%
  14. 14Brittany13,7970.8%
  15. 15Madison13,4120.8%
  16. 16Lauren12,5950.7%
  17. 17Brianna11,9250.7%
  18. 18Victoria11,8590.7%
  19. 19Jennifer11,7320.7%
  20. 20Stephanie11,6430.7%
  21. 21Courtney11,3440.6%
  22. 22Nicole11,1350.6%
  23. 23Alyssa11,0240.6%
  24. 24Rebecca10,6260.6%
  25. 25Morgan10,2950.6%
  26. 26Alexandra10,0250.6%
  27. 27Amber9,7710.6%
  28. 28Jasmine9,7070.6%
  29. 29Danielle9,2860.5%
  30. 30Haley9,0420.5%
  31. 31Katherine8,8770.5%
  32. 32Abigail8,6040.5%
  33. 33Anna8,5750.5%
  34. 34Olivia8,1260.5%
  35. 35Shelby7,9500.5%
  36. 36Kelsey7,6550.4%
  37. 37Maria7,5980.4%
  38. 38Allison7,4550.4%
  39. 39Sydney7,2590.4%
  40. 40Kaitlyn7,2410.4%
  41. 41Kimberly7,1760.4%
  42. 42Melissa7,1700.4%
  43. 43Savannah7,0000.4%
  44. 44Mary6,9680.4%
  45. 45Brooke6,7240.4%
  46. 46Natalie6,6930.4%
  47. 47Michelle6,5980.4%
  48. 48Julia6,3140.4%
  49. 49Jordan6,2990.4%
  50. 50Sara6,2880.4%
  51. 51Erin6,2560.4%
  52. 52Tiffany6,1580.4%
  53. 53Emma6,1510.4%
  54. 54Gabrielle5,8880.3%
  55. 55Chelsea5,8640.3%
  56. 56Destiny5,8560.3%
  57. 57Christina5,8040.3%
  58. 58Sabrina5,7740.3%
  59. 59Marissa5,7520.3%
  60. 60Vanessa5,7460.3%
  61. 61Andrea5,6710.3%
  62. 62Sierra5,4870.3%
  63. 63Mariah5,4460.3%
  64. 64Katelyn5,4210.3%
  65. 65Paige5,3420.3%
  66. 66Laura5,2270.3%
  67. 67Madeline4,9120.3%
  68. 68Cheyenne4,8660.3%
  69. 69Jacqueline4,8620.3%
  70. 70Kristen4,8510.3%
  71. 71Heather4,7590.3%
  72. 72Briana4,7350.3%
  73. 73Kelly4,7340.3%
  74. 74Breanna4,7010.3%
  75. 75Mackenzie4,5970.3%
  76. 76Miranda4,5680.3%
  77. 77Alexandria4,5630.3%
  78. 78Caroline4,4660.3%
  79. 79Erica4,4600.3%
  80. 80Shannon4,3370.2%
  81. 81Katie4,3290.2%
  82. 82Monica4,3260.2%
  83. 83Jenna4,2880.2%
  84. 84Caitlin4,2680.2%
  85. 85Bailey4,1920.2%
  86. 86Lindsey4,1120.2%
  87. 87Kathryn4,1020.2%
  88. 88Amy4,0670.2%
  89. 89Cassandra4,0180.2%
  90. 90Angela3,8670.2%
  91. 91Alicia3,8610.2%
  92. 92Crystal3,7860.2%
  93. 93Hailey3,7620.2%
  94. 94Grace3,7420.2%
  95. 95Catherine3,7390.2%
  96. 96Jamie3,5990.2%
  97. 97Angelica3,4040.2%
  98. 98Leah3,3260.2%
  99. 99Molly3,3120.2%
  100. 100Alexa3,2600.2%

Boys’ names

  1. 1Michael38,3732.0%
  2. 2Matthew32,0771.7%
  3. 3Jacob31,9251.7%
  4. 4Christopher30,9041.6%
  5. 5Joshua29,1751.5%
  6. 6Nicholas27,7241.5%
  7. 7Tyler26,9561.4%
  8. 8Brandon25,8471.4%
  9. 9Austin25,6631.4%
  10. 10Andrew25,2441.3%
  11. 11Daniel25,1281.3%
  12. 12Joseph24,7581.3%
  13. 13David23,0221.2%
  14. 14Zachary22,3691.2%
  15. 15John22,1881.2%
  16. 16Ryan21,8091.2%
  17. 17James21,1651.1%
  18. 18William20,5461.1%
  19. 19Anthony20,5081.1%
  20. 20Justin20,0151.1%
  21. 21Jonathan18,6021.0%
  22. 22Alexander17,9640.9%
  23. 23Robert17,6760.9%
  24. 24Christian15,8240.8%
  25. 25Kyle15,6000.8%
  26. 26Kevin14,5890.8%
  27. 27Jordan13,8520.7%
  28. 28Thomas13,8040.7%
  29. 29Benjamin13,7840.7%
  30. 30Samuel13,6290.7%
  31. 31Cody12,9540.7%
  32. 32Jose12,1550.6%
  33. 33Dylan12,0370.6%
  34. 34Aaron11,9710.6%
  35. 35Eric11,6110.6%
  36. 36Brian10,4760.6%
  37. 37Nathan10,2870.5%
  38. 38Steven9,6500.5%
  39. 39Adam9,5570.5%
  40. 40Timothy8,9190.5%
  41. 41Jason8,6950.5%
  42. 42Logan8,3740.4%
  43. 43Charles8,2480.4%
  44. 44Patrick8,1940.4%
  45. 45Richard8,1820.4%
  46. 46Sean7,8960.4%
  47. 47Hunter7,6030.4%
  48. 48Caleb7,5500.4%
  49. 49Cameron7,3880.4%
  50. 50Noah7,1840.4%
  51. 51Jesse7,0750.4%
  52. 52Juan7,0100.4%
  53. 53Alex6,9150.4%
  54. 54Connor6,9110.4%
  55. 55Mark6,5990.3%
  56. 56Jeremy6,4120.3%
  57. 57Luis6,4070.3%
  58. 58Dakota6,0670.3%
  59. 59Stephen6,0080.3%
  60. 60Devin6,0010.3%
  61. 61Gabriel5,9000.3%
  62. 62Ethan5,8530.3%
  63. 63Trevor5,8420.3%
  64. 64Jared5,8210.3%
  65. 65Evan5,5770.3%
  66. 66Bryan5,5600.3%
  67. 67Carlos5,4640.3%
  68. 68Tristan5,4580.3%
  69. 69Nathaniel5,4200.3%
  70. 70Ian5,4110.3%
  71. 71Isaiah5,3240.3%
  72. 72Jeffrey5,2630.3%
  73. 73Travis5,1590.3%
  74. 74Jesus5,1150.3%
  75. 75Luke5,0170.3%
  76. 76Chase4,9920.3%
  77. 77Kenneth4,9730.3%
  78. 78Paul4,8830.3%
  79. 79Dustin4,8740.3%
  80. 80Antonio4,8660.3%
  81. 81Elijah4,8180.3%
  82. 82Taylor4,7980.3%
  83. 83Bradley4,7550.3%
  84. 84Blake4,7470.3%
  85. 85Garrett4,6530.2%
  86. 86Isaac4,5660.2%
  87. 87Marcus4,5460.2%
  88. 88Mitchell4,3910.2%
  89. 89Jack4,2450.2%
  90. 90Tanner4,1800.2%
  91. 91Miguel4,1600.2%
  92. 92Adrian4,1120.2%
  93. 93Lucas4,1060.2%
  94. 94Corey4,0870.2%
  95. 95Peter4,0820.2%
  96. 96Edward4,0730.2%
  97. 97Malik4,0260.2%
  98. 98Gregory3,9940.2%
  99. 99Dalton3,9800.2%
  100. 100Victor3,9240.2%

Percentages are each name’s share of all 1996 applications for that sex — a useful reminder of how much more concentrated naming used to be. In 1880 the top girls’ name alone accounted for several percent of all girls; today the #1 name is well under one percent.

Counts are based on U.S. births and are tracked separately for girls and boys. Names used fewer than 5 times in a year aren’t published for that year, so totals here are a floor — the shortfall is largest in the sparse early years.