These Were The Most Popular Baby Names 50 Years Ago

While many top choices in 1974 remain popular today, others have fallen significantly down the ranking

The list of the most popular baby names in the U.S. doesn’t change dramatically from one year to the next, but if you look back over longer periods of time, some interesting shifts emerge.

Thankfully, the Social Security Administration’s baby names database shows parents’ top picks going back to the 1880s, so it’s easy to compare trends of the past to what’s in fashion today. We took a look at the most popular names exactly 50 years ago.

While many top choices in 1974 remain popular today (think classics like James, Michael and Elizabeth), others have fallen significantly down the ranking (a la Lisa, Dawn, Todd and Keith.)

Below, find the 50 most popular baby names for boys and girls born in 1974.

Girls

1. Jennifer
2. Amy
3. Michelle
4. Heather
5. Angela
6. Kimberly
7. Melissa
8. Lisa
9. Stephanie
10. Rebecca
11. Nicole
12. Elizabeth
13. Mary
14. Julie
15. Kelly
16. Christina
17. Jessica
18. Shannon
19. Christine
20. Sarah
21. Laura
22. Dawn
23. Tracy
24. Tammy
25. Tina
26. Karen
27. Susan
28. April
29. Patricia
30. Lori
31. Maria
32. Wendy
33. Cynthia
34. Amanda
35. Andrea
36. Rachel
37. Tonya
38. Stacy
39. Tara
40. Danielle
41. Tiffany
42. Carrie
43. Monica
44. Sandra
45. Kristen
46. Tanya
47. Erin
48. Stacey
49. Crystal
50. Michele

Boys

1. Michael
2. Jason
3. Christopher
4. David
5. James
6. John
7. Robert
8. Brian
9. Matthew
10. William
11. Daniel
12. Joseph
13. Eric
14. Kevin
15. Jeffrey
16. Mark
17. Richard
18. Scott
19. Steven
20. Thomas
21. Anthony
22. Timothy
23. Charles
24. Jeremy
25. Ryan
26. Chad
27. Paul
28. Andrew
29. Joshua
30. Shawn
31. Gregory
32. Aaron
33. Jonathan
34. Kenneth
35. Stephen
36. Adam
37. Sean
38. Patrick
39. Todd
40. Edward
41. Donald
42. Ronald
43. Justin
44. Keith
45. Bryan
46. Benjamin
47. Jose
48. Gary
49. George
50. Peter