Welcome to our dedicated page featuring the top 500 boy and girl baby names of 1981. This year holds a special place in the annals of naming history, reflecting a blend of timeless classics and unique choices that captured the hearts of parents during this era. As you explore our comprehensive list, you’ll discover the names that defined a generation, from the traditional to the trendsetting. Whether you’re seeking inspiration for a new arrival, researching historical naming trends, or simply curious about the names that resonated with families in 1981, our curated selection offers a fascinating glimpse into the past. Join us on a nostalgic journey through the most popular names of the year, and see how trends in baby naming have evolved over time.
| Rank | Boy Name | Boy Births | Girl Name | Girl Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 59528 | Jennifer | 52097 |
| 2 | Christopher | 45019 | Jessica | 38064 |
| 3 | Matthew | 40350 | Amanda | 32292 |
| 4 | Joshua | 38536 | Sarah | 27063 |
| 5 | Jason | 37791 | Melissa | 25071 |
| 6 | David | 36865 | Nicole | 19051 |
| 7 | James | 33546 | Amy | 18713 |
| 8 | Robert | 30480 | Stephanie | 18574 |
| 9 | John | 29974 | Elizabeth | 18196 |
| 10 | Daniel | 28506 | Heather | 16897 |
| 11 | Ryan | 27380 | Michelle | 16632 |
| 12 | Joseph | 26818 | Rebecca | 15184 |
| 13 | Justin | 25756 | Angela | 14930 |
| 14 | Brian | 23792 | Tiffany | 14882 |
| 15 | William | 21362 | Kimberly | 14862 |
| 16 | Jonathan | 20449 | Amber | 14377 |
| 17 | Brandon | 19775 | Crystal | 14026 |
| 18 | Adam | 19346 | Christina | 13302 |
| 19 | Andrew | 19305 | Erin | 12874 |
| 20 | Nicholas | 19287 | Lisa | 12677 |
| 21 | Eric | 19110 | Laura | 11787 |
| 22 | Jeremy | 18878 | Rachel | 11720 |
| 23 | Anthony | 16743 | Andrea | 11308 |
| 24 | Timothy | 16431 | Sara | 10942 |
| 25 | Kevin | 15545 | April | 10899 |
| 26 | Richard | 15067 | Jamie | 10501 |
| 27 | Jeffrey | 14941 | Kelly | 10471 |
| 28 | Steven | 14864 | Emily | 9986 |
| 29 | Thomas | 14806 | Mary | 9973 |
| 30 | Aaron | 14731 | Megan | 9083 |
| 31 | Benjamin | 14186 | Danielle | 8895 |
| 32 | Charles | 12648 | Kristin | 8733 |
| 33 | Scott | 12109 | Shannon | 8565 |
| 34 | Mark | 11922 | Ashley | 8319 |
| 35 | Nathan | 11374 | Julie | 8236 |
| 36 | Paul | 10314 | Erica | 7707 |
| 37 | Jesse | 10301 | Katherine | 7511 |
| 38 | Travis | 10201 | Kristen | 7354 |
| 39 | Dustin | 9721 | Maria | 6752 |
| 40 | Jacob | 9461 | Brandy | 6578 |
| 41 | Patrick | 9272 | Lauren | 6414 |
| 42 | Kenneth | 8631 | Katie | 6390 |
| 43 | Stephen | 8496 | Courtney | 5938 |
| 44 | Chad | 8078 | Alicia | 5624 |
| 45 | Jose | 7693 | Lindsay | 5599 |
| 46 | Sean | 7681 | Monica | 5599 |
| 47 | Gregory | 7650 | Tara | 5458 |
| 48 | Bryan | 6673 | Brooke | 5385 |
| 49 | Shawn | 6593 | Christine | 5199 |
| 50 | Kyle | 6405 | Brandi | 5169 |
| 51 | Derek | 6300 | Kathryn | 5149 |
| 52 | Bradley | 5993 | Anna | 5000 |
| 53 | Jared | 5741 | Samantha | 4908 |
| 54 | Samuel | 5663 | Patricia | 4885 |
| 55 | Edward | 5455 | Lindsey | 4765 |
| 56 | Donald | 5392 | Natalie | 4630 |
| 57 | Ronald | 5152 | Leslie | 4524 |
| 58 | Keith | 4735 | Allison | 4210 |
| 59 | Juan | 4575 | Carrie | 4139 |
| 60 | Zachary | 4536 | Melanie | 3987 |
| 61 | Peter | 4384 | Karen | 3859 |
| 62 | Phillip | 4182 | Holly | 3781 |
| 63 | Gary | 4173 | Misty | 3753 |
| 64 | George | 3929 | Cynthia | 3747 |
| 65 | Joel | 3887 | Susan | 3583 |
| 66 | Corey | 3482 | Kristina | 3539 |
| 67 | Raymond | 3439 | Heidi | 3528 |
| 68 | Carlos | 3438 | Vanessa | 3449 |
| 69 | Douglas | 3431 | Stacy | 3400 |
| 70 | Antonio | 3271 | Tina | 3291 |
| 71 | Alexander | 3258 | Jacqueline | 3232 |
| 72 | Erik | 3249 | Leah | 3213 |
| 73 | Marcus | 3204 | Veronica | 3185 |
| 74 | Jeremiah | 3057 | Sandra | 3156 |
| 75 | Nathaniel | 2987 | Wendy | 3102 |
| 76 | Craig | 2841 | Julia | 3099 |
| 77 | Brett | 2805 | Candice | 3063 |
| 78 | Shane | 2765 | Tracy | 2747 |
| 79 | Lucas | 2726 | Catherine | 2747 |
| 80 | Todd | 2718 | Jill | 2733 |
| 81 | Jeffery | 2657 | Diana | 2546 |
| 82 | Luis | 2509 | Stacey | 2544 |
| 83 | Casey | 2489 | Valerie | 2513 |
| 84 | Derrick | 2468 | Dawn | 2464 |
| 85 | Brent | 2466 | Pamela | 2446 |
| 86 | Curtis | 2465 | Tanya | 2440 |
| 87 | Gabriel | 2462 | Dana | 2438 |
| 88 | Ian | 2442 | Latoya | 2420 |
| 89 | Cory | 2391 | Victoria | 2412 |
| 90 | Jesus | 2377 | Erika | 2255 |
| 91 | Tyler | 2370 | Renee | 2145 |
| 92 | Larry | 2285 | Lori | 2108 |
| 93 | Frank | 2283 | Kathleen | 2080 |
| 94 | Mario | 2113 | Monique | 2039 |
| 95 | Miguel | 2062 | Katrina | 1925 |
| 96 | Luke | 2041 | Natasha | 1919 |
| 97 | Seth | 2038 | Nancy | 1912 |
| 98 | Jorge | 2014 | Teresa | 1910 |
| 99 | Philip | 1863 | Kristy | 1852 |
| 100 | Ricardo | 1862 | Nichole | 1810 |
| 101 | Shaun | 1844 | Tonya | 1748 |
| 102 | Dennis | 1806 | Denise | 1649 |
| 103 | Francisco | 1779 | Anne | 1548 |
| 104 | Russell | 1763 | Christy | 1531 |
| 105 | Victor | 1757 | Cassandra | 1511 |
| 106 | Randy | 1738 | Miranda | 1405 |
| 107 | Terry | 1693 | Bethany | 1386 |
| 108 | Manuel | 1627 | Beth | 1382 |
| 109 | Wesley | 1499 | Gina | 1293 |
| 110 | Cody | 1477 | Angelica | 1253 |
| 111 | Alejandro | 1422 | Sabrina | 1196 |
| 112 | Vincent | 1401 | Ana | 1187 |
| 113 | Adrian | 1396 | Brenda | 1160 |
| 114 | Troy | 1388 | Claudia | 1158 |
| 115 | Billy | 1378 | Linda | 1135 |
| 116 | Jordan | 1358 | Margaret | 1111 |
| 117 | Jerry | 1301 | Theresa | 1075 |
| 118 | Roberto | 1292 | Molly | 1039 |
| 119 | Carl | 1173 | Kari | 1035 |
| 120 | Ruben | 1137 | Latasha | 1016 |
| 121 | Sergio | 1130 | Kara | 1001 |
| 122 | Jaime | 1122 | Desiree | 1000 |
| 123 | Bobby | 1121 | Candace | 983 |
| 124 | Christian | 1096 | Meghan | 951 |
| 125 | Oscar | 1080 | Kelli | 899 |
| 126 | Fernando | 1061 | Adriana | 882 |
| 127 | Armando | 1053 | Kristi | 873 |
| 128 | Raul | 1032 | Robin | 862 |
| 129 | Javier | 1008 | Rosa | 848 |
| 130 | Hector | 996 | Leticia | 840 |
| 131 | Johnny | 991 | Joanna | 840 |
| 132 | Willie | 973 | Tammy | 829 |
| 133 | Tony | 925 | Sonia | 776 |
| 134 | Jamie | 915 | Martha | 776 |
| 135 | Cesar | 906 | Janet | 746 |
| 136 | Martin | 877 | Angel | 736 |
| 137 | Clinton | 868 | Lorena | 734 |
| 138 | Arturo | 820 | Mandy | 670 |
| 139 | Brad | 817 | Jenny | 668 |
| 140 | Eduardo | 808 | Casey | 665 |
| 141 | Alan | 806 | Mindy | 585 |
| 142 | Salvador | 804 | Jaime | 577 |
| 143 | Randall | 779 | Abigail | 566 |
| 144 | Trevor | 770 | Alison | 560 |
| 145 | Ricky | 723 | Kendra | 554 |
| 146 | Rodney | 674 | Ann | 496 |
| 147 | Walter | 643 | Alisha | 482 |
| 148 | Henry | 631 | Melinda | 481 |
| 149 | Jimmy | 620 | Colleen | 460 |
| 150 | Jermaine | 601 | Tabitha | 455 |
| 151 | Caleb | 596 | Lacey | 439 |
| 152 | Levi | 548 | Felicia | 430 |
| 153 | Reginald | 537 | Rachael | 409 |
| 154 | Jonathon | 496 | Tasha | 404 |
| 155 | Jon | 493 | Latonya | 392 |
| 156 | Austin | 486 | Trisha | 391 |
| 157 | Lance | 466 | Jodi | 384 |
| 158 | Jay | 430 | Krystal | 383 |
| 159 | Allen | 420 | Rebekah | 371 |
| 160 | Lawrence | 418 | Brittany | 364 |
| 161 | Isaac | 393 | Tamara | 364 |
| 162 | Terrance | 390 | Barbara | 343 |
| 163 | Marc | 367 | Sharon | 325 |
| 164 | Micheal | 351 | Regina | 285 |
| 165 | Johnathan | 342 | Michaela | 275 |
| 166 | Kurt | 333 | Janelle | 269 |
| 167 | Kristopher | 333 | Suzanne | 251 |
| 168 | Roger | 316 | Shawna | 246 |
| 169 | Mitchell | 315 | Jillian | 243 |
| 170 | Gerald | 297 | Michele | 238 |
| 171 | Lee | 293 | Hannah | 222 |
| 172 | Cedric | 281 | Whitney | 210 |
| 173 | Kelly | 280 | Morgan | 201 |
| 174 | Tyson | 273 | Kate | 178 |
| 175 | Heath | 270 | Carla | 171 |
| 176 | Mathew | 266 | Donna | 165 |
| 177 | Ross | 258 | Bridget | 157 |
| 178 | Roderick | 251 | Jessie | 150 |
| 179 | Noah | 239 | Summer | 141 |
| 180 | Eddie | 232 | Becky | 116 |
| 181 | Blake | 204 | Meredith | 112 |
| 182 | Wayne | 202 | Caroline | 102 |
| 183 | Evan | 195 | Yolanda | 98 |
| 184 | Kelvin | 186 | Ebony | 96 |
| 185 | Calvin | 179 | Tamika | 90 |
| 186 | Demetrius | 162 | Virginia | 86 |
| 187 | Bruce | 154 | Ashlee | 85 |
| 188 | Cameron | 154 | Camille | 78 |
| 189 | Danny | 152 | Cassie | 63 |
| 190 | Francis | 142 | Priscilla | 58 |
| 191 | Ronnie | 128 | Marie | 56 |
| 192 | Maurice | 122 | Kerri | 56 |
| 193 | Ethan | 118 | Malia | 52 |
| 194 | Shannon | 117 | Brittney | 45 |
| 195 | Darren | 117 | Aubrey | 44 |
| 196 | Barry | 112 | Kelsey | 43 |
| 197 | Spencer | 110 | Krista | 37 |
| 198 | Dean | 96 | Jasmine | 37 |
| 199 | Tyrone | 92 | Deborah | 36 |
| 200 | Terrence | 90 | Leilani | 34 |
| 201 | Dana | 90 | Marci | 34 |
| 202 | Louis | 88 | Kellie | 32 |
| 203 | Bryce | 81 | Aimee | 30 |
| 204 | Ashley | 74 | Cheryl | 27 |
| 205 | Micah | 70 | Alexis | 27 |
| 206 | Garrett | 66 | Cara | 25 |
| 207 | Brady | 64 | Caitlin | 25 |
| 208 | Joe | 57 | Adrienne | 24 |
| 209 | Dylan | 45 | Joy | 24 |
| 210 | Tommy | 45 | Marissa | 24 |
| 211 | Devin | 43 | Robyn | 20 |
| 212 | Taylor | 41 | Maile | 18 |
| 213 | Colin | 34 | Laurie | 18 |
| 214 | Andre | 32 | Jocelyn | 17 |
| 215 | Kawika | 29 | Nina | 16 |
| 216 | Beau | 29 | Autumn | 16 |
| 217 | Keoni | 28 | Marisa | 15 |
| 218 | Frederick | 27 | Janice | 15 |
| 219 | Ernest | 26 | Chelsea | 15 |
| 220 | Neil | 26 | Annie | 15 |
| 221 | Dwayne | 24 | Johanna | 14 |
| 222 | Keola | 24 | Tiare | 14 |
| 223 | Albert | 22 | Bonnie | 14 |
| 224 | Grant | 20 | Paula | 14 |
| 225 | Geoffrey | 20 | Jolene | 13 |
| 226 | Clifford | 19 | Cindy | 13 |
| 227 | Jerome | 18 | Yvonne | 13 |
| 228 | Bronson | 18 | Alyssa | 12 |
| 229 | Jake | 18 | Carolyn | 12 |
| 230 | Brendan | 18 | Meaghan | 11 |
| 231 | Brock | 17 | Audrey | 11 |
| 232 | Reid | 17 | Keri | 11 |
| 233 | Logan | 17 | Diane | 10 |
| 234 | Trent | 17 | Jana | 9 |
| 235 | Earl | 16 | Jami | 9 |