(NEXSTAR) — We’re nearly 40 years removed from the totally tubular 1980s and a lot has changed since then — including people’s names. While some names will always be timeless, other monikers pass like fads.
Using data from the Social Security Administration, we tracked the popularity of the top 10 1980s girl names between then and now. If you’re wondering why boys were excluded, it’s because the top ’80s boy names are still relatively popular (ranking in single or double digits for the number of babies born bearing those names).
Names like Michael, Christopher, and Matthew (the top three most popular baby boy names of the 1980s), still rank at nos. 18, 61, and 33. While these rankings definitely reflect a lower popularity than in the days of Atari, their decline is peanuts compared to how far the top baby girl names of the ’80s have fallen.
Here’s a look at the change in popularity for baby girl names of the 1980s.
It’s not all bad news for all the girls of the ’80s. Two names from the top 10 still remain popular: Sarah, which was the no. 5 baby girl name of the ’80s, still ranks with the top 100, at no. 95 in 2024. More impressively, Elizabeth, the ’80s’ no. 9 most popular name, ranked at no. 17 in 2024.
In fact, per SSA data, Elizabeth has remained popular through the ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s. The name has hovered around the top 10 for the past 24 years, though it has been just out of the top 10 since 2014.
But as you can see, the popularity of several stereotypically ’80s girl names — Heather, Tiffany — has totally cratered.
Going back to boys’ names, the popular ’80s boy name that shows the biggest decline over time is Brian. While Brian was the 16th most popular baby boy name then, it ranks 301st in 2024. Since 2010, the name has been out of the top 100 and has only grown less and less popular in the following years.
Meanwhile, Michael, the top baby boy name of the 1980s, ranks at no. 18 in popularity these days.
To find and track more baby names through the years, visit the SSA’s Popular Baby Names database.
The post These top ’80s baby girl names are ‘totally’ unpopular now appeared first on WHNT.
