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Top 1980s Baby Names

The top baby names of the 1980s are the names of the new moms and dads of today. This is the decade that saw the peak of names such as Brittany, Allison, and Amber for girls, and Derek, Justin, and Brett for boys.

Along with Allison and Justin, other 1980s baby names that remain in the US Top 250 include Brandon, Emily, Jeremy, Kimberly, Lauren, Nathan, Rachel, and Ryan. The names that have dropped the most in popularity include Chad, Heather, Shannon, and Lindsay.

Sourced from the 1980s US Top 100, here is a list of popular names from the 1980s that which are relatively rare for babies today. But you'll probably recognize these 1980s names as the names of the other moms and dads in your childbirth class!

Marcus

Meaning: warlike

Origin:Latin
390
Jamie

Meaning: supplanter

Origin:Diminutive of James
686
Mark

Meaning: warlike

Origin:Latin
496
Scott

Meaning: from Scotland

Origin:English
501
Stephen

Meaning: garland, crown

Origin:Greek
534
Jesse

Meaning: gift

Origin:Hebrew
264
Anthony

Meaning: from Antium

Origin:Latin
186
Robert

Meaning: bright fame

Origin:English from German
542
Shane

Meaning: God is gracious

Origin:Anglicized variation of Sean
1307
Derek

Meaning: the people's ruler

Origin:English from German form of Theodoric
459
Kyle

Meaning: narrow spit of land

Origin:Scottish
468
Jared

Meaning: he descends

Origin:Hebrew
510
Justin

Meaning: fair, righteous

Origin:Latin
513
Steven

Meaning: garland, crown

Origin:English variation of Stephen
893
Brandon

Meaning: broom-covered hill

Origin:English
918
Tyler

Meaning: maker of tiles

Origin:English occupational name
1012
Jose

Meaning: Jehovah increases

Origin:Spanish and Portuguese version of Joseph
1114
Juan

Meaning: the Lord is gracious

Origin:Spanish and Manx variation of John
1689
Bradley

Meaning: wide meadow

Origin:English
1209
Gregory

Meaning: vigilant, a watchman

Origin:Greek
491