Most Popular Baby Names of 1997
In 1997, the most popular baby names in the United States were Emily for girls and Michael for boys. Emily was given to 25,734 girls and Michael to 37,562 boys, according to Social Security card applications.
Across all names, the Social Security Administration recorded 3,625,850 births for names given to at least five babies that year, down from 3,647,307 in 1996. The tables below show the top 100 names for each sex with their rank change from the year before, followed by the biggest movers in the top 1,000.
New to the top 100 this year: Autumn, Sophia, Diana, Michaela, Cole, and Angel.
← 19961998 →The 1990sDownload top 1,000 (CSV)
Top 100 baby names of 1997
Girls
| # | Name | Babies | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily | 25,734 | – |
| 2 | Jessica | 21,045 | – |
| 3 | Ashley | 20,897 | – |
| 4 | Sarah | 20,716 | – |
| 5 | Hannah | 20,597 | ↑ 2 |
| 6 | Samantha | 20,170 | ↓ 1 |
| 7 | Taylor | 19,504 | ↓ 1 |
| 8 | Alexis | 17,171 | – |
| 9 | Elizabeth | 15,430 | ↑ 1 |
| 10 | Madison | 15,189 | ↑ 5 |
| 11 | Megan | 14,244 | ↑ 1 |
| 12 | Kayla | 13,885 | ↓ 1 |
| 13 | Rachel | 13,798 | ↓ 4 |
| 14 | Lauren | 13,248 | ↑ 2 |
| 15 | Alyssa | 12,649 | ↑ 8 |
| 16 | Amanda | 12,243 | ↓ 3 |
| 17 | Brianna | 12,008 | – |
| 18 | Jennifer | 11,840 | ↑ 1 |
| 19 | Victoria | 11,795 | ↓ 1 |
| 20 | Brittany | 11,529 | ↓ 6 |
| 21 | Nicole | 10,744 | ↑ 1 |
| 22 | Morgan | 10,342 | ↑ 3 |
| 23 | Stephanie | 9,778 | ↓ 3 |
| 24 | Jasmine | 9,680 | ↑ 4 |
| 25 | Rebecca | 9,634 | ↓ 1 |
| 26 | Abigail | 9,630 | ↑ 6 |
| 27 | Olivia | 9,479 | ↑ 7 |
| 28 | Courtney | 9,035 | ↓ 7 |
| 29 | Amber | 8,914 | ↓ 2 |
| 30 | Alexandra | 8,752 | ↓ 4 |
| 31 | Haley | 8,687 | ↓ 1 |
| 32 | Katherine | 8,518 | ↓ 1 |
| 33 | Anna | 8,342 | – |
| 34 | Danielle | 8,034 | ↓ 5 |
| 35 | Sydney | 8,032 | ↑ 4 |
| 36 | Emma | 7,749 | ↑ 17 |
| 37 | Julia | 7,341 | ↑ 11 |
| 38 | Maria | 7,314 | ↓ 1 |
| 39 | Allison | 7,274 | ↓ 1 |
| 40 | Jordan | 7,167 | ↑ 9 |
| 41 | Kaitlyn | 7,005 | ↓ 1 |
| 42 | Destiny | 6,727 | ↑ 14 |
| 43 | Shelby | 6,701 | ↓ 8 |
| 44 | Melissa | 6,679 | ↓ 2 |
| 45 | Brooke | 6,671 | – |
| 46 | Mary | 6,650 | ↓ 2 |
| 47 | Savannah | 6,580 | ↓ 4 |
| 48 | Natalie | 6,539 | ↓ 2 |
| 49 | Kimberly | 6,182 | ↓ 8 |
| 50 | Sara | 6,159 | – |
| 51 | Gabrielle | 5,943 | ↑ 3 |
| 52 | Erin | 5,940 | ↓ 1 |
| 53 | Sabrina | 5,816 | ↑ 5 |
| 54 | Vanessa | 5,796 | ↑ 6 |
| 55 | Michelle | 5,695 | ↓ 8 |
| 56 | Sierra | 5,688 | ↑ 6 |
| 57 | Kelsey | 5,573 | ↓ 21 |
| 58 | Andrea | 5,405 | ↑ 3 |
| 59 | Madeline | 5,313 | ↑ 8 |
| 60 | Marissa | 5,298 | ↓ 1 |
| 61 | Tiffany | 5,221 | ↓ 9 |
| 62 | Christina | 5,182 | ↓ 5 |
| 63 | Katelyn | 5,156 | ↑ 1 |
| 64 | Paige | 5,030 | ↑ 1 |
| 65 | Bailey | 5,024 | ↑ 20 |
| 66 | Laura | 4,851 | – |
| 67 | Mariah | 4,803 | ↓ 4 |
| 68 | Cheyenne | 4,764 | – |
| 69 | Grace | 4,639 | ↑ 25 |
| 70 | Miranda | 4,590 | ↑ 6 |
| 71 | Mackenzie | 4,491 | ↑ 4 |
| 72 | Briana | 4,476 | – |
| 73 | Chelsea | 4,461 | ↓ 18 |
| 74 | Breanna | 4,444 | – |
| 75 | Caroline | 4,439 | ↑ 3 |
| 76 | Jenna | 4,422 | ↑ 7 |
| 77 | Jacqueline | 4,278 | ↓ 8 |
| 78 | Alexandria | 4,234 | ↓ 1 |
| 79 | Monica | 4,223 | ↑ 3 |
| 80 | Hailey | 4,148 | ↑ 13 |
| 81 | Cassandra | 4,098 | ↑ 8 |
| 82 | Kristen | 4,085 | ↓ 12 |
| 83 | Kelly | 4,064 | ↓ 10 |
| 84 | Erica | 3,992 | ↓ 5 |
| 85 | Shannon | 3,914 | ↓ 5 |
| 86 | Kathryn | 3,873 | ↑ 1 |
| 87 | Katie | 3,867 | ↓ 6 |
| 88 | Caitlin | 3,862 | ↓ 4 |
| 89 | Alicia | 3,782 | ↑ 2 |
| 90 | Heather | 3,767 | ↓ 19 |
| 91 | Autumn | 3,740 | ↑ 13 |
| 92 | Amy | 3,691 | ↓ 4 |
| 93 | Angela | 3,652 | ↓ 3 |
| 94 | Sophia | 3,640 | ↑ 31 |
| 95 | Lindsey | 3,636 | ↓ 9 |
| 96 | Catherine | 3,591 | ↓ 1 |
| 97 | Diana | 3,586 | ↑ 10 |
| 98 | Molly | 3,452 | ↑ 1 |
| 99 | Crystal | 3,435 | ↓ 7 |
| 100 | Michaela | 3,398 | ↑ 2 |
Boys
| # | Name | Babies | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 37,562 | – |
| 2 | Jacob | 34,163 | ↑ 1 |
| 3 | Matthew | 31,517 | ↓ 1 |
| 4 | Christopher | 29,108 | – |
| 5 | Joshua | 28,289 | – |
| 6 | Nicholas | 27,258 | – |
| 7 | Andrew | 25,208 | ↑ 3 |
| 8 | Brandon | 25,197 | – |
| 9 | Austin | 25,118 | – |
| 10 | Tyler | 24,879 | ↓ 3 |
| 11 | Daniel | 23,950 | – |
| 12 | Joseph | 23,604 | – |
| 13 | Zachary | 21,929 | ↑ 1 |
| 14 | David | 21,896 | ↓ 1 |
| 15 | John | 21,386 | – |
| 16 | Ryan | 20,527 | – |
| 17 | James | 20,408 | – |
| 18 | Anthony | 20,034 | ↑ 1 |
| 19 | William | 20,020 | ↓ 1 |
| 20 | Justin | 18,745 | – |
| 21 | Jonathan | 18,542 | – |
| 22 | Alexander | 17,112 | – |
| 23 | Robert | 16,304 | – |
| 24 | Kyle | 15,919 | ↑ 1 |
| 25 | Christian | 15,059 | ↓ 1 |
| 26 | Jordan | 14,761 | ↑ 1 |
| 27 | Samuel | 14,237 | ↑ 3 |
| 28 | Kevin | 13,295 | ↓ 2 |
| 29 | Benjamin | 13,266 | – |
| 30 | Dylan | 12,968 | ↑ 3 |
| 31 | Thomas | 12,899 | ↓ 3 |
| 32 | Jose | 11,929 | – |
| 33 | Aaron | 11,170 | ↑ 1 |
| 34 | Nathan | 10,442 | ↑ 3 |
| 35 | Eric | 10,317 | – |
| 36 | Cody | 10,296 | ↓ 5 |
| 37 | Brian | 9,739 | ↓ 1 |
| 38 | Noah | 9,280 | ↑ 12 |
| 39 | Adam | 8,805 | – |
| 40 | Steven | 8,765 | ↓ 2 |
| 41 | Jason | 8,746 | – |
| 42 | Logan | 8,620 | – |
| 43 | Timothy | 8,502 | ↓ 3 |
| 44 | Hunter | 8,405 | ↑ 3 |
| 45 | Cameron | 8,219 | ↑ 4 |
| 46 | Ethan | 7,807 | ↑ 16 |
| 47 | Caleb | 7,775 | ↑ 1 |
| 48 | Sean | 7,744 | ↓ 2 |
| 49 | Charles | 7,656 | ↓ 6 |
| 50 | Patrick | 7,490 | ↓ 6 |
| 51 | Richard | 7,243 | ↓ 6 |
| 52 | Connor | 7,140 | ↑ 2 |
| 53 | Luis | 7,131 | ↑ 4 |
| 54 | Juan | 7,115 | ↓ 2 |
| 55 | Alex | 6,855 | ↓ 2 |
| 56 | Jared | 6,682 | ↑ 8 |
| 57 | Gabriel | 6,406 | ↑ 4 |
| 58 | Mark | 6,165 | ↓ 3 |
| 59 | Devin | 6,044 | ↑ 1 |
| 60 | Isaiah | 6,003 | ↑ 11 |
| 61 | Evan | 6,002 | ↑ 4 |
| 62 | Trevor | 6,001 | ↑ 1 |
| 63 | Jesse | 5,920 | ↓ 12 |
| 64 | Jeremy | 5,803 | ↓ 8 |
| 65 | Nathaniel | 5,775 | ↑ 4 |
| 66 | Dakota | 5,664 | ↓ 8 |
| 67 | Carlos | 5,463 | – |
| 68 | Stephen | 5,414 | ↓ 9 |
| 69 | Bryan | 5,251 | ↓ 3 |
| 70 | Ian | 5,211 | – |
| 71 | Jesus | 5,164 | ↑ 3 |
| 72 | Cole | 5,159 | ↑ 34 |
| 73 | Isaac | 5,146 | ↑ 13 |
| 74 | Elijah | 5,089 | ↑ 7 |
| 75 | Antonio | 5,069 | ↑ 5 |
| 76 | Jack | 4,984 | ↑ 13 |
| 77 | Chase | 4,964 | ↓ 1 |
| 78 | Luke | 4,953 | ↓ 3 |
| 79 | Paul | 4,752 | ↓ 1 |
| 80 | Blake | 4,728 | ↑ 4 |
| 81 | Travis | 4,684 | ↓ 8 |
| 82 | Tanner | 4,676 | ↑ 8 |
| 83 | Kenneth | 4,659 | ↓ 6 |
| 84 | Jeffrey | 4,582 | ↓ 12 |
| 85 | Garrett | 4,545 | – |
| 86 | Angel | 4,514 | ↑ 16 |
| 87 | Taylor | 4,333 | ↓ 5 |
| 88 | Dustin | 4,277 | ↓ 9 |
| 89 | Mason | 4,268 | ↑ 15 |
| 90 | Dalton | 4,238 | ↑ 9 |
| 91 | Miguel | 4,234 | – |
| 92 | Tristan | 4,197 | ↓ 24 |
| 93 | Marcus | 4,183 | ↓ 6 |
| 94 | Bradley | 4,124 | ↓ 11 |
| 95 | Adrian | 4,116 | ↓ 3 |
| 96 | Mitchell | 4,068 | ↓ 8 |
| 97 | Seth | 4,043 | ↑ 6 |
| 98 | Lucas | 4,034 | ↓ 5 |
| 99 | Alejandro | 3,998 | ↑ 8 |
| 100 | Edward | 3,915 | ↓ 4 |
Biggest movers of 1997
Changes in rank within the top 1,000 compared with the year before.
Rising Girls
- Julissa ↑ 565 #219
- Tatum ↑ 399 #549
- Jailene ↑ 360 #586
- Giselle ↑ 310 #313
- Leann ↑ 308 #688
- Mireya ↑ 299 #448
- Jazlyn ↑ 240 #703
- Madyson ↑ 240 #719
- Celine ↑ 237 #537
- Amari ↑ 215 #675
Falling Girls
- Moesha ↓ 397 #945
- Odalys ↓ 315 #996
- Estefania ↓ 299 #890
- Shantel ↓ 285 #863
- Tristan ↓ 235 #827
- Khadijah ↓ 193 #987
- Keisha ↓ 178 #803
- Tanisha ↓ 177 #733
- Cheryl ↓ 173 #986
- Kristian ↓ 172 #929
New in the top 1,000 (Girls)
Yulissa, Nikita, Anahi, Reilly, Aylin, Jewel, Starr, Julisa, Salma, Lisette, Madisyn, Erykah, Gisselle, Raegan, Tea
Dropped out of the top 1,000 (Girls)
Yamilex, Iesha, Dania, Ashli, Katia, Jackie, Kristyn, Roxana, Daja, Chynna, Brandie, Trista, Cori, Kia, Stacie
Rising Boys
- Jarod ↑ 375 #348
- Romeo ↑ 339 #637
- Trace ↑ 253 #496
- Aiden ↑ 187 #638
- Nasir ↑ 180 #786
- Jakob ↑ 162 #220
- Kole ↑ 137 #745
- Mateo ↑ 136 #560
- Domenic ↑ 129 #802
- Dominik ↑ 129 #858
Falling Boys
- Anfernee ↓ 241 #838
- Kahlil ↓ 199 #934
- Devonta ↓ 185 #886
- Deion ↓ 179 #590
- Royce ↓ 179 #986
- Terence ↓ 169 #837
- Shelby ↓ 160 #751
- Dangelo ↓ 158 #549
- Codey ↓ 158 #948
- Keanu ↓ 150 #770
New in the top 1,000 (Boys)
Kobe, Gianni, Jaret, Koby, Nash, Ryder, Rylan, Jaxon, Deontae, Giovanny, Ronaldo, Nicklaus, Deante, Jerod, Coleton
Dropped out of the top 1,000 (Boys)
Shaquille, Tavon, Stewart, Keion, Raquan, Codie, Jair, Ryne, Akeem, Luciano, Shemar, Jess, Erin, Galen, Jonatan
Other years
Trend lists
Source: US Social Security Administration. Ranks are computed from birth counts for each sex; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are not published.