Most popular baby names of 1977

The top three names for both boys and girls in the US showed remarkable stability between 1976 and 1977. Jennifer maintained its reign as the most popular girls' name for the second year, while Michael continued to dominate the boys' chart. The only movement among the top three occurred with Melissa rising from third to second place for girls, bumping Amy down to third. For boys, Jason and Christopher remained firmly in second and third positions respectively.

Looking at the broader top 10 for girls in 1977, Jessica made an impressive leap, climbing four spots from 8th to 4th place. Meanwhile, Heather showed stability at 5th position, and Angela held onto 6th place. Michelle continued its popularity at 7th, and Kimberly remained at 8th. The most notable change came from Amanda, which climbed into 9th place from 10th the previous year, while Kelly entered the top 10, pushing Lisa down to 12th. Names starting with 'J' and those with feminine endings like '-a' continued to dominate the top ranks.

On the boys' side, the top 10 names showed similar steadiness. After Michael, Jason, and Christopher, David remained in 4th place, followed by James and Robert, maintaining their 5th and 6th positions respectively. John held firmly at 7th place, as did Brian at 8th. Matthew and Joseph rounded out the top 10 boys' names, both showing remarkable consistency from the previous year. There were no newcomers to the boys' top 10 in 1977, indicating parents' continued preference for traditional masculine names.

Interestingly, the UK showed different naming patterns compared to the US. In the UK, Claire claimed the top spot for girls in 1977, overtaking Nicola from the previous year. For boys, David maintained its position as the most popular name in both years. The difference in popularity between US and UK names highlights the cultural distinctions in naming traditions between the two countries. In both regions, however, we see a preference for names with two or three syllables and traditional spellings, suggesting parents were largely conservative in their naming choices during this period.

Top baby names of 1977