Most popular baby names of 1979

Looking at the top three baby names for 1979 compared to 1978, we see remarkable stability in the US rankings. For girls, Jennifer maintained its #1 position for the second year, while Melissa stayed firmly at #2. The only change came at #3, where Amanda rose from #6 in 1978, displacing Jessica which dropped to #4. For boys, the top three remained exactly the same, with Michael, Christopher, and Jason continuing their dominance from the previous year. This stability suggests these names had strong cultural staying power during this period.

The top 10 girls' names in the US for 1979 showed some interesting movement. While Jennifer and Melissa maintained their top positions, Amanda made the most dramatic climb, jumping three spots to reach #3. Jessica dropped one position to #4, while Amy held steady at #5. Sarah moved up slightly from #8 to #6, and Heather fell from #5 to #7. Angela maintained its #8 position, while Nicole climbed one spot to #9, and Michelle dropped one position to round out the top 10. Names ending with the feminine 'a' sound (Amanda, Angela) or the 'ee' sound (Amy, Michelle) continued to be popular choices.

On the boys' side, the US top 10 showed remarkable consistency. The entire top 8 remained unchanged from 1978, led by Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, and James. Matthew (#6), John (#7), and Robert (#8) also maintained their positions. The only movement came at positions 9 and 10, where Joshua climbed three spots to #9, pushing Brian down one spot to #10, and bumping Joseph just outside the top 10 to #11. Traditional biblical names (Michael, Joshua, John) continued their strong showing, demonstrating their enduring appeal.

The UK showed different naming patterns compared to the US during this period. In the UK, Laura claimed the #1 spot for girls in 1979, rising from #3 in 1978, while Claire remained at #2. Nicola, which had been #1 in 1978, dropped to #3. For UK boys, David, John, and Andrew held steady as the top three names in both years. Interestingly, traditional names seemed to hold more sway in the UK, with names like John and David ranking much higher than in the US. The letter 'J' showed strong popularity in both countries, appearing frequently in top names like Jennifer, Jessica, Jason, James, John, and Joshua.

Top baby names of 1979