Name Legacy

Baby names in Kentucky, 1970s

1970–1979 · 513,987 recorded births

James was the most common name given in Kentucky across the 1970s, with 12,443 births in the decade. The state recorded 513,987 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Kentucky in the 1970s

Names given far more often here than nationally in these years. The multiplier is conservative — it is the low end of the plausible range, so a name carried by a handful of births does not outrank one carried by hundreds.

NameBirthsvs national
Johnda17
Estill11
Scottie312
Scotty463
Hershel38
Denver84
Donnie518
Glenna74

Top 25 in the 1970s

RankNameBirths
#1James12,443
#2Michael12,309
#3Christopher10,983
#4Jennifer9,909
#5Jason9,185
#6David8,279
#7William7,886
#8Robert7,645
#9John7,558
#10Melissa6,818
#11Angela6,802
#12Brian6,266
#13Amy5,709
#14Kimberly5,182
#15Charles4,960
#16Joseph4,541
#17Kevin4,364
#18Timothy4,158
#19Stephanie4,111
#20Lisa4,007
#21Matthew3,770
#22Shannon3,689
#23Steven3,682
#24Mary3,553
#25Heather3,544

Other decades in Kentucky

All Kentucky names, 2025

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org