Name Legacy

Baby names in Kentucky, 1980s

1980–1989 · 474,660 recorded births

Joshua was the most common name given in Kentucky across the 1980s, with 9,869 births in the decade. The state recorded 474,660 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Kentucky in the 1980s

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
Estill6
Chasity509
Donnie251
Scotty183
Billy997
Scottie88
Lora208
Tabatha325

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Joshua9,869
#2Christopher9,743
#3Michael8,931
#4Jessica8,887
#5James8,715
#6Amanda8,696
#7Ashley7,864
#8Matthew7,019
#9Jennifer6,444
#10William6,175
#11Justin5,714
#12David5,710
#13Brandon5,615
#14John5,513
#15Jason5,275
#16Robert5,229
#17Sarah4,975
#18Joseph4,806
#19Jonathan4,259
#20Daniel4,088
#21Heather3,937
#22Brittany3,714
#23Jeremy3,664
#24Andrew3,532
#25Brian3,437

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