Name Legacy

Baby names in Minnesota, 1980s

1980–1989 · 599,168 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in Minnesota across the 1980s, with 12,134 births in the decade. The state recorded 599,168 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Minnesota 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
Gao5819×
Pa12411×
Tou11710×
Kong7610×
Kou69
Choua48
Britta172
Bjorn103

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael12,134
#2Matthew11,728
#3Andrew9,535
#4Jennifer8,685
#5Jessica8,454
#6Joshua8,331
#7Ryan8,043
#8Christopher7,988
#9Amanda7,959
#10Daniel7,941
#11Nicholas7,291
#12Sarah7,164
#13Joseph7,073
#14Adam6,408
#15David6,343
#16Ashley6,252
#17Nicole5,793
#18Justin5,653
#19Jacob5,310
#20John5,225
#21Jason5,141
#22Benjamin5,092
#23Melissa4,801
#24Eric4,776
#25Brian4,696

Other decades in Minnesota

All Minnesota 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