Name Legacy

Baby names in Nebraska, 1980s

1980–1989 · 216,561 recorded births

Matthew was the most common name given in Nebraska across the 1980s, with 4,040 births in the decade. The state recorded 216,561 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Nebraska 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
Makayla6313×
Michaela36011×
Mikayla5810×
Kiley97
Abbie99
Mikala21
Kylee99
Mikaela44

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Matthew4,040
#2Michael3,887
#3Jessica3,457
#4Jennifer3,370
#5Joshua3,344
#6Christopher3,258
#7Amanda3,096
#8Andrew3,076
#9Ashley2,803
#10Ryan2,718
#11Justin2,644
#12Sarah2,643
#13Nicholas2,388
#14Daniel2,243
#15Adam2,192
#16David2,133
#17Jason2,109
#18John1,980
#19Joseph1,978
#20Brandon1,948
#21Megan1,901
#22Nicole1,852
#23James1,849
#24Melissa1,762
#25Brian1,759

Other decades in Nebraska

All Nebraska 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