Name Legacy

Baby names in New Jersey, 1980s

1980–1989 · 877,339 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in New Jersey across the 1980s, with 27,016 births in the decade. The state recorded 877,339 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to New Jersey 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
Alnisa8028×
Fuquan6823×
Quadir6421×
Shakeerah4420×
Ibn10519×
Shakirah12419×
Altariq3518×
Samad6114×

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael27,016
#2Christopher16,679
#3Matthew13,816
#4Jennifer13,726
#5Jessica13,486
#6Daniel12,505
#7Joseph12,201
#8John11,688
#9David11,645
#10Robert11,516
#11James9,856
#12Brian9,328
#13Nicole9,163
#14Anthony8,761
#15Jason8,062
#16Ryan7,956
#17Melissa7,926
#18William7,774
#19Andrew7,708
#20Lauren7,701
#21Thomas7,525
#22Amanda7,522
#23Kevin7,271
#24Ashley6,935
#25Jonathan6,844

Other decades in New Jersey

All New Jersey 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