Name Legacy

Baby names in New York, 1980s

1980–1989 · 2,280,305 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in New York across the 1980s, with 59,382 births in the decade. The state recorded 2,280,305 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to New York 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
Christop1,08215×
Gitty23013×
Alexande29913×
Jacqueli15713×
Cassandr15213×
Raizy16313×
Alexandr30613×
Faigy18213×

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael59,382
#2Christopher38,473
#3Jennifer32,316
#4Jessica31,711
#5Matthew31,441
#6Joseph28,903
#7Daniel28,218
#8David27,648
#9John24,361
#10Robert23,483
#11Jason22,390
#12James22,285
#13Anthony21,646
#14Nicole21,128
#15Andrew19,869
#16Amanda19,324
#17Jonathan19,082
#18Brian18,575
#19Melissa17,889
#20Joshua16,982
#21William16,340
#22Nicholas16,027
#23Thomas15,733
#24Stephanie15,690
#25Kevin15,294

Other decades in New York

All New York 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