Name Legacy

Baby names in Pennsylvania, 1970s

1970–1979 · 1,478,881 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in Pennsylvania across the 1970s, with 42,954 births in the decade. The state recorded 1,478,881 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Pennsylvania in the 1970s

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
Benuel6816×
Elam8812×
Braheem18
Regis94
Jaison107
Atiya100
Nafis22
Nevin96

Top 25 in the 1970s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael42,954
#2Jennifer34,322
#3John25,489
#4David25,406
#5Robert23,898
#6Christopher23,414
#7James23,292
#8Jason23,235
#9Brian21,833
#10Matthew17,971
#11William17,614
#12Joseph17,581
#13Amy16,161
#14Melissa15,084
#15Daniel13,842
#16Heather13,702
#17Lisa13,324
#18Michelle13,273
#19Thomas13,264
#20Jeffrey12,366
#21Scott12,157
#22Richard12,149
#23Mark12,067
#24Eric12,010
#25Kimberly11,680

Other decades in Pennsylvania

All Pennsylvania 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