Name Legacy

Baby names in Virginia, 1980s

1980–1989 · 698,858 recorded births

Christopher was the most common name given in Virginia across the 1980s, with 14,948 births in the decade. The state recorded 698,858 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to Virginia 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
Brehon712×
Linwood11010×
Chela27
Breon51
Garland80
Sherita141
Carter147
Baby151

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Christopher14,948
#2Michael14,600
#3Jessica11,641
#4Matthew10,591
#5James10,369
#6Ashley9,945
#7Jennifer9,803
#8Joshua9,236
#9David9,200
#10Amanda8,880
#11John8,593
#12William8,478
#13Robert8,441
#14Jason7,213
#15Justin6,994
#16Daniel6,882
#17Sarah6,871
#18Brandon6,722
#19Joseph6,319
#20Andrew6,304
#21Jonathan6,210
#22Brian5,662
#23Heather5,283
#24Ryan5,253
#25Elizabeth4,996

Other decades in Virginia

All Virginia 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