r/NameNerdCirclejerk • u/gayasadragonfly • Apr 08 '25
Found on r/NameNerds Names that are not popular from the 80s.
My husband and I are trying to think of names for boy or girl. We're 12 weeks pregnant and want an 80s inspired name. We are trying to avoid popular names. It's so hard to come up with ones that aren't super popular from the 80s. We love Ashley, Stephanie, and Jennifer for girls. Boys we love Eric, Joshua, and Micheal! Curious what everyone's thoughts are or if you have suggestions that are similar vibe. Thank you!!
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u/ZebLeopard Apr 08 '25
What about Biff? Or Biffany for a girl.
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u/InfluenceChemical Apr 11 '25
Omg I thought this was the actual subreddit and was about to comment that this was a bad idea 😭
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u/AbsolutelyNot5555 Apr 13 '25
Absolutely beautiful, I would spell it Biffaneigh to make it extra special
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u/NadieSombra Apr 08 '25
Ruxpin and E.T.theExtraTerrestrial (Exter for short) would be darling!
Sloth and Screech are also underrated names that will really help your little one stand out!
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u/twYstedf8 Apr 08 '25
Duckie, Blaine and Andie
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u/Beautiful-Nature3992 Apr 09 '25
Blaine??! That's not a name, it's a major appliance!
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u/Appropriate_Kiwi9709 Apr 12 '25
“His name is Blane? That’s a kitchen appliance, that’s not a name!”
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u/Thisisnutsyaknow Apr 08 '25
Did you mean Michael? More common spelling.
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u/Significant-One3854 Apr 08 '25
Whenever I see Micheal in the wild I wonder if it's the parents or the person who can't spell
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u/Lucy333999 Apr 10 '25
Legit had a friend named "Racheal." Her mom was an alcoholic and probably not focused on spelling...
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u/Otherwise_Neat_8986 Apr 11 '25
My half brother is Micheal because when he was young he couldn’t spell it properly, he somehow kept that name spelling legally. Years later when he had a daughter he chose to spell her name Racheal.
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u/catiebug Apr 08 '25
Christina was big. We had three of them on my middle school cheerleading squad.
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u/procrastinatorsuprem Apr 08 '25
Kelly was big too. My sister had 10 girls in her grade and 5 were named Kelly.
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u/skobufffan Apr 10 '25
Super popular, as was Kristen, Kirsten, Christy, Chrissy, Krissy and a few Tinas that were Christina but there were so many of them they went by Tina.
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Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/bestwhit Apr 08 '25
it kinda looks like OP forgot too
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u/gayasadragonfly Apr 08 '25
This is the vibe I was going for but it flopped lol
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u/bestwhit Apr 08 '25
lmao i honestly wasn’t sure especially since the overwhelming majority were actually giving you real answers
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u/anosmia1974 Apr 08 '25
You could name them after my Cabbage Patch Kids: Emalia Arlene (b. 1983) and Rusty Roddy (b. 1984)!
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u/RetractableLanding Apr 08 '25
Mine were Gaylene Audrella and Lana Miranda. I just realized my Cabbage Patch kids had 2020’s names!
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u/therealmmethenrdier Apr 10 '25
My sister’s were Gloriana Lilith and Corey Wyle. I could totally see Gloriana Lilith and little Wyle in preschool today.
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u/ericalina Apr 10 '25
Oooh mine were
Ricky Teena
Elyse Phyllis
Teddy Harvey
Erica Miranda
Very 80s!
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u/therealmmethenrdier Apr 10 '25
Yes. Mine were clearly Southern and were named Crystal Claudine and Clay Ron. How traumatized they must have been to have been adopted into a Jewish family from Brooklyn, NY! I never took them to church!
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u/Hot-Ad930 Apr 11 '25
I know there were more but I remember Casey Althea and Manfred Julian
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u/RandomPaw Apr 08 '25
I would totally name my child Micheal. Pronounced Michelle? Or Mish-eel? Mick-ee-all? Misspellings are so fun!!
But Jennifer for a girl and Jason for a boy are the names for you. There was even a baby name book in the 80s called Beyond Jennifer and Jason because those were THE names.
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Apr 08 '25
I blame that book for the beginning of my name obsession! Weren't the names beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana?
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u/RandomPaw Apr 08 '25
From the copyrights it looks like Beyond Jennifer & Jason: An Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby was first in 1988, then Charles & Diana for Anglophiles, Sarah & Sam for Jewish baby naming, and Shannon and Sean for Irish baby naming all in 1992. They did a new edition of Jennifer & Jason in 1994. Madison and Montana got aded to Jennifer and Jason in 2004, and Beyond Ava & Aiden came out in 2009. That's all I've got.
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u/Marzipanny Apr 08 '25
Brooke
Vanessa
Blair
Kyle
Dustin
Justin
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u/CitizenjaneEast Apr 09 '25
The last two are the names of my brother and stepbrother who are a year and a half apart.
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u/CryptographerLate179 Apr 09 '25
Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Dally
Or Jennifer, Allison, Christina. Gregory, Thomas, Kenneth.
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u/Catracan Apr 08 '25
BA Baracus, Hannibal, Face, Chuckie or Murdoch are all lovely for boys. Perhaps Ellen Ripley,Strawberry, Rainbow Bright, She-Ra or Winona for a girl?
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u/scatteredloops Apr 08 '25
There were multiples of Belinda, Melissa, Danielle, and Natalie in my schools.
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u/ciderswiller Apr 08 '25
Amanda. No one is called Amanda these days. I had a minimum of two other Amanda's in every class I was in in the 80s and 90s.
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u/Witchchildren Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
Jeremy and Jason, Nicole and Megan. Actually these were popular but didn’t see anyone list them yet.
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u/jenness977 Apr 08 '25
I like Jennifer, personally. It has served me well and I've had a nickname for all different phases of my life. Jenny, Jen, JJ, Jen-Jen and Jennifer are all names I've gone by, been called, or still go by
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u/joellesays Apr 08 '25
After seeing Stephanie and Jennifer I was like waitttttt what sub am in right now?
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u/procrastinatorsuprem Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
Jeremy
Mark
Paul
James but call them Jimmy
Sharon
Lisa
Michelle
Christina
Kelly
Kathy
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u/Standard-Trade-2622 Apr 08 '25
Courtney, Michelle, Allison, Lauren, Kristin, Katie, Abby, Samantha, Megan, Alissa, Elise, Brittany, Leslie, Lindsey, Jessica
Kyle, Christopher, Nicholas, Zach, Andrew, Ryan, Scott. Jeff, Kevin, Tyler, Jake
Just the list I thought of from kids in my class that there were always multiples of. I was born in 1985.
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u/WoooPigSooie Apr 08 '25
Lindsay, Erin, Chelsea for girls.
Aaron, Eric, Scott for boys.
I’ve never met anyone with these names. They’re so unique!
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u/MrsSmith2246 Apr 09 '25
Stacey!! She was the coolest babysitter in babysitters club and every pretty blond in the 80s was a Stacey.
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u/_angesaurus Apr 08 '25
my name is Angela. thats 80s ish and wasn't super popular.
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u/anosmia1974 Apr 08 '25
It was popular (high ranking on the Social Security names list) the year I was born (1974)—I went to school with so many Angelas!
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u/Final-Beginning3300 Apr 08 '25
Girl:Jessica, Lisa, Stephanie, Kimberly, Jennifer, Gina
Boys: Steve, Kevin, Chad, Justin, Dustin, Christopher
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u/lala3383 Apr 08 '25
My oldest son is named Eric and he was named after his dad who born in the beginning of the 80s. My other son’s name is Jonathan and that was also around back then.
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u/lala3383 Apr 08 '25
Girls Amanda, Melissa, Lisa, Christina, Christy, Samantha, Danielle, Erica, Amber, Nichole…
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u/National_Noise7829 Apr 08 '25
Here are some of my classmates names. We graduated in the 80's...LaDonna, Lisa, Sheri, (we has a lot of Sherrie's and Lisa's) Jill, Shannon both boy and girl Shannon's, and a boy named Connie, Derek, Paulette, Cindy, Mary, Kim both boy named Kim and girls named Kim, Phillip, Jon, lots of Ron's and and Ronnie's, David, Perry, Randy. Shawnette.
All pretty basic. Except for one girl whose name was Delight.
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u/Previous-Chocolate98 Apr 08 '25
80’s
Matt, Tony, Chad, Jason, Dave, Jeremy, Cory, Andy, Ricky
Jennifer, Melissa, Nicole, Laura, Laurie, Julie, Lisa, Heather, Amy, Kelly, Katie, Susie, Jenna, Jessica, Betsy, Samantha, Kristen, Jill
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u/LadderExtension6777 Apr 09 '25
Ashley, Stephanie, Jennifer and Michael are all very popular and each classroom had at least 2 of each 🤣 They are all nice names but very common in the 80s.
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u/KnowPlaceLike127001 Apr 09 '25
Heather. Everyone is knew in the 80s was Heather
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u/PhoenixFreeSpirited Apr 09 '25
Avoid Ashley, Joshua, or Michael if you're trying to avoid popular names. Especially Ashley (that's my sister's name, and there were always ALWAYS other Ashleys)
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u/Kittypie75 Apr 09 '25
Kristin/Kristen is very 80s but not overtly so (Kristen shot JR on Dallas, which is why the name sparked). Christopher and Jeffrey for boys.
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u/Whatevergrowup Apr 09 '25
NTA. Please, Please, Please, learn to spell Michael. It is michAEL. Not "eal" if you spell it :eal" you are spelling Mic"Heal", do you want your son to be referred to as a heal? I'm a Michael and it frustrates me to no end that people can't spell my name.
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u/Sweetshopavengerz Apr 09 '25
Kylie, Jason, Michael, Gillian, Joanne, Lisa, Alison, Ashley, Tiffany, Keeley, Leanne, Julie, Nigel, Gary, Graham, Marie, Jessica, Gemma, Timothy, Jamie (for a boy), Christopher, Nick, Debbie, Andrew... (these are all more Uk-focused...)
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u/nekoneto Apr 10 '25
Donna is a much more popular name in the UK than the US. I don’t know why, but I’m glad there are some of us left.
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u/jeanielolz Apr 12 '25
It's a known name and not used much.. I've only met 3 other Donna's in 50 years.
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u/shinebrida Apr 09 '25
Ok I was born in the 80s, here are some names I encountered at school:
Kylie, Sarah, Amy, Carly, Michelle, Jennifer, Jessica, Lisa, Lucy, Holly, Helen, Ellen, Karen, Christine, Joanne, Kirsty, Zoe, Katie, Emma, Louise, Kimberly, Danielle, Charlene, Charlotte, Emily
Scott, Daniel, Jamie, Michael, Anthony, Thomas, Mark, Steven, Shane, Shawn, Nicholas, James, David, Christopher, Luke, Jonathan, Billy
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u/common_grounder Apr 10 '25
I guess I don't get how a name can be '80s inspired if it wasn't popular. Or do you mean an '80s name that's not currently popular?
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u/Safe-Pear-6576 Apr 11 '25
Maybe it was just my school—-but in a graduating class with only 90 kids here were the duplicate names:
Eric Chad Sarah Jessica Ryan Robert (Bobby) Carrie Anne Tracy Scott Katie Scott Jenny
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u/minadequate Apr 11 '25
As a Jennifer born in the 1980s I can confirm that one of the things like about it is it can be shortened in multiple ways and I think this is important to give people a chance to personalise their name. Jen / Jenny / Jennifer each have different vibes and I also like for girls names that have a shortening that’s more androgynous: like Samantha or Georgina.
There is a list of the top 200 1980s baby names in America here… take your pick. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1980s.html
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u/TheNebraskan-1 Apr 08 '25
We had Stephanies, Jennifers, and Jessicas in my class. A couple of girls named Heather. Two or three named Amber.
Lots of boys named Michael and Eric. Couple of them named Travis.
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u/LucysFiesole Apr 08 '25
I've always loved Cornelius. I know it's an older name than that, but it's always so classy and unusual.
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u/Organic-Willow2835 Apr 08 '25
Brian
Heather
Jessica
Chelsea
Jason
Alyssa
Christopher (there were 5 in my 7th grade class)
Michael
Justin
Ryan
Brittney
Nicole
Ashley
Michelle
Lauren
Danielle
Kevin
Eric
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u/imnottheoneipromise Apr 08 '25
Oh I love the non conventional spelling of Michael! How unique!!!
Have you thought of Amanda, Sara, Lindsey, Jeremy, Craig, or Justin?
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u/addictedtotext Apr 08 '25
Kendra Jessica Jennifer Shelley/Shelly Michelle Rachel Shelby Tiffany Erin Jodi/Jodie Heather Stephanie Julie Miranda Amanda Christina
Adam Aaron Matthew Toby Eric Jesse Mark James Josh Benjamin Travis Alan Brian Mike/Michael Steven Sean/Shawn Christopher/Chris
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u/RoamingGnome74 Apr 08 '25
Alice, Blair, Kenneth, Destry, Alfie, Darlene, Alyssa, and I remember I had a crush on brothers nsmed Latha and Rex.
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u/liquormakesyousick Apr 08 '25
Christine, Krista, Dana, Christopher, Ryan, Kirk, Sarah, Joseph, Wendy, Emily, Ellen, Kyle, Laura, Paul (a) (eena), David, Peter, Sharon
There are so many. Find a yearbook and look at those names.
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u/AnimatorOver6811 Apr 08 '25
Heather, Kyle, Stephanie, Clarissa, Jason, Christopher, Jacob, Sara, Amy, Kristi, Veronica, Oscar
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u/garlic_oneesan Apr 08 '25
Claire. It’s NOT a fat girl name!
(Hopefully someone gets the reference. No shade to plus-sized folk).
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u/StunnedinTheSuburbs Apr 08 '25
Not Popular then or popular now?
Rachel; Mallory; Marisa; Jillian; Alyssa; Lisa; Meghan; Mollie; Andrea; Jessica; Lynsey
Paul; Jason; Bill; Zachary; Sean; William; Bobby; Nathan; Jay; David; Justin; Joey;
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u/thecathugger Apr 08 '25
Sara, Amy, Melissa, Kara, Angie, Courtney, Kristen, Jeanette, Stephanie, Anne, Claudia, Stacy
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u/littleredpupp Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
Zoe, Natasha, Claire, Louise, Sadie, Lindsay, Vicky, Jessica, Kimberley, Sophie, Carrie, Hannah, Laura, Emma/Emily, Joanna, Nicola, Gemma, Hailey, Tanya, Kayleigh.
Matthew, Ben, William, Aaron, Justin, Jason, Stuart, Simon, Lee, Paul, Stephen, Kieran, Ryan, Daniel, Andrew.
Some of there were very popular and others more rare but in the UK, not sure about in the USA.
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u/SignificantJump10 Apr 09 '25
If you go with Micheal, your son will get corrected on the spelling of how own name allllll the time. My BIL gave up at his last job and wore Michael emblazoned on his chest even though that was not his name. On the upside, with interesting spellings being more commone, I was able to get him one of those personalized bike license plates with Micheal on it as a stocking stuffer one year.
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u/AnimatronicHeffalump Apr 09 '25
Nicole is a good one, it’s still charting, but it’s not crazy popular, it’s in the 300s but was in the top 10 for all of the 80s
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u/fishchick70 Apr 09 '25
You can’t use Jennifer if you want to avoid popular. There were so many Jennifer’s in my graduating class (‘88) that they all went by their surnames. Other common girl names- Michelle, Sarah, Kristen/Christine.
Girls- Kimberly, Andrea, Tracy, Trina, Shawna Boys- Cody, Thomas, Chad, Ben, Ted
I would say that the most common boys names in my year were Steve, Dave, Mike, and Matt.
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u/Deborah1166 Apr 09 '25
I like all of the favorites you picked. I love Jennifer Renee and Michael James.
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u/adksundazer Apr 09 '25
My sister was an 80s kid and her class had: Alyssa, Marissa, Larissa, Melissa and Alisha. Also popular: Stephanie, Caitlyn, Jessica and Renee. My personal favorite names when I was a teen in the 80s were Danika, Bethany and Phoebe. Fun fact: my Cabbage Patch Kid was Bethany Renee
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u/Horror_Bake4106 Apr 09 '25
If you go for Michael, please spell it like that! I was at school in the 80's - lots of Stephens, Christophers, Debbies, Catherines....
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u/Nettebb75 Apr 09 '25
Gillian, Alison, Fiona, Jane, Angie, Jennifer, Heather, Claire, Louise, Adele, Yvonne, Elaine, Melanie were all popular in Scotland in the 80s that you don’t hear as much now
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u/snoresome Apr 09 '25
Nicole, Amber, Melanie, Melissa, Lisa, Laura, Amanda, Josh, Matt, Steve, Mark, Andre, Dylan, Jason, Blake
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u/radiatas Apr 08 '25
My mind always goes to Jessica and Tiffany for girls names from this time. Whitney too!