This list combines 2,952 spelling variations into 1,006 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1978 is Michael, given to 69,696 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Nicholas has the most spelling variations with 36 different spellings, while Shante has the highest confusion index at 87.4%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Javon showed the biggest improvement, moving up 191 positions from 569 to 378, while Kevin had the largest drop, falling 5 positions from 15 to 20.

Looking at trends, Lavar shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1976–1978 are 6861.75% higher compared to 1969–1978), while Tim shows the steepest decline (81% lower). Compared to 1977, Connor had the largest rank improvement, moving up 92 positions to rank #439, while Lavar fell 91 positions to rank #324.