This list combines 2,996 spelling variations into 1,007 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1979 is Michael, given to 70,351 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Nicholas has the most spelling variations with 36 different spellings, while Jerrell has the highest confusion index at 89.2%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Jerrell showed the biggest improvement, moving up 238 positions from 625 to 387, while Hector had the largest drop, falling 8 positions from 162 to 170.

Looking at trends, Lavar shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1977–1979 are 9043.68% higher compared to 1970–1979), while Tim shows the steepest decline (80.18% lower). Compared to 1978, Jonah had the largest rank improvement, moving up 109 positions to rank #361, while Tim fell 75 positions to rank #498.