Jennifer and Jessica were by far the most popular US girl's names of the 80s. They have both fallen out of the top 500 US girl's names.
Posted by TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 242 comments
Jennifer was #1 from 1970 to 1984 and Jessica took over the #1 spot until 1990. Last year, Jennifer was ranked #586 and Jessica was down at #665.
Here is the page to view the popularity of names by year-
Hup110516@reddit
I love how certain names tell you how old someone is. Especially girls. Guys can be David’s, Ryan’s, Mikes, etc at any age and time. I’m an Ashley and let me tell you, I swear we’re all born between ‘87-‘93.
Gravy_Sommelier@reddit
(I went to school with 27 Jennifers)[https://youtu.be/1nN_5kkYR6k?si=OkBu9h3iTJhFWzAa]
rjcarr@reddit
Ben Affleck has been married to two Jennifers. Given his era, I always wonder how many Jennifers he’s banged. The over-under has to be in the 50s.
inab1gcountry@reddit
Leo is definitely not banging any Jennifers.
chrillho18@reddit
Haha. Probably a lot of Emily’s according to the SSA.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
LazarusDark@reddit
I "dated" two Jennifer's that were step sisters and the same age as me (but not a the same time. One was my "gf" for a summer when we were 7, then just friends after that, then when we were 12 her mom remarried and she had a new stepsister, lol)
DBE113301@reddit
The same Mike Doughty from Soul Coughing?
Brs76@reddit
Jennifer's and Jason's in my school
awmaleg@reddit
And some Jeff’s
dough_eating_squid@reddit
In middle school (circa 1998), my friend showed me list of friends' phone numbers, and it was over half names that started with J.
Cola_Gummi@reddit
Jennifers, Jasons, and Leighs
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
Jason yes... I married one too
cuthman99@reddit
15 Jenns
jeanclaudebrowncloud@reddit
On a dead man's chest
MikeyLikesItFast@reddit
7 Jennas
_King_of_Spain@reddit
10 Jennys
cuthman99@reddit
And then, there was...
copyrighther@reddit
I went to a huge state university (35K) and during my freshman orientation in 1999, they announced that 10% of our class was named Jennifer.
fact_addict@reddit
One of the summer camp groups I went to in the 80’s had 4 Jennifer campers and one counselor!
Dirtman1016@reddit
I once counted up how many I knew and it was 28. Spot on.
fridder@reddit
I’m so happy this is the top comment
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
As a Jessica, I hated having such a popular name lol
Specific-Library-312@reddit
Jacob was very rare, so I knew that people talking to me. Until Twilight shudders. Taking my kids to the playground, and hearing "Jacob", "Jacob", "Jacob." Now I am hesitant to respond to my name. All this to say, I kinda feel your pain.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Jacob was 75th in 1975. It slowly climbed into the top 10 by 1993, and held the #1 spot between 1999 and 2012. So that 2008 movie didn't move the needle.
Specific-Library-312@reddit
Huh. Guess I lived in a Jacob vacuum. Today I learned. Honestly, thanks. I always appreciate good research.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Names can be very regional, especially back then.
socialcommentary2000@reddit
Jacob has the biblical aspect going for it, but i had no idea it was that prevalent.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
This was me with Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but Twilight was such a bigger phenomenon, I can definitely imagine how irksome that would've been.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Jessica was the #2 girls name in 1981 and took over #1 in 1985, a few years before the movie.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
Yes, but the movie gave kids my age a pop culture reference that lasted throughout high school.
andiluxe@reddit
I feel this, but all the names in r/tragedeigh are not the answer. 😆
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
Oh definitely not. My sister wanted to name her daughter a true tragedeigh (Stormie Rayne) but thank Gaia changed her mind before signing that birth certificate. I remember distinctly being like "I'd rather you name her Mary Sue Jessica Sara Jennifer Barbara" or something to that end lol
Jonestown_Juice@reddit
Stormie Rayne is a stripper name. Or a pornstar.
crazycatlady331@reddit
Wait until you find out about some of Nick Cannon's (Xennial) kids.
Legendary Love Cannnon
Powerful Queen Cannon
socialcommentary2000@reddit
Mother of God (Cannon)...
Jonestown_Juice@reddit
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
It absolutely is, and my sister was told that by several people lol
Coriandercilantroyo@reddit
Is she a Kylie Jenner fan?
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
Not that I'm aware of, but she also knows I'm definitely not a fan so probably wouldn't talk to me about it if she were.
DBE113301@reddit
I have a very unique name. What I would give to have a boring, popular name. Ordering a pizza is a chore. One of the reasons why I named my son Jack--he'll never have to put up with this shit.
OtherlandGirl@reddit
Jennifer was no picnic
sarabeara12345678910@reddit
Hello from a Sara. I was one of five in my kindergarten class
mechapoitier@reddit
At least it’s not the horde of Aidens, Bradens, Cadens, Haydens, Jaydens and Okaydens that will be middle management in a few years.
cupcakebean@reddit
I teach in a special education program that's relatively small. We have SO MANY Aiden, Jayden, Kaiden, Brayden, Zaidens. We even have a Jaylen and had an Ailyn.
LadyLoki5@reddit
My 17yr old's classmates are a whoooole lot of Jackson/Jaxson/Jaxsyn and Hailey/Hayley/Heyleigh's
TheJDOGG71@reddit
Okaydens. Ahaha. Stop!!!
Coriandercilantroyo@reddit
Someone hasn't seen r/tragedeigh yet!
mmiller17783@reddit
Lol now in 15 years some kid is gonna bark your shins with his board and his mom will be like "You apologize to that nice Mecha Poitier right now, Okayden!"
ninroxbear16@reddit
Hi from a Katie. Right through high school there was at least a dozen of us. Since ‘99 I rarely meet one in the wild.
bendybiznatch@reddit
Also Amys.
And a million Christophers.
aero25@reddit
Don't forget all the Michael/Mike's
chamberlain323@reddit
Yup! Where I grew up in suburban NorCal as a late Gen Xer, all the Mikes, Matts and Chrises had to differentiate themselves by using their last name’s initial (Chris B., Matt S., etc) while the Jennifers, Jessicas and Sarahs usually adopted unique name abbreviations or nicknames (Jen, Jess, Jenna, Jessie, etc.) to set themselves apart. There was always a period of confusion at the start of every school year while all of this was being sorted out. Eventually we all got the hang of it.
bendybiznatch@reddit
The boys were like a third Christopher, a third Mike, and a third everything else.
Polymox@reddit
I cannot remember a single other child from Kindergarten.
Aware_Policy_9174@reddit
Yeah Sarahs were the most popular after Jennys for me.
cupcakebean@reddit
Same. And both my brother and my husband are named Timothy.
PopularSet4776@reddit
As a Kirk, unpopular names aren't really a picnic either.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
My dad's name was Kirk. He used to bemoan he could never find a custom key ring when I'd complain that my name was inescapable in the wild.
ThePerfectSnare@reddit
Barclay, Barry, Bert... Bort?!
heavyLevy5@reddit
Are you talking to me?
PopularSet4776@reddit
My issue is you meet people and you basically have to spell your name or else they call you Kurt.
My own grandmother called me Kurt from when I was born til she lost her ability to speak due to stroke.
The crazy thing is you give a name someplace and half the time they write your name as Kirt. Like who has that name?
Gravy_Sommelier@reddit
As a kid with a popular name like Bort, everywhere was always sold out of the mini licence plates with my name.
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
Kirk is kind of popular though? Captain kirk, Kirk Cameron? Lol
Pensively@reddit
Unless, you're a big deal down at the cracker factory?
Significant-Style-73@reddit
Can I borrow a feeling?
PracticalPlatypi@reddit
Same! I’m a Jennifer and my sister, who is not quite two years younger, is Jessica. Thanks, mom and dad.
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
I know a few sisters named Jessica and Jennifer lol
LogensTenthFinger@reddit
I'm a Matt. I never walked into a room with 10 guys where there wasn't another Matt.
gravteck@reddit
Am a Matt, brother is a Mike. I am a software engineer with significant seniority, and there are two other Matt's with similar seniority, and after a re-org, we are the three highest engineering level resources anyone can talk to before escalating. The other two Matts have last names that both start with K. All 3 of our wives are educators. We are frequently in the same meetings together with leadership and the engineering staff.
It's kind of great, because leadership (who we have a good relationship with) gets flustered quickly each time trying to solve the Matt trap, and a little bit of levity is always welcome.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
Tbh, I'm not sure where Matt falls in popularity, but I absolutely would've believed it was the most popular given how many I knew.
Melancholy_Rainbows@reddit
All the Jennifers I went to school with had to go by a nickname or by first and last name. It was a small town and there were still a dozen or more per grade.
Because of that I researched how popular all the finalist names for our kids were and eliminated any that were too popular.
Donkeh101@reddit
I’m from Aus and it’s interesting the names that I grew up with are much different.
It was mainly Katherine, Rebecca, Michelle and Mark, Matthew, David and Michael. And a sprinkling of Jessica and Jenny.
crazycatlady331@reddit
Names are cyclical. We likely didn't have many classmates with typical boomer/silent generation names (think Nancy, Eleanor, Linda, Susan, etc.)
Now Eleanor is making a comeback.
Maybe Gen Alpha will name their kids Jennifer or Jessica.
Plus-Pomegranate8045@reddit
My boomer Mom is Linda and she said there were so many Lindas in her classes in the 60s, it’s wild to me that it fell off so quickly. I think it’s a pretty name and it literally means “beautiful.”
ragingchump@reddit
How about a flower name?
That little gold flower in lothlorien. Eleanor
Ohwerk82@reddit
My youngest niece is Eleanor and there’s 6 of them in her class.
Silly-Shoulder-6257@reddit
Old fashioned names come back as a group. So there’s probably many similar cases with other names.
Farewellandadieu@reddit
My one grandmother was an Evelyn, and the other had Emma as a middle name. She absolutely hated Emma, she said the other kids would make fun of her for having such an old lady middle name!
crazycatlady331@reddit
I had a Grammie Evelyn.
If I had kids, Evelyn would have been my daughter's middle name.
chamberlain323@reddit
I also had a grandma named Evelyn, and her younger sister was named Vivian. A couple of years ago I met a couple of cute young blondes named Evelyn and Vivian wearing bikinis on the beach and it nearly blew my mind. Names are indeed cyclical.
Tia_Baggs@reddit
In 2001 I was showing my grandma (born in 1915) a picture of a friend’s baby, “What’s her name?”. “Emily”, I replied. My grandma wrinkled her nose and said, “That’s an old lady’s name. She should have a cute name like Sally.” My other grandma abhorred her middle name, Violet, and now my daughters have a few classmates with that name.
Vizwalla@reddit
I wonder how much The Good Place is responsible for Eleanor.
ParticularYak4401@reddit
My friends daughter is an Eleanor (nn Ellie). They like classic names as they also have a Beatrice.
yoursmartfriend@reddit
Eleanor was a chipette
KarenEiffel@reddit
Why not? Lots of people choose to name their kids after their grandmothers...
meltedchocolatepants@reddit
It will be the old woman name and then kids will start naming their kids after their grandparents
AdDense7020@reddit
I’m a Jessica from that time period and have never met another Jessica. It boggles my mind.
SuchFalcon7223@reddit
Every Jennifer & Jessica I know is definitely now over 40 lol
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
In 2025, The top 3s are Liam, Noah, Oliver, and Olivia, Charlotte, Emma.
Girls names beating Jennifer and Jessica- Daleyza, Holland, Armani, Clover, Remington, and Lakelynn.
Kamryn is one spot above Stephanie at #555.
Mike Doughty singing about growing up with 27 Jennifers-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nN_5kkYR6k
Militia_Kitty13@reddit
Daleyza?!?!?
ACW1129@reddit
Lakelynn??
detectiveriggsboson@reddit
the Mormons have a lot of kids
GarblingCumfarts@reddit
They're trying to out name their friends, but they all end up having the same names.
"Damn it, I wanted my kids name to be 'Stolen Copper' but I guess I gotta go with 'Chevy Chase" because I love cars! No one will have that name!"
turnpike37@reddit
Town in Florida. Lovely place, terrible traffic.
Coriandercilantroyo@reddit
Dale-eye-za?
Duh-lee-za?
De-lie-za?
Daily-za?
cortesoft@reddit
Hey there Daleyza what’s it like in Knew Yorc city….
BloodFromAnOrange@reddit
I'll never understand how "old man who made a huge boat in the Old Testament" caught such fire as a name for babies.
writersontop@reddit
Elder millennials having kids who grew up watching ER
BloodFromAnOrange@reddit
ah, i didn't think of that. it's funny how many names take off because of one famous person, like nolan.
Turbulent_Tale6497@reddit
Like Khaleesi
BloodFromAnOrange@reddit
Khaleesi as a name for a child was a media literacy test. F. F-.
icybowler3442@reddit
I’m convinced it’s just a misunderstanding of people who live in the north. OB nurse: “Do you have a baby name for the birth certificate?” Both parents: “Noooo-uhhh” OB nurse: “got it!”
UnidentifiedKindaGal@reddit
I was one of 5 Jessica's in my 3rd grade class. Hated it.
UndoxxableOhioan@reddit
In 30 years, Jessica and Jennifer are going to be what Esther, Edna, Gladys, Ethel, Blanche, Agnes, and Mona were to us growing up: old lady names.
Fuckspez42@reddit
I met a 20-something Ruth the other day, and was unable to not comment about how she was the youngest Ruth I’ve ever met, by about 50 years.
ThotThroughTheHeart@reddit
I worked with a young, white Wanda in the 1990s. I don't think I've ever met another white Wanda.
nitrot150@reddit
I know some kids named Ruth ! (Knew one in HS too) all the older names are coming back around
heybeytoday@reddit
Nancy and Linda
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
You're right. When my mom first started as a nurse in the '70s, she had a few elderly patients named Jessica and Jennifer. Add to that, Angela Lansbury’s character on "Murder, She Wrote" was Jessica Fletcher, so it was considered an older name then as well.
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
Jessica Tandy is another "older" Jessica.
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
That's right! I completely forgot about her. Good actress.
Hatecookie@reddit
I always thought that was so strange. Even now, her name is the part of the show that requires the most suspension of disbelief.
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
For me, it was Jessica's blatant disregard for active crime scenes. There was this one episode where Jessica was staying in this mansion, and the father was murdered in the recreation room. Not only did Jessica and the family continue living there, but there were several scenes of them playing pool and watching TV like nothing ever happened! 😆
Hatecookie@reddit
I love Pushing Up Roses youtube channel, she dissects all of the most ridiculous episodes, it's great
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
Me too! She's even reviewed a few that I've never seen, which I didn't think was possible.
Big_Slope@reddit
Funnily enough, I have GenZ coworkers named Maggie and Rosie. I’m pretty sure I’ll run into a Mildred or Gertrude eventually.
Abidarthegreat@reddit
I named my GenA child "Winifred" (Freddie for short). Because my wife loves Hocus Pocus.
I named my first child "Inara" because it's from a fandom that absolutely no one knows (at least in the Bible belt where I live).
Thorn_and_Thimble@reddit
Firefly?
Abidarthegreat@reddit
Maaaaaybe
ChaucersDuchess@reddit
Aka one of my grandmas and one of my great grandmas 😂😂😂
Prize_Ad6430@reddit
Had a great aunt Rosie born in the 1890's 😅
ChaucersDuchess@reddit
Ahhh, no, but my husband’s family had a Roselyn in the early 1900’s and my grandniece is named that.
Prize_Ad6430@reddit
Understand, mine comes from having babies later than you thought you could. Mother having nieces and nephews the same age as her😅
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Part of the cyclical nature of names is people being named for their dead grandparents and great-grandparents.
SnooKiwis2161@reddit
Ironically I believe Jennifer is actually quite old - a derivative of guinevere from at the least the middle ages, probably older
Newone1255@reddit
And Jessica is a named made up by Shakespeare
fubo@reddit
The Welsh original spelling is Gwenhwyfar. "Jennifer" is a Cornish version; "Guinevere" a French one, and "Ginevra" an Italian one.
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
You're correct. That was one of the Final Jeopardy! answers from a year or two ago. Also, Jessica first made its appearance in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." They've both been around for a while, but Jennifer predates Jessica.
FastWalkingShortGuy@reddit
In 60 years there will be another epidemic of Bellas and Khaleesis?
Prize_Ad6430@reddit
I was named after a great uncle, tough guy, WW2 veteran. By the 70's Tracy was more of a ladies name...I'm not a lady 😅
kremlingrasso@reddit
In 30 years all our names will be old people names becuse it doesn't have numbers and special characters in them
crazycatlady331@reddit
My own name is not attached to a generation (and I love that about it). I could be 100 or 1 and nobody could tell based on my name.
Jeninsearchofzen@reddit
I’m a Jennifer, well I go by Jen. Literally came here to say this exact comment!
cupcakebean@reddit
I'm a Jessica in a sea of Jessica's. It's annoying. I'm always called by my last name.
Live_Today1943@reddit
I’m starting to see more and more little Jessicas, and as a Jessica, nooooooo!!!!
PlsContinueMrBrooder@reddit
Jennifer, Jessica, Ashley and Rachel. The 4 Abercrombie Girls of the Apocalypse
davwad2@reddit
I have two younger cousins named Jessica, I knew went to high school with a Rachel and two Ashleys, and I knew a third outside of my school.
ragingchump@reddit
I was one of 3 Rachel's on varsity Vball.
None of were Abercrombie girls tyvm! Lol
Funandgeeky@reddit
Rachel from Friends played by a Jennifer. That’s two out of four right there.
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
Courtney and Lisa are very 80s names too
Beetso@reddit
I think of the 70s more with Lisa. There were multiple Michelle's in my elementary school class in the '80s.
the__ghola__hayt@reddit
All their middle names are Marie.
spunkysativa@reddit
Can confirm, I am one of them lol
Matrinka@reddit
Unless our moms were fanciful and went with Marissa instead.
sundayfunday78@reddit
All the girls in my junior high home room had the middle name Lynn 🫤
jonnovich@reddit
YarnBunny@reddit
Im one of them.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
Damn!
fourofkeys@reddit
i was one of three rachel g's in my high school english class. substitute teachers always thought they were hallucinating and skipped me as the last one on the roll call.
yowza_wowza@reddit
I'm a Jessica and I have the most common birthday :/
mdsnbelle@reddit
I administer a K12 student data system and when I need test cases, I usually go with Smith/Jones/Evans or Jennifer/Jason/Jessica.
There are entire high schools that don’t have any of these as the first name at all these days.
Porculius@reddit
In Spain you name your daughter Jennifer or Jessica only if you want to be grandfather asap.
Mz_Ann_Throp@reddit
Wait a minute. Are people named Jessica and Jennifer associated with promiscuity, and therefore becoming grandparents sooner? I didn’t think there were enough girls with those names in Spain for there to be a stereotype in the first place.
LittlePlasticStar@reddit
I hardly remember many Jessica’s - it was Jennifer, Jenny or Jen’s everywhere in the Midwest growing up.
dorky2@reddit
My sister is Jessica, there were 7 Jessicas in her class.
revelrebels@reddit
I might have been one.
DizzyIzzy801@reddit
Anyone else automatically misreading the context of "Jessica" "fallen" and "80s" ....
No? Well, just me then.
RelevantNothing4653@reddit
I've joked that you know you're Xennial if you had more than 3 girls in your grade named Jennifer, Jessica or Rachel
Inevitable_Geometry@reddit
Well, we got to have Bennifer for a while.
dorky2@reddit
My name is Jill, which isn't as common for us but not unheard of. I worked in an office with two other women my age, named Jessica and Jennifer. I have a sister named Jessica. Jessica had sisters named Emily and Jill. Jennifer had sisters named Emily and Jessica. Also my best friend was Jennifer.
bibliophile224@reddit
In grade school you were either a Jennifer, Jessica, or a Carrie or some variation of spelling/nickname. There were no other name choices 😂 And yes, I am one of those 3.
ArdenElle24@reddit
I'm a Carrie and I didn't meet another one (any spelling) until high school.
I could never find a keychain or any other novelty item in my name as a kid (even in a different spelling).
It does suck that there are 562 different was to spell my name.
Jaralith@reddit
My class had Carrie, Cari, Kari, Kerry, Carey, and Keri.
Tia_Baggs@reddit
We had Lindsay, Lindsey, Lynzie, Linsey situation. One Carrie, three or four girls named Kari but one pronounced her name Car-ee.
bibliophile224@reddit
We must have been in the same class 😂
cerialthriller@reddit
Jennifer is the new Linda. Like 25% of your class had a mom named Linda, now all the kinds have moms named Jennifer or Jessica
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Wow. Linda went from #299th in 1930 to #8 in 1940 and then reigned at #1 from 1947 to 1952. It stayed in the top 10 until 1965, and from there has steadily plummeted to a basically unheard of #902.
NIMY80@reddit
My name is Jessica but people forget and call me Jennifer ALL THE TIME
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
To be fair, the first sound is identical.
Ok-meow@reddit
Funny that Jennifer fell so deep. It’s actually a nice sounding name. I can’t stand the name Mary or Stephane.
graveybrains@reddit
I, for one, am simply glad that I'm no longer surrounded by Mikes
Dicky_Penisburg@reddit
blamberr@reddit
There were four Jennifers on my soccer team and at least six in my smallish school.
Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit
I would go the mall with my chums for lunch every day since we had open campus. There were two other high schools close to the mall. I concluded as a statistical matter that if we saw a group of girls we didn’t know from another school that we would know that any group of three or more would have a Katie, Jennifer, Alison or Jessica. It was a great introduction style. You could yell or ask about those names in succession and someone would turn, then you had an immediate intro. But that’s back before the birthrate completely collapsed and you had to be a little creative to start talking and people weren’t afraid of getting shot down in a video that would go viral and ruin your life for a few months. Sigh.
Tdk1984@reddit
In my high school, the name Megan was pretty popular. I knew at least 3 off the top of my head, and two of them joked that you could go into the hall between periods, yell out Megan and half the girls would turn their head
InsuranceJerk@reddit
Heather had to be up there in the top 10.
UnfortunateSnort12@reddit
Last time I was single, I dated 3 different Jessica’s. This was in like 6 months. Then I saw two of them next to eachother in a group pictures of singles watching the Kentucky Derby (dresses, hats, you know the outfit.) I was like, man…. If you two only knew…. lol.
InternationalLack614@reddit
16 of us just my class. We had picture in the year book.
BigEd369@reddit
Haven’t seen any young Kimberly’s lately, and even Amy’s seem to be fairly rare these days.
RVAforthewin@reddit
I remember when we had 5 Jennifers in home room one year. Ugh.
therobotscott@reddit
I am not doubting you in the least, but the only Jennifer I knew was my cousin. I knew a few Jessicas. I feel like I knew more Ashleys, Lauras, and Amys than I did Jennifers or Jessicas.
crazycatlady331@reddit
The class below me (\~100 kids) had 6 Laurens.
hey_nonny_mooses@reddit
Jennifer means “white lady”. So basically a ton of middle age white ladies.
Temporary_Present640@reddit
What happened to the Kimberly's? It's like they disappeared.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Kimberly was extremely rare before 1950. It slowly rises to the top 5 between 1965 and 1973. After that it steady falls down to 100th in 2013 and 303rd in 2025.
wyc1inc@reddit
Out of the top 500?!?!?! That is sheer insanity considering the number of Jennifers and Jessicas I still know. Wow.
adchick@reddit
You see a similar trend with Amy. I think the issue is 1980s parents thought they were being “so original “, but they all picked the same handful of names. Kids (now adults) with those very popular names grew up to despise being “one of the’s”
ShannonMcKeownWW@reddit
Such boring names.
cat_at_the_keyboard@reddit
I was one of two Melissas in 5th grade but I hardly come across anyone else nowadays
guiltypleasures82@reddit
I have one of those names and a friend with the same color hair has the other. There are some people who cannot remember which is which.
I was on a soccer team with 5 Jennifers. We went with all last names.
I really hate my name but I'm stuck with it, changing it is too much hassle. Luckily I have an uncommon last name.
Tia_Baggs@reddit
we had plenty of Jessicas, Jennifers, Jessies, and Jennys but those numbers were nothing compared to our massive amounts of Sara(h)s. We were getting to the third letter of last names to distinguish them. My name is in the top 40 for my birth year but I was the only one in my class of 400 because everyone else was one of the above or Angela, Amanda, or Melissa.
unanyth1ng@reddit
my wife’s name is jessika. her sister is jennifer
Door_Number_Four@reddit
Everyone knew a mean girl named Jennifer or Jessica and hence they would never name their daughter that.
Jaleou@reddit
In my grade in school there were 2 Jessica's. When I was in college, and when I counted I either knew or knew of at least 17 Jennifer's.
gummi-demilo@reddit
There was a Jenny across the hall from me and one downstairs from me that I both played with as a kid, though neither went to my school. At school there were at least a dozen in my grade alone.
jennifer_m13@reddit
Checking in
Sevenswansaswimming8@reddit
My class has 7 Jessica's in 98..including me.. and yet somehow I still got called Jennifer.
Miz_momo82@reddit
I never had a classmate named Jessica until high school and I think our class only had 1 maybe 2 out of 130ish girls? Same with Jennifer, I only knew one growing up and there were a couple in my high school class. My elementary/Jr high classes were not more than 30 students but my gen x bros definitely had multiple Jennifers and Jessicas in their classes
Stop_Already@reddit
I came |—| this close to be a Jennifer. I’m so glad my mom changed her mind at the last minute.
No offense to Jennifer’s of course and my name wasn’t super uncommon but there were like 8 Jennifer’s in my grade and only one other me who spelled it differently. :)
carinosa34@reddit
We also had a lot of Heathers.
turnpike37@reddit
Enough to make a movie
Hot-Fact-3250@reddit
I always hated my name, because it was so common.
Then I saw “I Married a Witch” from the ‘40s.
Veronica Lake’s character is named Jennifer and something about pronouncing it in a mid Atlantic accent that made it sound romantic and exotic.
ZipperJJ@reddit
I was in a 2nd grade class with two other Jessica B’s. Since we couldn’t be called Jessica [initial] we ended up as Jessica, Jessi and JJ. Forty years later I’m still JJ. But only to people who know me from school.
Everyone else was a Jennifer.
unholycowgod@reddit
There were something like 5 Jennifer's and Chris's in my elementary grade. Was crazy. But there was only that one Tyler. Until he fell off the tall slide and we never saw him again.
Fuckspez42@reddit
Jason was similarly common to Jennifer in those days. I once had a high school chemistry class where, out of 21 students, there were 8 Jasons, 7 Jennifers, and 3 Jessicas. The remaining 3 consisted of a Ryan and two foreign exchange students.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
What a shame. Those were great names.
ntrrrmilf@reddit
I was a teacher from 2004-2021 and I never taught a Jennifer which always seemed so weird to me. And now I’m realizing I also never taught a Jessica.
Verbull710@reddit
"I vowed to myself that I wouldn't make the same mistakes that my parents made" - Jennifer, 44, mother to Ella, Emma, Ava, Braxton, and Paxton
59apache01@reddit
The wild thing is, I never knew a Jessica growing up and only knew one Jennifer, who went by Jenny. I was born in 1978, so right in the middle of that name boom.
I think I knew more Annes, Carries, Rachels, and Susans than any other female name growing up.
DrSheetzMTO@reddit
I used to believe there were no ugly girls named Jessica.
Zargoza1@reddit
Kennedeigh, Brynleigh, and Kyleigh don’t approve.
Thenadamgoes@reddit
I know they’re popular names but I must have lived in a name bubble cause I didn’t meet a Jennifer or a Jessica until I was an adult. A lot of Ashleys and John’s though.
musical_shares@reddit
There were 4 Allisons living on my street when we moved in, back in 1987. They were like a little street gang.
Meanwhile, my kids don’t know a single Matthew, Michael or Christopher out of 100 kids in their grade level.
tomphammer@reddit
Jennifer wasn’t just a non-popular name before it exploded after “Love Story”. Almost no one had that name.
It’s probably never going to go back to basically nonexistent now that it’s an established name, but its surge and then disappearance makes perfect sense.
It’s not like Mary or Helen or Elizabeth. The historical precedent for coming in and out of popularly is just not there.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Jennifer was #893 in 1939 and jumped up to #156 by 1946. Then it slowly climbs up to #3 right before the movie came out in 1970. After the movie, it jumps into the #1 spot for 15 years.
jenncrock@reddit
I was named after a 1946 Jennifer, I am a 1986 Jennifer 🤷♀️
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit (OP)
Something happened during WW2 that launched it out of complete obscurity.
schultz100@reddit
My 19 year old recently declared that 100% of Amy's that he knows are either over 44 or British Lesbians. He knows a few of the former and two of the latter.
ChaucersDuchess@reddit
And I, on the other hand, got called Megan all the time, instead of my actual name. Idk if the spelling through them off that hard or what (it’s German for morning).
Hipcatjack@reddit
Back in the early 2010’s, i remember filling an Rx for a Jennifer in her 70’s… having just read Freakanomics , i clocked her as being old money. sure enough, the tech that rang her up said she used a black Amex to pay for her scripts.
udkyle2@reddit
LOL pretty sure I knew multiple Jessica/Jennifer sibling families
Slippery-Pete76@reddit
Funny how these cycle around. My grandmother’s name was Evelyn and when I was a kid it was seen as a grandma name, and now it’s in the top 10.
Evendim@reddit
Thank god... there is still something like 15 Jessicas in my social circle.
palmburntblue@reddit
Because everyone in our generation knew a Jessica who was a total fucking bitch.
hvc101fc@reddit
There was a point when i was a kid that if your name is Jessica, you’re probably my crush immediately.
TerrakSteeltalon@reddit
In college, one of my friends went into the game room and shouted “hey Jen” just to see how many people looked
FinallyKat@reddit
I have twin cousins who are Jennifer and Jessica, and also had four Jennifers and two Jessicas in my classes growing up
deanna6812@reddit
Sooo, my niece and nephew have their mother and three aunts in their lives born in this timeframe. Two Jennifers and a Jessica. I’m the fourth woman and escaped these 80s names.
Purple_Bearkat@reddit
There are like 5 Olivia’s in each of my kids classes. We’re truly herd animals.
Santos_L_Halper_II@reddit
Makes sense. Jennifer and Jessica aren’t growing up and naming their kids that. And there were so many everyone else knows a Jennifer or Jessica they don’t like.
Diligent_Accident775@reddit
There have been 5 Jenns at my work
dbzmah@reddit
That's because idiot expecting parents spell the names "Jizzehcuh, and jheynFur". r/tragedeigh
sweetassassin@reddit
Jizz for short 💦
AmazingRefrigerator4@reddit
My first two girlfriends in High school were Jenny and Jessica.
Reportersteven@reddit
The next version of this will be Jynyfur and G3ssika based on what I see in r/tragedeigh/
Little_Plankton4001@reddit
And my first job out of college, there were two jennifers who both went by Jenny, but one went by Jen just to save confusion. Then we hired another woman also named Jennifer who went by Jen but Jen was already taken by one of the Jenny's so she had to become Jennifer. Then the first Jenny left and I suggest that everybody go to the names that they preferred, but I was told by everybody including the other two Jennifers that was just too confusing.
So Jen stayed Jen even though she'd prefered Jenny, and Jen stayed Jennifer even though she preferred Jen.
jambr380@reddit
Man, whoever would have thought that Jennifer was going to become the new Mildred or Eunice? I know some old lady names like Madeline or Miriam made a comeback, but such is the way of life. Hoping for the best for all you Jennifers and Jessicas out there
noronto@reddit
Soon to be the new Karens.
Tylerdurden389@reddit
My gradeschool graduation class had twins named Jennifer and Jessica. I have 2 cousins who are also twins, also named Jennifer and Jessica.
Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit
we need Sean’s to make a comeback too!
It depends if we are good grandparents!