These were the hottest baby names 50 years ago. What happened?

(NEXSTAR) – There’s a good chance that if you’re turning 50 this year, your name is Jennifer or Michael or Jason. There’s also a pretty good chance that if you are a grandparent or will be soon, the newest member of your family will not have at least two of those names. 

The odds are relatively high that, instead, their name will be Liam or Olivia or one of the handful of others that have been incredibly popular in recent years. 

Before Liam and Olivia became the most popular baby names in the U.S., it was Michael and Jennifer at the top of their respective lists. A Nexstar review of data from the Social Security Administration shows that in 1976, Jennifer was the most popular name for newborn girls in every state, while Michael was the most popular for boys in 34 states. Jason claimed the top spot in 15 others, while James was No. 1 in two. 

The SSA reports that between 1926 and 2025, more than 1 million Jasons have been born, making it the No. 26 boy name overall across the time period. There have been more than 1.4 million Jennifers over the same span, making it the third-most-popular name for girls. 

They weren’t in the limelight forever, though. It’s been at least a decade since Jason even landed in the top 100 baby names for any state, and even longer for Jennifer. 

It was those Jennifers and Jasons, and likely their friends, who helped break the........

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