The year was 2004. Facebook launched in February from a Harvard dorm room. Shrek 2 was the biggest film of the year. About 4.1 million babies were born. The naming landscape had shifted sharply from the Jennifer/Michael era of the 1980s and 1990s: biblical names dominated the boys' chart, and the girls' list was in a transitional moment — Emily was still #1, but Emma was climbing fast toward a takeover that would shape the next twenty years.
Here's what the SSA data shows for 2004.
Top 15 Boy Names, 2004
| Rank | Name | 2004 babies | 2024 rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob | 27,906 | #41 | Held #1 from 1999 to 2012 — the longest modern boys' run; declining now |
| 2 | Michael | 25,470 | #18 | Still in the top 20 — the only name that bridges 1964 and 2024 |
| 3 | Joshua | 24,213 | #57 | Fading but solid |
| 4 | Matthew | 22,882 | #33 | Holding mid-chart |
| 5 | Ethan | 22,210 | #19 | Still top 20 in 2024 — ages well |
| 6 | Andrew | 21,714 | #68 | Reliable mid-chart |
| 7 | Daniel | 21,012 | #16 | Top 20 in 2024 |
| 8 | William | 20,235 | #10 | Top 10 in 2024 — the great vintage revival |
| 9 | Joseph | 20,145 | #32 | Steady |
| 10 | Christopher | 19,636 | #61 | Declining from 1980s peak |
| 11 | Anthony | 19,613 | #44 | Latin-heritage presence; holding well |
| 12 | Ryan | 19,497 | #87 | Fading |
| 13 | Nicholas | 18,519 | #118 | Was top 5 in the 1990s; declining |
| 14 | David | 18,407 | #31 | Perpetually mid-chart |
| 15 | Alexander | 17,925 | #27 | Still top 30 in 2024 — one of the best-aging names from this list |
Top 15 Girl Names, 2004
| Rank | Name | 2004 babies | 2024 rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily | 25,041 | #25 | Held #1 from 1996 to 2007; still top 30 today |
| 2 | Emma | 21,620 | #2 | Was climbing toward its takeover — now the defining name of the era |
| 3 | Madison | 20,628 | #46 | Invented by a 1984 mermaid film; still surprisingly present |
| 4 | Olivia | 16,108 | #1 | Was #4 in 2004 — became #1 by 2019 and has held it since |
| 5 | Hannah | 15,613 | #52 | Still solid |
| 6 | Abigail | 15,435 | #32 | Quietly durable |
| 7 | Isabella | 15,021 | #7 | Still top 10 twenty years later |
| 8 | Ashley | 14,377 | #124 | Remnant of the 1980s; declining |
| 9 | Samantha | 13,787 | #127 | Bewitched-era name; has held mid-chart longer than expected |
| 10 | Elizabeth | 13,574 | #17 | Still top 20 — the most resilient girls' name in the data |
| 11 | Alexis | 13,477 | #506 | Dynasty name; surprisingly high in 2004, crashing now |
| 12 | Sarah | 12,754 | #95 | Biblical; holds |
| 13 | Grace | 12,536 | #40 | Has aged exceptionally well |
| 14 | Alyssa | 12,109 | #399 | 1990s–2000s peak; fading |
| 15 | Sophia | 10,919 | #6 | Was #15 in 2004 — about to become the defining name of the 2010s |
What stands out
Olivia and Sophia were already in the room. Olivia at #4 in 2004 is now #1. Sophia at #15 in 2004 is now #6. Both names were already popular twenty years ago; what happened is that their growth continued while everything around them peaked and declined. If you were picking names in 2004, Olivia and Sophia looked like rising mid-chart names — they were actually the beginning of a twenty-year dominance.
Emma was a year away from the crown. Emma was #2 in 2004 and is #2 in 2024. In between, it held #1 from 2008 to 2018. The remarkable thing about Emma is that it peaked and didn't really fall — it went from #1 to #2 to #2. Almost every name that reaches #1 collapses afterward. Emma is the exception.
Jacob's long decline has begun. Jacob held #1 for boys from 1999 to 2012 — the longest modern boys' run. In 2004 it was at its peak with 27,906 babies. In 2024 it's at #41. The decline is happening, but slowly — Jacob is aging differently than Jennifer and Jessica did, partly because it has biblical roots and partly because the name is common enough across many communities that the cycle takes longer.
William's comeback is visible in the data. William was #8 in 2004 with 20,235 babies. By 2024 it's back to #10. The name had been declining since the 1950s and had reached its nadir in the 1990s; 2004 is in the early phase of the vintage revival that would eventually push it back to the top. The same arc — old-fashioned peak, mid-century dormancy, current resurgence — applies to James, Henry, and Charles.
Madison: the accidental naming revolution. Madison was #3 in 2004. The name comes from the 1984 film Splash, where a mermaid chooses it after seeing a Madison Avenue street sign. Before 1985, Madison as a first name was essentially unknown. Within fifteen years it was top 3 nationally. No name has ever gone from zero to the top of the chart so quickly from a single cultural moment — and it's still at #46 twenty years later.
Alexis is crashing. Alexis at #11 in 2004 (driven by Dynasty's Alexis Carrington) is now at #506. It's tracking the same curve as Crystal — a prime-time soap character name that was ubiquitous for a decade and is now dated. The Schitt's Creek revival of Alexis Rose hasn't reversed the decline.
The 2004 list shows what twenty years does. Eight of the fifteen girls' names are still inside the top 130 in 2024. Seven of the fifteen boys' names are inside the top 70. That's the durability of the biblical/classic name era — compared to the 1964 list (where most names have effectively disappeared) or the 1984 list (where Jennifer, Crystal, and Heather are near-extinct), the 2004 top 15 has aged remarkably well.
See the full rankings for 2004 or explore names like Emma, Olivia, and Jacob in depth.
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration 2004 and 2024 releases.