Birth year
Born in 1972? Here's your year in charts
In 1972, the top baby names were Jennifer and Michael, unemployment averaged 5.6%, a newborn could expect to live 71.2 years, and the world had 3.83 billion people.
Top baby names of 1972
Girls
Boys
- 1. Michael 71,393 babies, 4.4% of boys
- 2. Christopher 52,172 babies, 3.2% of boys
- 3. James 47,063 babies, 2.9% of boys
- 4. David 46,322 babies, 2.9% of boys
- 5. John 43,158 babies, 2.7% of boys
From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.
1972 then vs. now
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Unemployment rate
See the chart5.6% in 1972, compared with 4.2% in September 2026
Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.
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Life expectancy at birth
See the chart71.2 years in 1972, compared with 78.7 years in 2018
How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.
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People in the world
See the chart3.83 billion in 1972, compared with 8.22 billion in 2025
World population at mid-year.
Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1972.
$100 in 1972 buys about as much as $805.76 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator
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Sources and dates
- Baby names: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (national data) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of December 31, 2025
- Unemployment rate: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026
- Life expectancy at birth: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Death rates and life expectancy at birth (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of December 31, 2018
- People in the world: World Bank, World Development Indicators: Population, total (CC BY 4.0 (credit the World Bank)), data as of December 31, 2025