Birth year

Born in 1983? Here's your year in charts

In 1983, the top baby names were Jennifer and Michael, a dozen eggs cost $0.89, unemployment averaged 9.6%, a newborn could expect to live 74.6 years, and the world had 4.68 billion people.

Top baby names of 1983

Girls

  1. 1. Jennifer 54,353 babies, 3.3% of girls
  2. 2. Jessica 45,283 babies, 2.7% of girls
  3. 3. Amanda 33,749 babies, 2.0% of girls
  4. 4. Ashley 33,289 babies, 2.0% of girls
  5. 5. Sarah 27,228 babies, 1.6% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 68,004 babies, 3.8% of boys
  2. 2. Christopher 59,324 babies, 3.3% of boys
  3. 3. Matthew 50,209 babies, 2.8% of boys
  4. 4. David 39,201 babies, 2.2% of boys
  5. 5. Joshua 36,687 babies, 2.0% 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.

1983 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

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    $0.89 in 1983, compared with $2.27 in September 2026

    Average price of grade A large eggs in U.S. cities.

  • Unemployment rate

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    9.6% in 1983, compared with 4.2% in September 2026

    Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.

  • Life expectancy at birth

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    74.6 years in 1983, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

  • People in the world

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    4.68 billion in 1983, 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 1983.

$100 in 1983 buys about as much as $338.29 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates