Birth year
Born in 1986? Here's your year in charts
In 1986, the top baby names were Jessica and Michael, a dozen eggs cost $0.87, unemployment averaged 7.0%, a newborn could expect to live 74.7 years, and the world had 4.94 billion people.
Top baby names of 1986
Girls
Boys
- 1. Michael 64,235 babies, 3.5% of boys
- 2. Christopher 56,693 babies, 3.1% of boys
- 3. Matthew 46,929 babies, 2.5% of boys
- 4. Joshua 37,542 babies, 2.0% of boys
- 5. David 37,150 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.
1986 then vs. now
-
A dozen eggs
See the chart$0.87 in 1986, compared with $2.27 in September 2026
Average price of grade A large eggs in U.S. cities.
-
Unemployment rate
See the chart7.0% in 1986, compared with 4.2% in September 2026
Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.
-
Life expectancy at birth
See the chart74.7 years in 1986, 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
See the chart4.94 billion in 1986, 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 1986.
$100 in 1986 buys about as much as $307.40 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator
Share this year
Try another year
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
- A dozen eggs: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Average Price Data (eggs, grade A, large) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026
- 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