Birth year

Born in 1991? Here's your year in charts

In 1991, the top baby names were Ashley and Michael, a dozen eggs cost $0.99, a gallon of gas cost $1.10, unemployment averaged 6.9%, a newborn could expect to live 75.5 years, and the world had 5.39 billion people.

Top baby names of 1991

Girls

  1. 1. Ashley 43,477 babies, 2.3% of girls
  2. 2. Jessica 43,398 babies, 2.3% of girls
  3. 3. Brittany 29,093 babies, 1.6% of girls
  4. 4. Amanda 28,896 babies, 1.5% of girls
  5. 5. Samantha 25,651 babies, 1.4% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 60,810 babies, 3.0% of boys
  2. 2. Christopher 47,111 babies, 2.3% of boys
  3. 3. Matthew 41,647 babies, 2.1% of boys
  4. 4. Joshua 41,226 babies, 2.0% of boys
  5. 5. Andrew 31,539 babies, 1.6% 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.

1991 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

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    $0.99 in 1991, compared with $2.27 in September 2026

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

  • A gallon of regular gas

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    $1.10 in 1991, compared with $4.36 in September 2026

    Average U.S. retail price.

  • Unemployment rate

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    6.9% in 1991, 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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    75.5 years in 1991, 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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    5.39 billion in 1991, 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 1991.

$100 in 1991 buys about as much as $247.40 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates