Birth year

Born in 2002? Here's your year in charts

In 2002, the top baby names were Emily and Jacob, a dozen eggs cost $1.03, a gallon of gas cost $1.34, unemployment averaged 5.8%, a newborn could expect to live 77.0 years, and the world had 6.33 billion people.

Top baby names of 2002

Girls

  1. 1. Emily 24,470 babies, 1.4% of girls
  2. 2. Madison 21,774 babies, 1.2% of girls
  3. 3. Hannah 18,828 babies, 1.0% of girls
  4. 4. Emma 16,558 babies, 0.9% of girls
  5. 5. Alexis 15,636 babies, 0.9% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Jacob 30,586 babies, 1.6% of boys
  2. 2. Michael 28,258 babies, 1.5% of boys
  3. 3. Joshua 25,998 babies, 1.3% of boys
  4. 4. Matthew 25,154 babies, 1.3% of boys
  5. 5. Ethan 22,113 babies, 1.1% 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.

2002 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

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    $1.03 in 2002, 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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    $1.34 in 2002, compared with $4.36 in September 2026

    Average U.S. retail price.

  • Unemployment rate

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    5.8% in 2002, 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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    77.0 years in 2002, 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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    6.33 billion in 2002, 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 2002.

$100 in 2002 buys about as much as $187.32 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

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Sources and dates