(March 26, 2025). There have been nearly 500 artists — 470 to be exact — whose first names have been given lead credit on a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit. Whether leading a group (like Joan Jett or Billy Vera) or riding solo, their first names have appeared in more than half of the 1179 No. 1 songs, beginning with the first — Ricky (as in Ricky Nelson) on the song “Poor Little Fool” in 1958 — to the latest — Kendrick and SZA (both given lead billing) — on their duet “Luther” (March 29 chart).
Altogether there’ve been 331 men and 139 women who’ve been given first-name credit as a lead artist on a No. 1 song. Padding the fellas’ already huge margin last year were newcomers Ty (Dolla $ign), Rich (the Kid), Teddy (Swims), Metro (Boomin), Hozier, and Shaboozey. The only new female added to the list in 2024 was Sabrina (Carpenter), who also happened to be the only one among those artists to credit her real first name on her No. 1 hit. So far, no new names have been added in 2025 as every No. 1 artist this year (as of the March 29-dated Hot 100) has had a chart topper in previous years.
Interestingly, none of last year’s newcomers share a first name with previous chart toppers (unless you count Richard Marx for Rich the Kid, whose real name is Dimitri Leslie Roger). So those names have a lot of catching up to do to approach the ones that lead in this category, especially on the men’s side where multiple names have been shared by ten or more No. 1 artists. And if you guessed “Billy” is among the most represented first names of No. 1 artists, you’re barking up the right tree: there’ve been nearly a dozen different variations of Bill or Billy that have topped the Hot 100 since its inception nearly 67 years ago (but there’s one name that tops it).
This article takes a deep dive at the ten most-used first names by artists who’ve had a No. 1 hit. Below the list are a few trivia tidbits that you should know on a “first-name” basis. (Note: no credit is given to artists who appeared only as a featured act on a No. 1 song.)
1. John/Jon/Johnny (18). There have been ten “Johns” that have hit No. 1: John Fred (& his Playboy Band), Denver, Lennon, Sebastian, Oates, Travolta, Cougar, Waite, Parr, and Legend. But that number swells to 18 when you add variations like Jon, Johnny and Johnnie. Those names include Jon Bon Jovi, Johnnie Taylor, and Johnny Horton, Preston, Rivers, Nash, Mathis, plus Johnny of Santo & Johnny.
2. Bill/Billy/Billie (12). There have been 12 No. 1 artists with variations on the name Bill. Bill Withers, Conti, and Medley; plus chart toppers by Billy Paul, Preston, Swan, Davis Jr., Joel, Ocean, Vera, and Idol. Billie Eilish is the lone female with this name variant to hit No. 1.
3. Bob/Bobby/Bobbie (10). The Bobbys had the lead in the Hot 100’s early days. In the chart’s first ten years, there were seven different artists named Bobby who hit No. 1: Bobby Darin, Lewis, Vee, Vinton, “Boris” Pickett, and Goldsboro, plus Bobbie Gentry. And that was all before the first Bill or Billy ever topped the list. Since then, only three more have been added: Bob Seger, Bobby McFerrin and Bobby Brown.
4. Paul (7). Would you believe the last time a guy named Paul hit No. 1 was in 1985 when Paul Young’s “Everytime You Go Away” did it? In the 40 years since, the name Paul has gone away from the top of the charts, but it still ranks fourth with Mr. Young joining Messrs. Anka, Simon, Mauriat, McCartney, and two Pauls who were credited only by their first names: Paul (of Paul and Paula) and Paul (of Peter, Paul, and Mary).
Tied-5. Steve/Stevie (6). For decades, there hadn’t been a No. 1 song by a guy named Steve or Stevie since Stevie B topped the chart with “Because I Love You” in 1990. But Steve Lacy brought this name back to the top with his 2022 smash, “Bad Habit,” which joined hits by Steve Lawrence, Steve Miller Band, Steve Winwood, and, of course, the King of all Steves, Steveland Morris, better known to us all as Stevie Wonder.
Tied-5. Mike/Michael (6). One would think that a name as common as Michael would rank higher on this list. But there have only been six different Mikes or Michaels that have had a No. 1 song, and the most recent of those occurred nearly 30 years ago when Michael Jackson had the first song to ever debut at No. 1: “You Are Not Alone.” Incidentally, the King of Pop was also the first solo guy with this name to top the chart (1972’s “Ben”). In between, there were No. 1 songs by Michael Sembello, McDonald, Damian, Bolton, plus Mike (Rutherford) of Mike + the Mechanics.
Tied-7. Rick/Ricky (5). A three-way tie at No. 7 starts with the Rickys. Ricky Nelson got the Hot 100 ball rolling with the chart’s first No. 1, “Poor Little Fool.” It was another 18 years before he was joined by novelty DJ Rick Dees (1976’s “Disco Duck”). Since then, Rick Springfield (who once lamented being confused with a guy named Bruce — a Bruce who, btw, has never had a No. 1 song), Rick Astley, and Ricky Martin have joined the list. Incidentally, of all these Ricks and Rickys, only two — Rick Springfield and Rick Astley — have “Richard” as their legal first name, which, if so credited, would have placed them in a category with Richard Marx as the only Richards to top the chart. And sorry, but so far there’ve been no Dicks joining them.
Tied-7. Dave/David (5). Once-common (Biblical) names are becoming fewer and farther between in the past 40 years. As another case in point, there hasn’t been a David atop the Hot 100 in more than 40 years. The last time was David Bowie (“Let’s Dance”; 1983). The names that preceded him were Dave “Baby” Cortez, David Seville, David Rose, and David Soul.
Tied-7. Joe/Joey (5): Among the Joes are Joe Dowell, Joe Cocker, Joe Frank (of Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds), and the R&B guy who simply went by Joe. There’s also Joey Dee, who rode the Twist craze to the top in 1962 with “Peppermint Twist,” which famously dethroned Chubby Checker’s original “The Twist” during its second run at No. 1. Oh, and since JoJo of K-Ci & JoJo was born Joel (and not Joe or Joseph), we won’t add him to this list.
Tied-10. Barry (4): There’s a four-way tie for tenth place among names of No. 1 artists. The Barrys include Barry McGuire, SSgt Barry Sadler, Barry White and Barry Manilow
Tied-10. Kim (4): There are three Big Kims: Kim Carnes, Kim Wilde, and Kim Petras (in a duet with Sam Smith), and one Lil Kim (the rapper equally credited with three other women on 2001’s “Lady Marmalade” remake).
Tied-10. Peter (4). The four Peters are: Peter (of Peter & Gordon), Peter (of Peter, Paul & Mary), and Messrs. Cetera and Gabriel
Tied-10. Tommy (4). Tommy Edwards, Roe, James, and Page complete this foursome.
What about the women?
Well, besides the aforementioned Kim plus Billie Eilish and Bobbie Gentry, the name that women have shared the most atop the Hot 100 is Mary: Mary (of Peter, Paul, and Mary), Mary MacGregor, and Mary J. Blige.
Beyond Kim and Mary, there are fifteen women’s names that have been shared twice among lead No. 1 artists (with credit given to spelling variations):
- Amii/Amy: Amii Stewart, Amy Grant
- Carly: Simon, Rae Jepsen
- Debby/Debbie: Debby Boone, Debbie Gibson
- Diana/Diane: Diana Ross, Diane Guerrero (credited with the Encanto cast in 2022)
- Gloria: Gaynor, Estefan
- Jennifer: Warnes, Lopez
- Linda: McCartney (in a duet with Paul), Ronstadt
- Lisa: Lisa Lisa (of Cult Jam), Loeb
- Marilyn: McCoo, Martin (duet with Phil Collins)
- Megan/Meghan: Megan Thee Stallion, Megan Trainor
- Olivia: Newton-John, Rodrigo
- Patti: Austin, LaBelle
- Paula: Paula (of Paul & Paula), Abdul
- Taylor: Dayne, Swift (there’s also been a Taylor Hicks, but he’s a guy)
- Toni: Basil, Braxton (but shout out to Toni Tennille who hit No. 1 twice under her last name)
All 121 of the other names that belong to women who’ve had a No. 1 hit are unique to one person.
The initials.
As for the initials, there’s been a B.J. (Thomas) and a C.W. (McCall) and a T.I. (the famous Atlanta rapper). And who could forget K.C. of K.C. & the Sunshine Band. There’s also been an R. (Kelly) and a guy named Robin Scott who simply went by M, to go with J. (Geils) and J. (Balvin). And although there has been a Q (“Dancin’ Man,” 1977) to make the chart, he never had a No. 1 hit.
In fact, Q is the only letter not represented in the first initial of a name-credited artist on a No. 1 hit. The letters U (Usher), X (XXXTentacion), and Y (Yvonne Elliman) have the next-fewest names with one each. Every other letter is represented more than once, including Z (Zach Bryan and Zayn). Of course, Zayn comes last alphabetically, while the late Aaliyah comes first.
So, what does this all mean? Well, nothing really… besides being a chart nerd’s rabbit hole. But if you’re an aspiring artist hoping to top the Hot 100 one day, history suggests you might want to consider naming yourself Johnny, Bobby, or Billy — those names have proven chart-friendly (even if only in an earlier lifetime). But if you really want to make your mark, why not be the first Quincy, Quentin, or Queenie to reach the summit? After all, in the world of pop music, there’s always room for a new first name to make history.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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