Popular baby names in California, 1912

The most popular baby names in California in 1912 were Mary for girls (534 babies) and John for boys (501). Social Security records list 17,946 babies born in California in 1912 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1912

Names given at least 15 times in California that year and at least twice as common as in the US as a whole.

Girls

Lupe: 15 babies, 13.1× the national rate
Carmen: 27 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Isabel: 42 babies, 4.3× the national rate
Elinor: 20 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Anita: 39 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Patricia: 35 babies, 4× the national rate
Claire: 31 babies, 4× the national rate
June: 31 babies, 3.8× the national rate
Barbara: 72 babies, 3.5× the national rate
Lorraine: 34 babies, 3.5× the national rate

Boys

Manuel: 54 babies, 6.1× the national rate
Alfonso: 15 babies, 6× the national rate
Tony: 29 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Laurence: 20 babies, 3.9× the national rate
Juan: 15 babies, 3.7× the national rate
Jose: 23 babies, 3.4× the national rate
Pete: 16 babies, 3.2× the national rate
Antonio: 16 babies, 3.1× the national rate
Phillip: 17 babies, 2.9× the national rate
Jack: 144 babies, 2.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1912

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	Mary	534	–	1
2	Dorothy	406	–	3
3	Helen	321	–	2
4	Margaret	280	–	4
5	Ruth	221	–	5
6	Frances	184	–	9
7	Alice	181	–	11
8	Virginia	175	↑4	20
9	Evelyn	174	↓1	13
10	Elizabeth	172	–	8
11	Marie	157	↓2	10
12	Mildred	146	↑1	6
13	Florence	141	↓2	12
14	Rose	127	↑5	15
15	Josephine	107	↑7	28
16	Edith	103	↑20	31
17	Grace	102	↓3	24
18	Edna	100	↑10	16
19	Marjorie	98	↓2	56
20	Eleanor	95	↑1	39
21	Doris	93	↓3	48
22	Louise	93	↓2	17
23	Gladys	87	↑2	19
24	Lucille	86	↑11	32
25	Hazel	85	↓9	25
26	Lillian	82	↓11	14
27	Irene	80	↑2	22
28	Anna	76	↓1	7
29	Bernice	76	↓5	51
30	Ethel	76	↑2	18
31	Esther	73	↓1	33
32	Barbara	72	↑1	>100
33	Gertrude	72	↑5	30
34	Katherine	72	new	53
35	Thelma	72	↓12	26
36	Lois	71	new	63
37	Catherine	70	↓11	21
38	Elsie	63	↓4	42
39	Jean	62	↓2	64
40	Betty	60	↓1	66
41	Marion	59	↑1	55
42	Emma	56	new	35
43	Laura	56	new	57
44	Genevieve	53	new	92
45	Pauline	53	↓1	38
46	Clara	52	new	34
47	Marguerite	52	new	79
48	Martha	52	↑1	29
49	Ann	51	↓4	47
50	Mabel	50	↓7	46

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1911	US rank
1	John	501	–	1
2	William	412	–	2
3	Robert	350	–	4
4	George	307	–	6
5	James	257	–	3
6	Frank	253	↑1	9
7	Charles	222	↓1	7
8	Joseph	204	–	5
9	Edward	180	↑1	8
10	Jack	144	↓1	28
11	Richard	141	↑6	19
12	Albert	136	↑4	17
13	Harold	124	↑7	13
14	Walter	120	↑9	11
15	Thomas	117	↓3	10
16	Donald	113	↑12	27
17	Raymond	111	↓3	18
18	Henry	108	↑3	12
19	Fred	107	↓1	26
20	Paul	107	↓5	14
21	Harry	100	↓10	16
22	Joe	94	–	36
23	Arthur	87	↓10	15
24	Kenneth	81	↑5	33
25	Alfred	80	–	40
26	Louis	80	↓7	20
27	Ernest	76	↑6	32
28	Howard	76	↑17	25
29	Ralph	72	↓5	23
30	Carl	68	↓3	24
31	Clarence	67	↑1	21
32	David	56	↑7	29
33	Edwin	56	↑5	54
34	Lawrence	56	↓8	38
35	Manuel	54	↓1	>100
36	Herbert	51	↑13	39
37	Stanley	51	↓6	43
38	Earl	50	↓1	34
39	Francis	50	↓4	35
40	Eugene	48	–	41
41	Peter	47	↑6	48
42	Roy	46	↓12	31
43	Philip	42	new	69
44	Leonard	39	new	45
45	Ray	39	↑3	77
46	Theodore	37	new	52
47	Norman	36	new	61
48	Anthony	35	new	37
49	Frederick	35	new	51
50	Daniel	34	↓7	53

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