Popular baby names in California, 1920

The most popular baby names in California in 1920 were Mary for girls (1,554 babies) and Robert for boys (1,821). Robert ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 54,142 babies born in California in 1920 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1920

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

Girls

Michiko: 16 babies, 25.2× the national rate
Miyoko: 17 babies, 20.7× the national rate
Yuriko: 16 babies, 20× the national rate
Kiyoko: 25 babies, 19.4× the national rate
Fumiko: 23 babies, 16.9× the national rate
Yoshiko: 32 babies, 16.6× the national rate
Masako: 15 babies, 13.6× the national rate
Esperanza: 30 babies, 11.1× the national rate
Lupe: 62 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Juana: 26 babies, 7.4× the national rate

Boys

Kenji: 19 babies, 28.8× the national rate
Minoru: 24 babies, 20× the national rate
Kiyoshi: 25 babies, 19.3× the national rate
Masao: 24 babies, 19.3× the national rate
Hideo: 16 babies, 16× the national rate
Yoshio: 20 babies, 15.2× the national rate
Kazuo: 15 babies, 14× the national rate
Hiroshi: 18 babies, 11.9× the national rate
Salvador: 54 babies, 10.9× the national rate
Angel: 20 babies, 9.6× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1920

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919	US rank
1	Mary	1,554	–	1
2	Dorothy	1,091	–	2
3	Margaret	720	↑1	4
4	Helen	719	↓1	3
5	Virginia	633	↑1	7
6	Betty	599	↑2	11
7	Ruth	545	↓2	5
8	Barbara	522	↑1	47
9	Frances	514	↓2	9
10	Evelyn	386	–	12
11	Alice	382	–	15
12	Elizabeth	372	↑3	8
13	Marjorie	348	↑5	24
14	Doris	345	↑3	14
15	Jean	327	↓1	33
16	Marie	301	↓4	13
17	June	289	↑6	53
18	Mildred	288	↓5	6
19	Eleanor	273	↑1	25
20	Josephine	269	↑1	28
21	Florence	245	↓5	16
22	Patricia	238	↑4	>100
23	Lois	233	↓1	38
24	Rose	229	↓5	20
25	Lillian	223	↑2	18
26	Lorraine	218	↓1	70
27	Jane	213	↑4	48
28	Irene	192	↑6	17
29	Phyllis	187	↑6	72
30	Lucille	181	↓1	29
31	Marian	174	↑7	73
32	Edith	173	↑7	32
33	Anna	170	↑4	10
34	Louise	168	↓4	19
35	Bernice	166	↓3	40
36	Marion	165	↑9	43
37	Esther	162	↓13	39
38	Geraldine	161	↑6	60
39	Edna	159	↑7	27
40	Grace	158	↓12	37
41	Shirley	156	new	56
42	Norma	149	↑6	69
43	Maria	143	new	>100
44	Catherine	136	↓11	21
45	Pauline	136	new	36
46	Charlotte	135	new	79
47	Thelma	135	↓11	31
48	Gladys	131	↓8	22
49	Katherine	131	new	45
50	Martha	131	↓7	23

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1919	US rank
1	Robert	1,821	–	3
2	John	1,309	–	1
3	William	1,211	–	2
4	George	899	–	6
5	James	834	–	4
6	Charles	662	↑1	5
7	Frank	631	↓1	9
8	Richard	555	–	10
9	Jack	544	–	20
10	Edward	460	–	8
11	Joseph	451	–	7
12	Donald	435	–	16
13	Raymond	327	–	15
14	Harold	321	↑3	12
15	Albert	318	–	19
16	Joe	310	↓2	35
17	Thomas	309	↑1	11
18	Walter	305	↑1	13
19	Henry	301	↑3	17
20	Arthur	281	↓4	18
21	Paul	279	–	14
22	Harry	267	↓2	21
23	Kenneth	253	↑2	23
24	David	251	–	25
25	Manuel	239	↑1	>100
26	Ralph	237	↑1	22
27	Fred	203	↓4	33
28	Louis	198	↑5	28
29	Ernest	180	↑1	37
30	Eugene	173	↓2	30
31	Alfred	170	–	42
32	Roy	161	↓3	32
33	Howard	156	↑3	24
34	Earl	153	↑5	31
35	Lawrence	146	↓3	36
36	Jose	140	new	>100
37	Stanley	139	↓2	40
38	Herbert	132	↑6	41
39	Carl	130	↓5	27
40	Clarence	128	↑1	26
41	Norman	126	↓4	47
42	Warren	126	new	39
43	Leonard	120	↑3	38
44	Peter	117	↑3	57
45	Anthony	111	↑4	43
46	Francis	111	↓3	34
47	Tony	111	↓9	>100
48	Vernon	111	new	65
49	Edwin	104	↓7	53
50	Melvin	103	↓5	54

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