Popular baby names in California, 1928

The most popular baby names in California in 1928 were Mary for girls (1,785 babies) and Robert for boys (2,385). Social Security records list 74,261 babies born in California in 1928 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1928

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

Girls

Soledad: 24 babies, 13.5× the national rate
Lupe: 135 babies, 11.5× the national rate
Erlinda: 20 babies, 10.8× the national rate
Catalina: 33 babies, 10.4× the national rate
Esperanza: 65 babies, 8.9× the national rate
Consuelo: 103 babies, 8.5× the national rate
Angie: 46 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Carmelita: 21 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Carmen: 236 babies, 7.3× the national rate
Margarita: 73 babies, 7.3× the national rate

Boys

Akira: 26 babies, 21.3× the national rate
Angel: 45 babies, 9.8× the national rate
Salvador: 93 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Refugio: 19 babies, 9× the national rate
Hector: 52 babies, 8.3× the national rate
Enrique: 53 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Raul: 101 babies, 8× the national rate
Ruben: 125 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Rafael: 52 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Adolfo: 23 babies, 7× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1928

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Mary	1,785	–	1
2	Barbara	1,463	–	8
3	Betty	1,222	–	2
4	Dorothy	883	–	3
5	Patricia	829	–	11
6	Helen	634	–	4
7	Shirley	613	↑1	10
8	Virginia	607	↑1	9
9	Margaret	573	↓2	5
10	Beverly	524	↑2	46
11	Gloria	520	↓1	25
12	Dolores	505	↑4	20
13	Alice	426	↑1	19
14	Ruth	423	↓3	6
15	Frances	392	↓2	13
16	Doris	378	↑1	7
17	Jean	371	↓2	12
18	Lois	357	↑1	18
19	Maria	349	↑1	>100
20	Marilyn	337	↑2	38
21	Joan	318	↑16	27
22	Joyce	308	↑5	30
23	Marjorie	307	↓2	29
24	Evelyn	296	↓6	17
25	Elizabeth	275	↓1	14
26	Esther	269	↑8	66
27	Nancy	266	↑5	43
28	Phyllis	263	↓5	26
29	Lorraine	261	↓3	39
30	Norma	261	↑1	23
31	Josephine	260	↓6	42
32	Eleanor	251	↓2	36
33	Marie	249	↓5	21
34	Rose	242	↓1	24
35	Carmen	236	↑3	>100
36	June	225	↓7	44
37	Irene	220	↓1	28
38	Mildred	202	↓3	15
39	Jacqueline	198	↑1	97
40	Carol	193	new	77
41	Geraldine	193	↑8	50
42	Lucille	180	↓1	51
43	Florence	178	↓4	32
44	Lillian	177	–	35
45	Sally	175	new	>100
46	Donna	166	new	61
47	Marian	165	↓4	71
48	Anna	163	↓6	16
49	Martha	161	new	22
50	Marion	160	↓5	47

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1927	US rank
1	Robert	2,385	–	1
2	John	1,510	–	2
3	Richard	1,502	↑1	6
4	William	1,367	↓1	4
5	Donald	1,171	↑1	7
6	James	1,121	↓1	3
7	George	901	–	8
8	Charles	797	–	5
9	Frank	720	–	12
10	Jack	653	–	15
11	David	525	↑2	19
12	Joe	485	↑2	30
13	Edward	478	↓2	10
14	Raymond	474	↓2	16
15	Thomas	420	↑3	11
16	Paul	418	–	13
17	Kenneth	416	–	17
18	Joseph	376	↓3	9
19	Manuel	372	↑4	>100
20	Albert	370	↑2	23
21	Arthur	368	↓1	22
22	Harold	357	↓3	14
23	Henry	327	↓2	21
24	Jose	325	↑4	>100
25	Walter	298	↓1	18
26	Bill	282	↑5	64
27	Eugene	276	–	20
28	Ralph	271	↓2	24
29	Don	252	↑15	84
30	Fred	250	↓1	36
31	Bob	240	↑4	95
32	Harry	237	↓7	26
33	Roy	237	↑4	34
34	Ronald	236	↑9	50
35	Stanley	232	↓3	45
36	Norman	227	↓2	39
37	Alfred	225	↑4	33
38	Ernest	216	↓5	43
39	Louis	215	↓9	32
40	Herbert	201	new	25
41	Daniel	200	↓5	47
42	Howard	195	↓3	31
43	Gilbert	192	↑6	96
44	Gerald	183	↓6	41
45	Jesus	173	↑1	>100
46	Tony	172	↓6	>100
47	Jerry	162	new	79
48	Lawrence	147	↓6	38
49	Earl	145	↓4	37
50	Ray	145	new	57

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