Popular baby names in California, 1931

The most popular baby names in California in 1931 were Mary for girls (1,626 babies) and Robert for boys (2,417). Social Security records list 71,476 babies born in California in 1931 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1931

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

Girls

Armida: 28 babies, 11.5× the national rate
Lupe: 150 babies, 11.3× the national rate
Catalina: 24 babies, 10.6× the national rate
Socorro: 35 babies, 9.2× the national rate
Consuelo: 84 babies, 8.1× the national rate
Esperanza: 42 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Raquel: 29 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Angie: 46 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Dianne: 22 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Carmen: 189 babies, 6.1× the national rate

Boys

Salvador: 89 babies, 9.7× the national rate
Miguel: 60 babies, 9.1× the national rate
Angel: 29 babies, 7.7× the national rate
Enrique: 40 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Manuel: 312 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Raul: 85 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Lupe: 30 babies, 6.7× the national rate
Luis: 60 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Rafael: 41 babies, 6.2× the national rate
Guadalupe: 67 babies, 6.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1931

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Mary	1,626	–	1
2	Barbara	1,480	–	4
3	Betty	1,053	–	2
4	Patricia	928	–	8
5	Dorothy	723	–	3
6	Joan	690	↑1	5
7	Shirley	674	↓1	9
8	Marilyn	601	↑5	19
9	Beverly	580	↑1	31
10	Margaret	551	↑2	7
11	Gloria	526	↑3	23
12	Virginia	517	↓3	12
13	Helen	505	↓2	6
14	Dolores	485	↓6	14
15	Nancy	485	↑1	17
16	Joyce	445	↑2	15
17	Ruth	375	–	11
18	Alice	337	↓3	21
19	Frances	332	↑1	18
20	Jean	322	↓1	13
21	Lois	317	↑1	20
22	Carol	297	↑3	46
23	Donna	287	↑5	32
24	Doris	286	↓3	10
25	Norma	282	↓1	22
26	Evelyn	259	–	24
27	Maria	255	↓4	>100
28	Phyllis	243	↑2	29
29	Joanne	237	↑11	68
30	Marjorie	236	↓3	34
31	Elizabeth	223	↓2	16
32	Josephine	222	–	51
33	Esther	221	↑6	79
34	Eleanor	219	↑1	40
35	Janet	218	↑10	45
36	June	218	↓2	44
37	Marie	212	↓4	27
38	Rose	205	↓7	30
39	Ann	198	new	35
40	Irene	198	↑1	37
41	Marlene	197	new	95
42	Carmen	189	↓6	>100
43	Sally	189	–	97
44	Lorraine	188	↓6	49
45	Louise	188	↓3	33
46	Jacqueline	185	↓9	78
47	Geraldine	171	↓3	38
48	Lupe	150	new	>100
49	Martha	150	new	28
50	Carolyn	147	↓2	60

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1930	US rank
1	Robert	2,417	–	1
2	Richard	1,604	–	5
3	John	1,546	–	3
4	William	1,318	–	4
5	Donald	1,287	–	7
6	James	1,182	–	2
7	Charles	825	–	6
8	George	800	–	8
9	Jack	639	↑2	15
10	David	637	–	13
11	Frank	584	↓2	16
12	Edward	478	–	11
13	Ronald	456	↑6	27
14	Thomas	439	↑1	10
15	Raymond	424	↓1	17
16	Joe	413	↓3	29
17	Joseph	407	↓1	9
18	Kenneth	403	–	14
19	Paul	368	↓2	12
20	Albert	324	↑1	24
21	Manuel	312	↑2	>100
22	Henry	305	↑2	22
23	Arthur	299	↓1	23
24	Don	285	↑3	59
25	Harold	270	↓5	18
26	Ralph	270	↓1	25
27	Fred	255	↑1	33
28	Bill	254	↑3	57
29	Walter	242	↓3	20
30	Norman	241	↑5	36
31	Gerald	239	↑3	26
32	Eugene	235	↓2	21
33	Bob	228	–	78
34	Jerry	221	↑9	43
35	Harry	218	↑2	30
36	Jose	201	↓7	>100
37	Lawrence	200	↑8	38
38	Stanley	198	↑4	49
39	Daniel	196	↓1	44
40	Louis	193	↓8	37
41	Ernest	190	↓5	47
42	Peter	182	↑5	61
43	Alfred	181	↓2	50
44	Howard	178	–	34
45	Roy	169	↓5	35
46	Gilbert	162	↓7	92
47	Ray	161	↑2	60
48	Carl	160	new	28
49	Tony	157	↓3	>100
50	Douglas	136	new	85

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