Popular baby names in California, 1936

The most popular baby names in California in 1936 were Mary for girls (1,541 babies) and Robert for boys (2,546). Social Security records list 74,936 babies born in California in 1936 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1936

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: 22 babies, 12.4× the national rate
Lupe: 107 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Raquel: 21 babies, 7.5× the national rate
Consuelo: 45 babies, 7.1× the national rate
Angie: 46 babies, 6× the national rate
Aurora: 37 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Carmen: 155 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Esperanza: 25 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Margarita: 45 babies, 5× the national rate
Gerry: 22 babies, 4.4× the national rate

Boys

Salvador: 55 babies, 7.8× the national rate
Raul: 65 babies, 6.3× the national rate
Rudy: 85 babies, 5.9× the national rate
Manuel: 242 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Armando: 33 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Fernando: 24 babies, 5.4× the national rate
Ernie: 27 babies, 5.2× the national rate
Ruben: 90 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Luis: 40 babies, 4.8× the national rate
Darryl: 32 babies, 4.8× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1936

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Mary	1,541	↑1	1
2	Barbara	1,438	↓1	3
3	Patricia	1,132	↑1	5
4	Carol	873	↑2	10
5	Shirley	865	↓2	2
6	Joan	736	↓1	7
7	Nancy	607	↑1	8
8	Betty	594	↓1	4
9	Beverly	548	↑1	17
10	Marilyn	546	↓1	13
11	Donna	505	↑2	22
12	Margaret	491	↓1	9
13	Virginia	469	↑1	14
14	Helen	432	↑1	11
15	Dorothy	426	↓3	6
16	Gloria	388	↑1	32
17	Joyce	380	↑4	12
18	Dolores	355	↓2	30
19	Diane	329	↑1	>100
20	Janet	325	↓1	21
21	Frances	322	↓3	19
22	Sharon	317	↑15	60
23	Sandra	312	↑7	38
24	Alice	295	↑1	27
25	Carolyn	293	↑3	23
26	Marlene	293	–	39
27	Ruth	278	↓4	16
28	Joanne	266	↓4	48
29	Sally	262	↓2	59
30	Janice	260	↑8	31
31	Jean	254	↓9	20
32	Darlene	243	↓3	83
33	Ann	237	–	28
34	Lois	230	↓3	26
35	Norma	223	↓3	29
36	Elizabeth	222	↓1	18
37	Irene	218	↑8	57
38	Phyllis	209	↓4	25
39	Eleanor	205	↑5	47
40	Carole	204	new	73
41	Roberta	197	↓2	64
42	Arlene	196	↑1	54
43	Rose	196	↓2	37
44	Marie	192	↑2	33
45	Sylvia	186	new	53
46	Pat	183	new	>100
47	Judith	182	new	43
48	Doris	177	↓12	15
49	Esther	173	–	>100
50	Geraldine	168	–	41

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1935	US rank
1	Robert	2,546	–	1
2	Richard	1,836	–	5
3	John	1,746	–	3
4	James	1,405	–	2
5	William	1,220	–	4
6	Donald	1,136	–	7
7	David	834	↑2	10
8	Charles	799	↓1	6
9	Ronald	789	↓1	12
10	George	691	–	9
11	Frank	598	–	16
12	Edward	528	↑3	13
13	Thomas	515	↑1	8
14	Kenneth	483	↑5	14
15	Jack	448	↓3	20
16	Gary	436	↑1	38
17	Paul	405	↑1	15
18	Raymond	387	↓2	17
19	Jerry	382	↑2	18
20	Michael	380	↑6	33
21	Joe	375	↓8	23
22	Joseph	372	↓2	11
23	Larry	344	↑10	25
24	Don	317	↓2	51
25	Bill	290	↑2	61
26	Bob	282	↑2	77
27	Gerald	279	↓4	19
28	Henry	272	↑2	28
29	Albert	266	↓5	34
30	Walter	258	↑1	26
31	Arthur	254	↓2	30
32	Ralph	253	–	31
33	Fred	245	↓8	36
34	Manuel	242	↑1	>100
35	Daniel	227	↑4	41
36	Carl	226	↑12	27
37	Lawrence	221	↑1	37
38	Roger	221	↓1	35
39	Jim	214	↑5	85
40	Norman	209	↓6	43
41	Peter	209	↑5	56
42	Harold	206	↓6	21
43	Harry	192	↑7	39
44	Gilbert	191	↑3	>100
45	Ernest	187	↓4	55
46	Eugene	185	↓4	29
47	Stanley	185	↓7	58
48	Louis	176	↓3	44
49	Alfred	164	–	60
50	Roy	158	↓7	42

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