Popular baby names in California, 1939

The most popular baby names in California in 1939 were Mary for girls (1,698 babies) and Robert for boys (2,858). Social Security records list 93,469 babies born in California in 1939 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in California in 1939

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: 101 babies, 8× the national rate
Ana: 23 babies, 7.9× the national rate
Angie: 49 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Robin: 29 babies, 5.3× the national rate
Esperanza: 24 babies, 5× the national rate
Isabel: 64 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Carmen: 141 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Melinda: 35 babies, 4.4× the national rate
Yolanda: 54 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Cheryl: 49 babies, 4.1× the national rate

Boys

Jess: 41 babies, 5.7× the national rate
Salvador: 46 babies, 5.6× the national rate
Rudy: 90 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Ken: 58 babies, 4.9× the national rate
Gabriel: 31 babies, 4.7× the national rate
Ernie: 34 babies, 4.6× the national rate
Manuel: 221 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Armando: 35 babies, 4.2× the national rate
Raul: 57 babies, 4.1× the national rate
Ron: 35 babies, 4.1× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in California, 1939

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Mary	1,698	–	1
2	Barbara	1,619	–	2
3	Patricia	1,509	–	3
4	Carol	1,109	–	6
5	Linda	847	↑10	15
6	Nancy	831	↓1	7
7	Sharon	793	↑6	23
8	Joan	712	–	11
9	Judith	702	↑9	8
10	Betty	658	↓4	4
11	Shirley	611	↓4	5
12	Sandra	594	–	13
13	Donna	591	↓4	20
14	Marilyn	584	↓4	19
15	Margaret	583	↓4	10
16	Judy	536	↑11	28
17	Diane	505	–	51
18	Carolyn	480	↑5	14
19	Virginia	480	↓3	21
20	Beverly	478	↓6	25
21	Dorothy	471	–	9
22	Joyce	435	↓3	12
23	Susan	433	↑13	44
24	Janice	417	↑2	24
25	Helen	398	↓3	16
26	Janet	395	↓6	17
27	Gloria	357	↓3	36
28	Frances	356	↓3	26
29	Carole	334	–	47
30	Jean	326	↑5	32
31	Alice	318	↓3	31
32	Sally	288	↑2	52
33	Elizabeth	277	–	18
34	Darlene	272	↓2	75
35	Joanne	266	↑3	53
36	Irene	263	↑7	74
37	Kathleen	258	↑9	48
38	Dolores	257	↓7	58
39	Ruth	248	↑3	22
40	Ann	246	↓3	33
41	Norma	240	↓11	38
42	Karen	237	new	39
43	Roberta	232	↓2	71
44	Pat	229	new	>100
45	Evelyn	225	new	40
46	Marie	220	↓1	37
47	Bonnie	214	new	61
48	Phyllis	214	↓8	30
49	Gail	213	new	73
50	Lois	213	↓3	35

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1938	US rank
1	Robert	2,858	–	1
2	Richard	2,124	↑1	5
3	John	2,027	↓1	3
4	James	1,871	–	2
5	William	1,528	–	4
6	David	1,397	↑1	7
7	Ronald	1,153	↓1	10
8	Donald	997	–	8
9	Charles	959	–	6
10	Gary	934	–	21
11	Michael	920	↑1	18
12	George	749	↓1	11
13	Thomas	675	↑1	9
14	Larry	663	↑2	14
15	Kenneth	641	–	13
16	Frank	605	↓3	20
17	Jerry	585	↑1	16
18	Paul	570	↑1	17
19	Edward	564	↓2	15
20	Dennis	501	↑8	34
21	Jack	452	↓1	26
22	Joseph	430	↑1	12
23	Raymond	429	↓2	22
24	Gerald	417	–	19
25	Joe	384	↓3	27
26	Bill	356	↓1	67
27	Roger	332	↑11	28
28	Arthur	330	↑1	32
29	Bob	314	↑5	89
30	Fred	306	↓3	40
31	Norman	305	–	44
32	Don	304	↓6	56
33	Daniel	303	↓1	38
34	Wayne	301	↑6	39
35	Ralph	298	↓2	35
36	Douglas	287	–	58
37	Jim	281	–	75
38	Walter	276	↑1	25
39	Albert	274	↓9	41
40	Henry	268	↑1	31
41	Peter	262	↑4	46
42	Harold	246	↑1	23
43	Lawrence	234	↓8	36
44	Carl	231	↓2	30
45	Manuel	221	↓1	>100
46	Stephen	214	new	65
47	Bruce	213	new	64
48	Philip	211	new	66
49	Stanley	209	new	57
50	Eugene	205	new	37

← California 1938 California: all years · US 1939 California 1940 →