Top Baby Boy Names in California
Daniel, Anthony, & Angel Top the CA State Popularity Charts in 2007
The list of top baby boy names in California differs significantly from the top names in the rest of the United States.
The state baby name totals are in, and in California, the number one baby name is Daniel. According to the U.S. Social Security Baby Name Index, the top baby boy names in California actually differ quite a bit from the names that parents are giving their little boys across the U.S. as a whole. This is largely due to the ethnic diversity of California, especially the large Hispanic population. Here are the top 20 baby boy names in California in 2007:
- Daniel
- Anthony
- Angel
- Jacob
- David
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Joshua
- Jose
- Diego
- Alexander
- Matthew
- Michael
- Ethan
- Jonathan
- Nathan
- Joseph
- Brandon
- Adrian
- Kevin
By far, the most notable difference between the top names in California and the top names in the U.S. as a whole is the prevalence of Hispanic names in the California list. The top 10 contains three Hispanic names, none of which are on the top 10 on the nationwide list. These include Angel (#3 in California, #34 nationwide), Jose (#9 in California, #35 nationwide), and Diego (#10 in California, #58 nationwide).
There are many other Hispanic names in the top 100 baby boy names as well, all of which are ranked higher in California than in the U.S. nationwide. These include Luis (#22 in California, #60 nationwide), Jesus (#26 in California, #77 nationwide), Juan (#28 in California, #63 nationwide), Carlos (#31 in California, #70 nationwide), Miguel (#42 in California, #94 nationwide), Alejandro (#49 in California, #103 nationwide), Jorge (#63 in California, #128 nationwide), Eduardo (#67 in California, #143 nationwide), Francisco (#72 in California, #152 nationwide), and Fernando (#75 in California, #157 nationwide).
Another big difference between California and the nation: the number one baby boy name in California is Daniel, which is only ranked #5 nationwide. In the U.S. as a whole, the top baby boy name is Jacob, which is only ranked #4 in California. Other names that feature a significant disparity are Anthony (#2 in California, #7 nationwide), William (#38 in California, #8 nationwide), Michael (#13 in California, #2 nationwide), Ethan (#14 in California, #3 nationwide), Logan (#17 nationwide, #45 in California), Brandon (#18 in California, #31 nationwide), Adrian (#19 in California, #61 nationwide), Kevin (#20 in California, #39 nationwide), Jayden (#30 in California, #18 nationwide), and James (#37 in California, #15 nationwide).
Daniel has been the top boy's name in California since 1994, when it dethroned Michael. Interestingly, in the country as a whole, Jacob did what Daniel did in California-- it jumped into Michael's long-held spot at the top of the list and has remained there ever since.
Compared to the top girl's names in California, there was relatively little change between 2006 and 2007 in the top boy's names. The top six names remained the same. In the top 20, the biggest upward climbers were Alexander (#14 in 2006, #11 in 2007), Brandon (#22 in 2006, #18 in 2007), and Kevin (#24 in 2006, #20 in 2007). The top names that fell the furthest were Matthew (#10 in 2006, #12 in 2007), Jonathan (#13 in 2006, #15 in 2007), Christian (#18 in 2006, #21 in 2007), and Luis (#20 in 2006, #22 in 2007). Brandon and Kevin were the only two names to join the top 20 in 2007, while Christian and Luis were the only two names to fall off of the top 20.
See also:
Top Baby Girl Names in California
Top Baby Boy Names in the U.S.
