Most Popular Baby Names Throughout History

Top names by decade - From the 1960s to today.

Data source: Top 25 baby names by live births in California (1960–2024), based on birth certificate records. Showing cumulative counts for the 1960s decade.

Top Boy Names

# Name Total Births
1 Michael 87,967
2 David 72,878
3 Robert 64,977
4 John 61,813
5 James 54,786
6 Richard 40,382
7 Mark 39,982
8 Steven 35,270
9 William 33,319
10 Daniel 29,068
11 Jeffrey 28,960
12 Christopher 26,112
13 Thomas 25,536
14 Timothy 23,325
15 Brian 22,814
16 Scott 22,717
17 Kevin 22,557
18 Joseph 22,370
19 Paul 22,149
20 Anthony 20,437
21 Kenneth 20,246
22 Gregory 20,233
23 Charles 18,370
24 Ronald 17,660
25 Eric 13,637

Top Girl Names

# Name Total Births
1 Lisa 41,155
2 Kimberly 25,022
3 Mary 23,588
4 Karen 23,357
5 Christine 22,981
6 Susan 22,928
7 Cynthia 22,601
8 Patricia 20,764
9 Michelle 19,905
10 Laura 19,095
11 Sandra 18,328
12 Deborah 18,270
13 Julie 18,037
14 Elizabeth 17,527
15 Linda 14,594
16 Jennifer 14,519
17 Denise 13,526
18 Debra 11,609
19 Kelly 10,995
20 Kathleen 10,674
21 Teresa 10,607
22 Maria 10,374
23 Pamela 9,639
24 Donna 9,263
25 Lori 8,639

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