Name Legacy

Baby names in California, 1970s

1970–1979 · 3,074,979 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in California across the 1970s, with 65,630 births in the decade. The state recorded 3,074,979 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to California in the 1970s

Names given far more often here than nationally in these years. The multiplier is conservative — it is the low end of the plausible range, so a name carried by a handful of births does not outrank one carried by hundreds.

NameBirthsvs national
Rosio332
Jorje193
Patrisia90
Faviola141
Salvador2,899
Gabriela2,226
Arcelia176
Lizeth128

Top 25 in the 1970s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael65,630
#2Jennifer54,892
#3David47,467
#4Jason43,369
#5Christopher39,109
#6Robert38,426
#7John33,858
#8James32,486
#9Daniel29,749
#10Brian27,599
#11Michelle26,675
#12Matthew25,747
#13Richard22,483
#14Eric21,729
#15Lisa21,666
#16Joseph20,749
#17Jose20,203
#18Steven19,327
#19William18,782
#20Maria18,575
#21Anthony18,404
#22Melissa18,222
#23Jeffrey18,186
#24Heather17,282
#25Kimberly17,135

Other decades in California

All California names, 2025

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org