Name Legacy

Baby names in California, 1980s

1980–1989 · 4,247,120 recorded births

Michael was the most common name given in California across the 1980s, with 74,237 births in the decade. The state recorded 4,247,120 births in total over those years.

Most distinctive to California in the 1980s

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
Sarkis104
Erendira164
Shant145
Lizeth548
Josedejesus77
Tritia30
Xochilt117
Faviola329

Top 25 in the 1980s

RankNameBirths
#1Michael74,237
#2Christopher61,924
#3Jessica52,130
#4David52,009
#5Daniel50,587
#6Jennifer49,593
#7Matthew44,501
#8Robert36,573
#9Joshua35,756
#10Ryan34,107
#11Jose32,568
#12Andrew32,220
#13Joseph31,150
#14James31,093
#15John30,503
#16Ashley29,983
#17Anthony29,617
#18Jason29,372
#19Amanda29,045
#20Jonathan27,907
#21Sarah27,841
#22Melissa26,333
#23Justin26,217
#24Brian25,731
#25Nicole25,677

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