Finding the perfect baby name is no easy task. Some parents want something that is trendy — an A- name or perhaps a name inspired by pop culture, while other people want something more traditional — like Matthew, Sarah, Jennifer, or Daniel. But the one thing that stays the same no matter what is the fact that baby names go in waves. Sometimes names get really trendy and other times they fade completely into obscurity. There are many ways that names become part of the zeitgeist — sometimes even current events can cause a baby name frenzy — but one that isn't often thought about is location. Yep, sometimes parents who live in close proximity start to pick the same names. Which is why sometimes certain names can have a West Coast or Southern flair. Often these names reflect the values of the place where they really popped.
We were curious about baby name trends in a few different places around the country. What's the quintessential North Dakota baby name? Or what about the coolest name in New Mexico? But one place that really stoked our interest were the baby names of California. Let's face, they got more bounce in California — and by that we mean that California names tend to be very, very cool. Of course, that might be the SoCal influence. But we have a feeling that the rest of the state also plays a big part in that innate coolness too. We took a look at the Social Security Administration's baby name registry for California to see which names have been making it big on the West Coast. The names are from 2018, but name trends tend to take longer to move along than one might think. Take a look at our list and see if any of these Cali names spark baby name inspiration.
NOAH
The first name on our list, Noah, comes from the Hebrew nōach, which means "rest" or "comfort." The name has biblical roots — remember the Ark? — and was the No. 1 most popular boy's name in California.
EMMA
The most popular girl's name in California, Emma, happens to be a variant of the German name Erma, which itself originated as a short form of any of the various names containing the element erm(en) or irm(en), which both mean "strength."
LIAM
Liam is such a cute baby boy's name! And the second most popular baby name in California actually the short form of the Uilliam, which is the Irish cognate of William, meaning "resolute protector."
MIA
Mia is such a cool baby name for a spunky little girl. And we can see why this name comes in at the third most popular girl's name. The name is actually the Danish and Swedish pet form of Maria, which is also a popular baby name.
SEBASTIAN
Fans of the Disney classic The Little Mermaid will most likely adore this baby name — as it was the name of the crab who traveled with Ariel on her journey. The name has become increasingly more popular across the country — but in California it's been a huge hit.
MATEO
Mateo is a great alternative to the name Matthew, which is clean, classic, but so traditional. The name comes from the the Hebrew Matityah, which is derived from mattīthyāh, which means "gift of God."
ISABELLA
Little Izzie! Isabella is a sweet, little girl's name that we can totally see make many parents' baby name lists. The name is a Spanish variant of Elizabeth, which is from the Hebrew elīsheba', meaning "God is my oath."
ETHAN
Another name that comes from Hebrew, Ethan comes from the name ēthān, which means "strength, firmness, or long-lived." The name has biblical origins and comes from the wise man who Solomon surpassed in wisdom.
SOPHIA
Sophia is borrowed from the Greek name Sofia, and the Greek meaning is "wisdom" or "skill." The name has been popular in England since it was given to the infant daughter of James I, and of course, is currently a huge name here in the US.
DANIEL
Daniel is a perfect, classic boy's name. Clean, unfussy, and of course, a little sporty, Daniel also has Hebrew roots meaning "God is my judge." The name is popular across the country, so a pretty safe bet as far as names go.
CAMILA
Derived from the Latin camilla, which means "virgin of unblemished character." Other great spelling variations on the name are Camilla, Camilah, Kamila, Kamilah, Khamilah, and Kamilla — which means there are so many options.
JULIAN
Julian is a Latin name, originally it was Julius, and it come from an old Roman family name thought to be taken from Iulus, which means "the first down on the chin" or "downy-bearded" — although sometimes the name is taken to mean "youth."
ABIGAIL
Abigail has so many variations — Abby, Abbie, or even a throwback name like Gail. The name is derived from avigayil, a Hebrew name meaning "father of exaltation" or "father is rejoicing" and has origins in the Bible.
ALEXANDER
Alexander is a compound name that has Greek roots. Basically the name is the combination of the elements alexein, meaning "to defend, to help" and andros, which means "man" — or in other words, “defender or helper of mankind.”
EMILY
Always a classic name for a girl, Emily is an English version of the Latin Aemilia, which is an old Roman family name thought to be derived from aemulus, meaning "trying to equal or excel" or "rival."
BENJAMIN
It's no surprise that Benjamin is a top baby name in California — it's an all-American name that has broad appeal. The name means "son of the right hand" and comes from the Hebrew name binyāmīn.
EVELYN
More of an old-school baby name, Evelyn, has an antique charm that has won over a whole new generation of parents. The name is an English variant of Aveline, which was a French diminutive form of the Germanic Avila.
JACOB
We all know one (or several) Jacobs in the carpool pick-up line and there's no stopping this baby name in popularity. The name was taken from the Greek name Iakōbos, which in turn was taken from the Hebrew name Yaakov and means "seizing by the heel, supplanting."
VICTORIA
Of course, Victoria has a regal and royal connotations — does Queen Victoria ring bell? — but we still can see why Victoria has remained on top. Taken the the Latin, victoria, the name fittingly means "victory."
MATTHEW
Matthew is a solid name that has been popular for decades, but it might surprise people to know that the name has roots in Ecclesiastic Late Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and is taken to mean "gift of God."
