What the California kids are called: New list of state's most popular baby names
The newest Californians are already showing a tendency to diverge from the beaten path.
A week after releasing the nation’s most popular baby names of 2025, the Social Security Administration did the same for individual states. California’s No. 1 names — Liam and Olivia — are the same as the U.S. overall, but below that the lists show some Golden State flair.
California boys
- Liam
- Noah
- Mateo
- Santiago
- Sebastian
- Julian
- Oliver
- Elias
- Benjamin
- Elijah
• Five names overlap in the top 10 for the nation and state: Liam, Noah, Mateo, Oliver and Elijah. California filled out the list with Santiago, Sebastian, Julian, Elias and Benjamin, while the U.S. went with Theodore, Henry, James, William and Lucas.
• Falling out of California’s top 10 since 2024 were Ezra and Lucas. They are replaced by Elias (which jumped 10 spots, from No. 18) and Benjamin.
California girls
- Olivia
- Mia
- Sophia
- Camila
- Emma
- Isabella
- Amelia
- Sofia
- Eliana
- Valentina
• Mia, in the top spot for 2024, ceded No. 1 to Olivia, which also tops the national list.
• Eight of the top 10 overlap on the state and national lists. Where they diverge: Camila and Valentina for California, Charlotte and Evelyn for the U.S.
• New to the California top 10 this year are Eliana and Valentina; falling out were Luna and Gianna.
• A notable discrepancy near the top of the list, Harper is 16th in the nation, 62nd in California. Lainey, a top 10 pick in more than a dozen states, is 30th in the nation, 94th in California.
• California was on board with the nation’s breakout girls’ name, Ailany. On the state list, it rose from 71st to 11th in one year, and if it had been combined with the alternative spelling Ailani it would have been 7th. On the U.S. list, Ailany is 14th, and it made the top 10 in five states.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:41 AM.