Daniel’s long reign is over in California.
The state’s most popular name for baby boys since 1994, Daniel was unseated by Jacob on the newly released 2010 list.
Isabella was the No. 1 girls’ name by a narrow margin — just two babies — over Sophia. It was Isabella’s second year on top, having ended Emily’s nine-year run in 2009.
The Social Security Administration on Tuesday released lists of the 100 most popular names by state for 2010. Last week it released the nationwide figures, led by, yes, Jacob and Isabella. The data is based on Social Security card applications for babies born last year.
Daniel didn’t drop far, ranking No. 2 in California. New to the boys’ top 10 were Jayden and Nathan, while Matthew and Joshua dropped out.
Ava and Sofia, in a dead heat, joined the girls’ top 10, and Ashley fell out. Sophia, Emily and Mia retained their 2-3-4 rankings of the previous year.
Other notes on California baby names:
— Though William stood at No. 5 nationally, it was only 27th on the state list. Other top 10 U.S. names not so favored in California: Noah, Michael, Aiden.
— Madison, No. 8 nationally, was only No. 19 among California girls. The rather retro Kimberly, on the other hand, was No. 20 in California, No. 68 in the U.S. Its peak in national popularity came in 1966-67.
— Jacob and William were each the most popular boys’ name in 13 states. The outliers, No. 1 in one state only, were Alexander (Illinois), James (Wyoming), Owen (Maine), Ryan (Massachusetts) and Wyatt (Montana).
— Though the conventional wisdom holds that there is more creativity in naming of girls, Isabella was the most popular name in 24 states, and all states’ No. 1 girls’ names were in the national top 10.
— Utah maintained its tradition of unconventional names, with top-100 choices including Paisley, Brielle, Brynlee, Aspen and Hazel for girls, Bridger, Kyler and Daxton for boys.
— If the spellings Jayden/Jaden were counted as one name, it would be No. 3 among California boys. Sophia/Sofia together would far surpass Isabella; Chloe/Khloe would be No. 5 and Zoe/Zoey No. 10.
— Jose, which made headlines in 1999 when it rose to the No. 2 spot in California, continued its slide and ranked No. 19. Almost all the Hispanic names on the boys’ list dropped in the rankings, including the popular Angel, which slid from No. 3 to No. 5. An exception: Alejandro.
— Big gains were logged by Giovanni and Leonardo on the California boys’ list, and by Khloe, Zoe, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Bella on the girls’ list.
— Major drops: Bryan and Brian among boys, Leslie, Daniela and Gabriella among girls.
— Among names new to the California top 100 since 2009: Oliver, Eli and Elias, Scarlett, Valentina, Stella and Lillian.
The top 100 lists for all states can be found at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/state/index.html.
