Category: Name rankings

Sonoma County, located north of San Francisco, is part of California’s famous Wine Country region.

Last year, Sonoma welcomed 4,583 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Camila and Mateo.

Here are Sonoma’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

1. Camila, 28 baby girls
2. Emma, 25
3. Sofia, 22
4. Isabella, 21 (tie)
5. Mia, 21 (tie)
6. Amelia, 20
7. Luna, 18
8. Elizabeth, 17 (tie)
9. Olivia, 17 (tie)
10. Charlotte, 15 (tie)
11. Penelope, 15 (tie)
12. Maya, 14
13. Evelyn, 13 (4-way tie)
14. Gianna, 13 (4-way tie)
15. Natalie, 13 (4-way tie)
16. Riley, 13 (4-way tie)
17. Ella, 12 (6-way tie)
18. Emily, 12 (6-way tie)
19. Nora, 12 (6-way tie)
20. Ruby, 12 (6-way tie)
21. Samantha, 12 (6-way tie)
22. Sophia, 12 (6-way tie)
23. Aria, 11 (4-way tie)
24. Mila, 11 (4-way tie)
25. Scarlett, 11 (4-way tie)
26. Zoey, 11 (4-way tie)
27. Catalina, 10 (5-way tie)
28. Victoria, 10 (5-way tie)
29. Violet, 10 (5-way tie)
30. Ximena, 10 (5-way tie)
31. ???, 10 (5-way tie)
    • The dataset included a blank entry with 10 babies. Perhaps the name was accidentally deleted, or this entry represents 10 Sonoma babies that have yet to be named…?
32. Abigail, 9 (6-way tie)
33. Audrey, 9 (6-way tie)
34. Ava, 9 (6-way tie)
35. Avery, 9 (6-way tie)
36. Hazel, 9 (6-way tie)
37. Lucia, 9 (6-way tie)
38. Chloe, 8 (5-way tie)
39. Layla, 8 (5-way tie)
40. Natalia, 8 (5-way tie)
41. Piper, 8 (5-way tie)
42. Zoe, 8 (5-way tie)
43. Aaliyah, 7 (17-way tie)
44. Alina, 7 (17-way tie)
45. Athena, 7 (17-way tie)
46. Bella, 7 (17-way tie)
47. Cora, 7 (17-way tie)
48. Daisy, 7 (17-way tie)
49. Eleanor, 7 (17-way tie)
50. Eliana, 7 (17-way tie)
51. Ellie, 7 (17-way tie)
52. Genesis, 7 (17-way tie)
53. Harper, 7 (17-way tie)
54. Isla, 7 (17-way tie)
55. June, 7 (17-way tie)
56. Kira, 7 (17-way tie)
57. Madison, 7 (17-way tie)
58. Sadie, 7 (17-way tie)
59. Willow, 7 (17-way tie)

Boy Names

1. Mateo, 26 baby boys
2. Liam, 24
3. Henry, 20 (3-way tie)
4. Hudson, 20 (3-way tie)
5. Santiago, 20 (3-way tie)
6. Noah, 19 (tie)
7. Sebastian, 19 (tie)
8. Oliver, 17
9. Aiden, 16 (3-way tie)
10. Daniel, 16 (3-way tie)
11. Lucas, 16 (3-way tie)
12. James, 15 (4-way tie)
13. Levi, 15 (4-way tie)
14. Theodore, 15 (4-way tie)
15. Wyatt, 15 (4-way tie)
16. Angel, 14 (4-way tie)
17. Isaac, 14 (4-way tie)
18. Jack, 14 (4-way tie)
19. Jackson, 14 (4-way tie)
20. Damian, 13 (7-way tie)
21. Emiliano, 13 (7-way tie)
22. Emilio, 13 (7-way tie)
23. Ian, 13( 7-way tie)
24. Juan, 13 (7-way tie)
25. Julian, 13 (7-way tie)
26. Luca, 13 (7-way tie)
27. Adrian, 12 (8-way tie)
28. Adriel, 12 (8-way tie)
29. Jayden, 12 (8-way tie)
30. Jose, 12 (8-way tie)
31. Leo, 12 (8-way tie)
32. Mason, 12 (8-way tie)
33. Theo, 12 (8-way tie)
34. William, 12 (8-way tie)
35. Aaron, 11 (6-way tie)
36. Anthony, 11 (6-way tie)
37. Cameron, 11 (6-way tie)
38. Logan, 11 (6-way tie)
39. Michael, 11 (6-way tie)
40. Roman, 11 (6-way tie)
41. Christopher, 10 (6-way tie)
42. Kai, 10 (6-way tie)
43. Lorenzo, 10 (6-way tie)
44. Miguel, 10 (6-way tie)
45. Owen, 10 (6-way tie)
46. Quinn, 10 (6-way tie)
47. Axel, 9 (9-way tie)
48. Caleb, 9 (9-way tie)
49. Dominic, 9 (9-way tie)
50. Ezekiel, 9 (9-way tie)
51. Felix, 9 (9-way tie)
52. Gabriel, 9 (9-way tie)
53. Maverick, 9 (9-way tie)
54. Rowan, 9 (9-way tie)
55. Samuel, 9 (9-way tie)

Lower down on the list, we find 3 boys named Oslo and 2 named Kawika (the Hawaiian form of David).

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique Girl Names	Unique Boy Names
Alofa, Baylor, Calgary, Dechen, Etsai, Fleury, Gabbanelli, Heather, Inayaat, Josiebelle, Ka Iulani, Liska, Morelia, Nasira, Oa, Pejuta, Quetzal, Riviera, Salanieta, Tenley, Unity, Vylana, Wendy, Yubicela, Zoa	Aimeson, Braulio, Coatney, Daizel, Ekansh, Filberto, Gadiel, Helios, Iroh, Javelin, Kaleo, Lars, Mayaken, Nikolai, Osoleo, Pedro, Quentin, Reverand, Sterling, Torrello, Ulices, Voyager, Wolfie, Yonik, Zayjoun

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

• Alofa means “love” in Samoan.
• Dechen means “great bliss” in Tibetan.
• Etsai means “devil” in Basque.
• Iroh is a character from the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
• Javelin originally referred to a light spear used in hunting, but today it’s more closely linked to either the Olympic sport or the missile used by the military.
• Ka Iulani could be a reference to Hawaii’s last heir apparent, Princess Ka’iulani.
• Kaleo means “the voice” or “the sound” in Hawaiian. (It’s also the name of an Icelandic rock band.)
• Pejuta means “medicine” in Lakota.
• Quetzal refers to the quetzal bird.

---

P.S. Just for fun, here are some of the names that have only popped up a single time in Sonoma’s baby name data, which goes back to the 1800s.

• 2013: Ethereal, Meadowlark
• 2012: Six
• 2011: Four, Aubergine
• 2009: Limber, Nightlynn, Pepperwood
• 2008: Honeymoon, Teancum
• 2006: Luminescence, Memphis Dreamwolf, Ozomatli, Skylarshine
  • Ozomatli is the Nahuatl word for “monkey.” (It’s also the name of a Grammy-winning Latin Rock band from Los Angeles.)
• 2000: Ocean Wind, Millennium, Millennium Christopher
• 1999: Chrysler
• 1997: Return
• 1996: Riverwind
• 1995: Brazil, Cedar River, Talisman
• 1994: Namibia, Northern
• 1993: Tiffani Amber, Vancouver
• 1992: Sunwater
• 1991: Modesto, Sparkles
• 1988: Smokey
• 1985: Juror, Redcloud
• 1984: Little Fawn
• 1982: Otineb
  • Otineb is “Benito” spelled backwards
• 1981: Connemara
• 1976: Sonrisa
• 1975: Little Star
• 1974: Buffalo, Evenstar, Kipkino
• 1973: Apricot, Coriander, Summertime
• 1970: Starfinder
• 1965: Honey Bee
• 1958: Zebra
• 1951: Starlite
• 1937: Grape
  • I appreciate that a baby born in a wine-making region was named “Grape” :)
• 1921: Senator
• 1915: Sequestre
• 1914: Eldorado

Sonoma’s two-hit wonder names include Strawberry (1971, 1973) and Fairlight (1974, 1976).

Sources: Sonoma County Baby Names | Open Data | Sonoma County, Sonoma County Births by Year | Open Data | Sonoma County, Wiktionary, Online Nahuatl Dictionary

Image by Trent Erwin from Unsplash