California vs Golden State

California and Golden State both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
California	Yes	No	No	No
Golden State	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, California and Golden State are synonyms defined as:

California and Golden State: a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes

Other synonyms of California include CA, Calif..

California (noun)	Golden State (noun)
a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes	a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes