Sonia
Sonia was given to 171 girls in 2025, #1,307 among girls’ names; 67,026 Americans have been recorded with it since 1895 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 57,800 Americans named Sonia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 49 years old and half are between 35 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sonia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sonia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sonia is “a female given name from Russian (the usual UK spelling of the name which is spelled Sonya in the US).” Its etymology gives the sense “Sophia” (Софи́я).
Borrowed from Russian Со́ня (Sónja), pet form of Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sophia”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sonia?
#1,307 among girls’ names, 2025
Sonia fell from #1,073 in 2015 to #1,307 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.14 to 0.11 per 1,000.
1,777 babies in 1970, the peak
Sonia peaked in 1970, when 1,777 babies were given it (1,767 girls, #186 among girls’ names). The 171 births of 2025 are 10% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 171 | #1,307 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 169 | #1,356 | 0.10 |
| 2023 | 183 | #1,262 | 0.11 |
| 2022 | 211 | #1,156 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 191 | #1,234 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 214 | #1,127 | 0.13 |
| 2019 | 217 | #1,121 | 0.13 |
| 2018 | 240 | #1,064 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 267 | #980 | 0.15 |
| 2016 | 264 | #1,003 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 246 | #1,073 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 283 | #950 | 0.16 |
| 2013 | 298 | #865 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 328 | #822 | 0.19 |
| 2011 | 351 | #776 | 0.20 |
| 2010 | 392 | #721 | 0.22 |
| 2009 | 425 | #689 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 423 | #709 | 0.22 |
| 2007 | 460 | #646 | 0.24 |
| 2006 | 481 | #609 | 0.25 |
| 2005 | 489 | #582 | 0.26 |
| 2004 | 516 | #552 | 0.28 |
| 2003 | 498 | #555 | 0.27 |
| 2002 | 520 | #530 | 0.29 |
| 2001 | 542 | #508 | 0.30 |
| 2000 | 532 | #507 | 0.29 |
| 1999 | 576 | #461 | 0.32 |
| 1998 | 635 | #418 | 0.36 |
| 1997 | 647 | #405 | 0.37 |
| 1996 | 637 | #409 | 0.36 |
| 1995 | 711 | #368 | 0.40 |
| 1994 | 711 | #364 | 0.40 |
| 1993 | 804 | #326 | 0.44 |
| 1992 | 812 | #331 | 0.44 |
| 1991 | 852 | #315 | 0.45 |
| 1990 | 868 | #314 | 0.46 |
| 1989 | 859 | #304 | 0.47 |
| 1988 | 784 | #316 | 0.44 |
| 1987 | 826 | #293 | 0.48 |
| 1986 | 858 | #287 | 0.50 |
| 1985 | 889 | #280 | 0.52 |
| 1984 | 928 | #264 | 0.55 |
| 1983 | 959 | #245 | 0.57 |
| 1982 | 1,048 | #241 | 0.62 |
| 1981 | 1,129 | #227 | 0.68 |
| 1980 | 1,252 | #209 | 0.75 |
| 1979 | 1,276 | #207 | 0.79 |
| 1978 | 1,265 | #203 | 0.83 |
| 1977 | 1,370 | #197 | 0.89 |
| 1976 | 1,554 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1975 | 1,491 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1974 | 1,577 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 1973 | 1,600 | #174 | 1.1 |
| 1972 | 1,612 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1971 | 1,693 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,767 | #186 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 1,751 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1968 | 1,566 | #199 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,495 | #206 | 0.91 |
| 1966 | 1,529 | #206 | 0.90 |
| 1965 | 1,254 | #244 | 0.71 |
| 1964 | 1,220 | #254 | 0.64 |
| 1963 | 1,169 | #256 | 0.61 |
| 1962 | 1,027 | #281 | 0.52 |
| 1961 | 983 | #294 | 0.49 |
| 1960 | 951 | #303 | 0.47 |
| 1959 | 917 | #300 | 0.45 |
| 1958 | 839 | #321 | 0.42 |
| 1957 | 747 | #333 | 0.37 |
| 1956 | 625 | #349 | 0.31 |
| 1955 | 591 | #358 | 0.30 |
| 1954 | 537 | #376 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 438 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1952 | 442 | #391 | 0.24 |
| 1951 | 396 | #419 | 0.22 |
| 1950 | 333 | #441 | 0.19 |
| 1949 | 313 | #451 | 0.18 |
| 1948 | 273 | #490 | 0.16 |
| 1947 | 280 | #489 | 0.16 |
| 1946 | 223 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 233 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1944 | 202 | #509 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 262 | #458 | 0.19 |
| 1942 | 249 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1941 | 237 | #446 | 0.20 |
| 1940 | 299 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1939 | 282 | #399 | 0.26 |
| 1938 | 429 | #302 | 0.39 |
| 1937 | 346 | #338 | 0.33 |
| 1936 | 251 | #405 | 0.24 |
| 1935 | 226 | #428 | 0.22 |
| 1934 | 236 | #428 | 0.23 |
| 1933 | 212 | #442 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 198 | #466 | 0.19 |
| 1931 | 164 | #509 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 166 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1929 | 169 | #526 | 0.15 |
| 1928 | 184 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1927 | 218 | #474 | 0.18 |
| 1926 | 134 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1925 | 108 | #711 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 97 | #760 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 86 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 79 | #830 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 79 | #836 | 0.06 |
| 1920 | 76 | #833 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 96 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 104 | #710 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 79 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 66 | #837 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 61 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 57 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1913 | 45 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 37 | #830 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 23 | #925 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 20 | #993 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 23 | #866 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 16 | #1,039 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 14 | #1,083 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,541 | 0.03 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,674 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 10 | #1,239 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,763 | 0.02 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,308 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,646 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,545 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 7 | #1,379 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,937 | 0.02 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,525 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,787 | 0.02 |
| 1895 | 7 | #1,412 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sonia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sonia has been given almost only to girls: 279 boys in 131 years of records.
Girls and boys named Sonia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sonia, and how old are they?
57,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 67,026 Americans ever recorded as Sonia. The median Sonia alive today is 49 years old; half are between 35 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 113,726 people named Sonia (113,553 women and girls, 173 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 58,964 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.9 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,370 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 9,980 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 13,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,730 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,940 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sonia born?
The states with the most babies named Sonia are California, New York and Texas, with 53% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 14,906 | #964 | 2.1× |
| New York | 8,987 | #2,043 | 1.7× |
| Texas | 8,855 | #1,525 | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 3,843 | #789 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 2,119 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,112 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Florida | 2,055 | #1,426 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 1,503 | #1,422 | 0.5× |
| Arizona | 1,482 | #1,198 | 1.7× |
| Michigan | 1,327 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Sonia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sonia is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 2.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sonia with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 136,293 babies since 1880, Sonia is the most given (49% of them). In 2025 it was given to 171 of their 341 babies (50%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sonia
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sonia and names like it
- Compare Sonia and SonyaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sSonia peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sonia since 1910.
- Russian namesWiktionary’s origin for Sonia: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Sonia.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Sonia alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with SMost given first.