Sonny
Sonny was given to 1,137 boys in 2025, #298 among boys’ names; 23,356 Americans have been recorded with it since 1888 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 19,800 Americans named Sonny and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (85% of everyone recorded); the median is 23 years old and half are between 6 and 47.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sonny by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sonny mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sonny is “a male given name from English.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Sonia.”
/ˈsəni/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sonny?
#298 among boys’ names, 2025
Sonny rose from #825 in 2015 to #298 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.14 to 0.67 per 1,000.
1,192 babies in 2025, the peak
Sonny peaked in 2025, when 1,192 babies were given it (1,137 boys, #298 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 1,037 boys.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,137 | #298 | 0.67 |
| 2024 | 1,037 | #336 | 0.60 |
| 2023 | 929 | #354 | 0.54 |
| 2022 | 725 | #428 | 0.42 |
| 2021 | 589 | #498 | 0.34 |
| 2020 | 527 | #536 | 0.31 |
| 2019 | 417 | #644 | 0.23 |
| 2018 | 382 | #663 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 303 | #774 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 268 | #843 | 0.14 |
Every recorded year (133)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 275 | #825 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 243 | #890 | 0.13 |
| 2013 | 252 | #848 | 0.13 |
| 2012 | 222 | #927 | 0.12 |
| 2011 | 232 | #892 | 0.12 |
| 2010 | 212 | #948 | 0.11 |
| 2009 | 248 | #860 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 247 | #864 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 240 | #867 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 225 | #878 | 0.11 |
| 2005 | 241 | #799 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 212 | #840 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 231 | #765 | 0.12 |
| 2002 | 209 | #812 | 0.11 |
| 2001 | 196 | #831 | 0.10 |
| 2000 | 183 | #866 | 0.09 |
| 1999 | 165 | #909 | 0.09 |
| 1998 | 166 | #876 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 156 | #890 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 153 | #886 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 185 | #788 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 156 | #857 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 190 | #758 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 189 | #754 | 0.09 |
| 1991 | 237 | #658 | 0.12 |
| 1990 | 241 | #649 | 0.12 |
| 1989 | 288 | #573 | 0.14 |
| 1988 | 274 | #557 | 0.14 |
| 1987 | 226 | #606 | 0.12 |
| 1986 | 273 | #540 | 0.15 |
| 1985 | 199 | #623 | 0.11 |
| 1984 | 197 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1983 | 167 | #663 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 209 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 234 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 221 | #578 | 0.12 |
| 1979 | 221 | #574 | 0.13 |
| 1978 | 261 | #501 | 0.16 |
| 1977 | 210 | #577 | 0.13 |
| 1976 | 274 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1975 | 336 | #428 | 0.22 |
| 1974 | 280 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1973 | 274 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1972 | 263 | #486 | 0.16 |
| 1971 | 206 | #567 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 192 | #585 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 176 | #586 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 169 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 153 | #607 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 120 | #680 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 123 | #671 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 134 | #668 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 129 | #684 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 125 | #691 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 139 | #665 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 145 | #646 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 116 | #714 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 168 | #598 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 150 | #626 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 139 | #644 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 125 | #657 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 128 | #647 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 129 | #629 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 122 | #636 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 112 | #662 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 120 | #631 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 119 | #626 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 124 | #611 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 141 | #571 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 129 | #566 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 99 | #609 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 136 | #523 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 127 | #564 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 117 | #574 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 98 | #608 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 111 | #563 | 0.10 |
| 1939 | 97 | #586 | 0.09 |
| 1938 | 116 | #542 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 124 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 119 | #522 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 147 | #469 | 0.14 |
| 1934 | 133 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1933 | 105 | #562 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 84 | #667 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 67 | #767 | 0.06 |
| 1930 | 92 | #642 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 76 | #719 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 59 | #869 | 0.05 |
| 1927 | 52 | #976 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 23 | #1,603 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 35 | #1,220 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 28 | #1,452 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 28 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,363 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 28 | #1,443 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 27 | #1,455 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 28 | #1,377 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 20 | #1,760 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 22 | #1,578 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 29 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 17 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 18 | #1,482 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 8 | #2,241 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 18 | #1,133 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 14 | #919 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,184 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 11 | #949 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,099 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 10 | #925 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,101 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 8 | #989 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 13 | #680 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,116 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,124 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,195 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 13 | #727 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,273 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,208 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,088 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,067 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,165 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,234 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 7 | #906 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Sonny a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 23,356 Americans recorded as Sonny, 4% are girls and 96% boys. In 2025 it went to 55 girls and 1,137 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Sonny: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sonny, and how old are they?
19,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 85% of the 23,356 Americans ever recorded as Sonny. The median Sonny alive today is 23 years old; half are between 6 and 47.
The 2020 Census counted 15,433 people named Sonny (882 women and girls, 14,551 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,370 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 400 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,680 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,180 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,430 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,540 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,540 |
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 Sonny born?
The states with the most babies named Sonny are California, Texas and New York, with 27% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 147 | #255 | 1.5× |
| Texas | 87 | #425 | 1.1× |
| New York | 76 | #257 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 58 | #238 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 55 | #359 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 53 | #232 | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 49 | #241 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 36 | #311 | 0.5× |
| Arizona | 35 | #233 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 32 | #229 | 0.5× |
Where Sonny is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sonny is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.5 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 boys’ 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 Sonny 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 25,312 babies since 1880, Sonny is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,192 of their 1,233 babies (97%), 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.
More about Sonny and names like it
- Compare Sonny and SonnieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sSonny peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sonny since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Sonny: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Sonny.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Sonny alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with SMost given first.