Boys' name · since 1888

Sonny

Sonny has 22,327 recorded births since 1888 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2025 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#786 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#298 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
22,327
born since 1888
2020s
peak decade

Yes -- Sonny is the #298 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 22,327 recorded since 1888.

Sonny has 22,327 recorded births among boys since 1888, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #298 as of the latest data, more common than 98% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1888 to 2025.

  • #786 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #298 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 22,327 born since 1888
  • 2020s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sonny ranks #786 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #298 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 22,327 born since 1888, peaking in the 2020s.

#786 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#298 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
22,327
born since 1888
2020s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%97.8%
Sonny vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Sonny's 22,327 recorded births place it above 98.27% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

46 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

46 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Sonny compares

22,327 Top 6% higher than 94% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Sonny's all-time total is 61x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Sonny Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 22,327 369 358,536
Peak-year births 1,137 34 22,252

Sonny's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Sonny splits its recorded history at 1959: 81% of all births land in the more recent half, 19% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1892 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2025 peak of 1,137 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Sonny popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1888–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (2025)
1,137
Annual births at peak, across 138 years of records
05001,0001,500 188819101927194419611978199520122025 1,137

Sonny popularity over time - girls

1,029 total births recorded since 1942 (Sonny as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 1,029 births
020406080 194219711980198819962004201220202025 55

Sonny by decade

2020s is the heaviest window (4,944 births, 22% of the file).

2020s was Sonny's strongest decade.

4,944 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.

Sonny births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2020s at 4,944 births (22% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Sonny compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Sonny's total volume

Sonny vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 5.2%-146, 7.8%-124, 3.4%-111, 2.7%-146, 2.8%-116, 7.1%-146, 2.7%-146, 2.7%-37, 6.9%-133, 2.7%-101, 4%-146, 3.6%-113, 3%-97, 6.7%-144, 2.3%Sonny-138, 5.1%Sonny
Sonny vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Sonny by state

Where Sonny concentrates geographically, total births since 1888

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Sonny
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
3,703 16.6%
#2 Texas
2,261 10.1%
#3 New York
974 4.4%
#4 Ohio
679 3.0%
#5 Florida
652 2.9%
#6 Illinois
609 2.7%
#7 Georgia
538 2.4%
#8 North Carolina
448 2.0%
California share of Sonny's total US births 16.6%
Even split

3,703 of 22,327 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 46 reporting states.

Sonny appears in 46 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Sonny? ▼
22,327 babies have been named Sonny since 1888. All-time, it sits at #786 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #298 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2025 with 1,137 births.
Where does Sonny sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sonny ranks #786 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #298 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Sonny most popular? ▼
Sonny was most popular in the 2020s decade with 4,944 total births. The single peak year was 2025.
Where is Sonny most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Sonny are California (3,703 births), Texas (2,261 births), New York (974 births).
How long has the name Sonny been used? ▼
Sonny has been recorded in Social Security data since 1888, spanning 138 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Sonny? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Son, Sonnie, Sony, Sonia, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Sonny's data

  • California records the most Sonnys (3,703 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Sonny

Nearby Names Like Sonny

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sonny

Son Boy
1,061 births
Sonnie Boy
#6465 879 births
Sony Boy
287 births
Sonia Boy
279 births
Sonya Boy
182 births

Compare Sonny side by side: Sonny vs Son Sonny vs Sonnie Sonny vs Sony

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Sonny

Holden #297
32,507 births · Peak 2018
Preston #299
122,958 births · Peak 2007
Kohen #296
8,407 births · Peak 2025
Clayton #300
139,344 births · Peak 2000
Kaleb #295
86,649 births · Peak 2007
Archie #301
56,244 births · Peak 2025
Kenneth #294
1,283,974 births · Peak 1957
Romeo #302
26,864 births · Peak 2024

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Sonny: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1888–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Sonny draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.