Girls' name · since 1905

Sonya

Sonya has 65,772 recorded births since 1905 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1967 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#499 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,930 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
65,772
born since 1905
1960s
peak decade

65,772 babies have been named Sonya since 1905, making it today's #1930 girls' name.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sonya has been recorded 65,772 times among girls since 1905, currently ranked #1930 nationally and more common than 89% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1960s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1905 to 2025.

  • #499 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #1,930 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 65,772 born since 1905
  • 1960s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sonya ranks #499 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,930 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 65,772 born since 1905, peaking in the 1960s.

#499 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,930 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
65,772
born since 1905
1960s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%88.8%
Sonya vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Sonya's 65,772 recorded births place it above 99.31% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

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

How Sonya compares

65,772 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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

Sonya's all-time total is 175x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Sonya Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 65,772 376 567,345
Peak-year births 2,980 21 19,840

Sonya's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Sonya's SSA record in two at 1966 and the more recent half accounts for 72% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 28%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1905, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1967 peak of 2,980, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Sonya popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1905–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1967)
2,980
Annual births at peak, across 121 years of records
01,0002,0003,0004,000 190519221937195219671982199720122025 100

Sonya popularity over time - boys

182 total births recorded since 1962 (Sonya as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 182 births
05101520 19621965196819711974197719821988 5

Sonya by decade

1960s is the heaviest window (22,289 births, 34% of the file).

1960s was Sonya's strongest decade.

22,289 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 34% of all-time use.

Sonya births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1960s at 22,289 births (34% of all-time use).

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

How Sonya compares to similarly-sized names

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

Sonya vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%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 -70, 4.7%-146, 3%-145, 2.5%-146, 2.3%-140, 4.6%-60, 7.8%-129, 8.2%-136, 8%-75, 3.9%-97, 3.9%-146, 6.4%-146, 4.3%-131, 2.6%-51, 3.9%-146, 2.1%Sonya-121, 4.5%Sonya
Sonya vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Sonya by state

Where Sonya concentrates geographically, total births since 1905

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Sonya
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
5,350 8.1%
#2 Texas
5,084 7.7%
#3 New York
3,262 5.0%
#4 Georgia
3,222 4.9%
#5 North Carolina
3,118 4.7%
#6 Ohio
2,944 4.5%
#7 Florida
2,681 4.1%
#8 Alabama
2,630 4.0%
California share of Sonya's total US births 8.1%
Even split

5,350 of 65,772 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Sonya appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Sonya?
Since 1905, Social Security records show 65,772 babies named Sonya. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #499 of 72,339 girls' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #1,930 of 17,297 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1967, with 2,980 births.
Where does Sonya sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sonya ranks #499 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,930 of 17,297 among girls' 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 Sonya most popular?
Sonya was most popular in the 1960s decade with 22,289 total births. The single peak year was 1967.
Where is Sonya most popular?
The top states for the name Sonya are California (5,350 births), Texas (5,084 births), New York (3,262 births).
How long has the name Sonya been used?
Sonya has been recorded in Social Security data since 1905, spanning 121 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Sonya?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Sonia, Sonja, Sondra, Sonora, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Sonya's data

  • Sonya's decade-level peak was the 1960s (22,289 total births); usage has since declined to 634 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Sonyas (5,350 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 Sonya

Nearby Names Like Sonya

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

Names with a similar popularity rank to Sonya

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Sonya: 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, 1905–2025 (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 Sonya 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.