girl's name
Sonja
SOHN-yuh
- Origin Scandinavian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 41,171
Scotland
#680
1989 births
Sonja means wisdom, and the great church of Constantinople carries the same word — Hagia Sophia was dedicated to Holy Wisdom as an aspect of God, not to any saint of that name. The saint of that name appears to have grown out of the dedication.
- Sonja is a name of Scandinavian origin.
- Peaked in 1967, when 1,343 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 89,606 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1906.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Sonja over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 6 |
| 1910s | 89 |
| 1920s | 231 |
| 1930s | 3,153 |
| 1940s | 5,086 |
| 1950s | 4,619 |
| 1960s | 10,976 |
| 1970s | 7,977 |
| 1980s | 3,240 |
| 1990s | 1,695 |
| 2000s | 1,187 |
| 2010s | 956 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 342 |
What Sonja means
Sonja means wisdom. The Greek sophia is the abstract noun itself, so the name carries the quality directly rather than describing someone who has it.
Where Sonja comes from
Sonja is the Scandinavian and German spelling of the Russian Sonya, a pet form of Sofia, from the Greek sophia — wisdom, the word in philosophy. Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated to Holy Wisdom as an aspect of God; a legendary Saint Sophia with daughters Faith, Hope and Charity appears to have grown backward out of that dedication. Sonya, elsewhere on this site, is the Russian spelling of the same name.
Sonja in use
Sonja peaked in the United States in 1967, when 1,343 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 3960th in the United States on 37 births, across 41,171 lifetime births. France ran its own peak of 40 births in 1948, and our records carry the name from 1906.
How popular is Sonja?
In 2025, Sonja was given to 37 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Sonja is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Sonja
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Sonja also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Sonja over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sonja in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Sonja
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Sonja — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Sonja
What does the name Sonja mean?
Wisdom — the Greek sophia, through Sofia.
Was there a Saint Sophia?
The legend appears to have grown backward out of the Hagia Sophia dedication.
Is Sonya the same name?
Yes — the Russian spelling, written up separately here.
How popular is Sonja?
3960th in the United States, down from a 1967 peak of 1,343 births.
Is Sonja a girl's or a boy's name?
Sonja is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Sonja?
Sonja has 2 syllables.
Is Sonja a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Sonja currently ranks #3,960 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.