The first name Sofia
A girl’s name meaning “wisdom”, “especially divine wisdom”, “church of holy wisdom”.
Pronounced /ˈsoʊfiə/ 3 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
Sofia means “wisdom”, “especially divine wisdom”, “church of holy wisdom”.
Variant spelling of Sophia and from various other languages' own adaptations of Ancient Greek Σοφία (Sophía, “wisdom, especially divine wisdom”). Sometimes borrowed into English as an anglicization of an accented or closely related form, as with Spanish Sofía, Welsh Soffia, and Hungarian Zsófia. As the capital of Bulgaria, via nonstandard, though now official, romanization of Bulgarian Со́фия (Sófija), from църква „Света София“ (cărkva „Sveta Sofija“), from Medieval Greek Ναός Ἁγίας Σοφίας (Naós Hagías Sophías, “Church of Holy Wisdom”), the city's prominent 6th-century Byzantine Greek church, first attested being used as the name for the city in the 14th century and reinforced under Ottoman rule as Ottoman Turkish صوفیه (Sofya). Compare the name of the Hagia Sophia.
A form of Sophia.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 1,490 girls were named Sofia, making it the 17th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 2018, with 1,728 births (#29).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Sofia with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Sofia at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 8,252 girls born in the United States were named Sofia, the 9th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 2015, when 9,702 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Sofia in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Spelled Sofia in Catalan, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Swedish too.
Nicknames and spellings
Other spellings and forms
- Sofya
Famous people named Sofia
77 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Sofia CoppolaAmerican filmmaker (born 1971)
- Sofia CarsonAmerican singer, actress, dancer and songwriter, born 1993
- Sofia BoutellaAlgerian actress, born 1982
- Sofia VassilievaAmerican actress, born 1992
- Sofia EssaïdiFrench-Moroccan singer, born 1984
- Sofia of MinskDanish queen consort (1140-1198)
- Sofia AssefaEthiopian long-distance runner, born 1987
- Sofia WylieAmerican actress, born 2004
- Sofia LedarpActress, born 1974
- Sofia Black-D'EliaAmerican actress, born 1991
- Sofia HublitzAmerican actress, born 2000
- Sofia RichieAmerican model and media personality (born 1998)
Questions
- What does the name Sofia mean?
- Sofia means “wisdom”, “especially divine wisdom”, “church of holy wisdom”.
- How popular is the name Sofia?
- In 2025, 1,490 girls born in England and Wales were named Sofia, ranking 17th. Its peak was 2018, with 1,728 births.
- Is Sofia a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 186,931 US babies named Sofia since 1880 were girls.
- When was Sofia most popular?
- 2015 in the United States, when 9,702 babies were named Sofia, its highest rank at 14th.
- How do you pronounce Sofia?
- Sofia is /ˈsoʊfiə/, 3 syllables.
- What name is Sofia a form of?
- Sofia is a form of Sophia.
- What are other spellings of Sofia?
- Sofya.