# Sophia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sophia/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “wisdom” |
| Pronunciation | /soʊˈfi.ə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Sophie, Sophy |
| Variant spellings | Sofia, Sofya, Sofiya, Sofija |
| US babies named this | 439,619 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 511 / 439,108 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 48,483, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Chiefly from Latin Sophia, from Ancient Greek Σοφία (Sophía), from σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”), especially in reference to holy or divine wisdom under the influence of Biblical Hebrew חוכמה (khokhmá), to the early martyr St. Sophia, and to many figures of European royalty and nobility. Also used as a calque for the many cognate forms, such as Italian Sofia, Ukrainian Софі́я (Sofíja), Russian Софи́я (Sofíja), Polish Zofia, etc. Doublet of Sofia.

## What it means

Sophia is grouped under wise.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 21,863 | 1 |
| 2012 | 22,336 | 1 |
| 2013 | 21,255 | 1 |
| 2014 | 18,644 | 3 |
| 2015 | 17,454 | 3 |
| 2016 | 16,185 | 4 |
| 2017 | 14,947 | 5 |
| 2018 | 14,013 | 5 |
| 2019 | 13,821 | 4 |
| 2020 | 13,105 | 4 |
| 2021 | 12,585 | 6 |
| 2022 | 12,382 | 5 |
| 2023 | 11,999 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12,126 | 6 |
| 2025 | 12,561 | 5 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 26 | 3,974 |
| 2011 | 23 | 4,335 |
| 2012 | 18 | 5,215 |
| 2013 | 26 | 3,947 |
| 2014 | 19 | 5,034 |
| 2015 | 14 | 6,265 |
| 2016 | 18 | 5,286 |
| 2017 | 19 | 5,083 |
| 2018 | 16 | 5,742 |
| 2019 | 16 | 5,765 |
| 2020 | 11 | 7,431 |
| 2021 | 10 | 8,078 |
| 2022 | 12 | 7,198 |
| 2023 | 9 | 8,827 |
| 2025 | 11 | 7,606 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,661 | 18 |
| 2012 | 2,855 | 15 |
| 2013 | 2,764 | 15 |
| 2014 | 2,752 | 12 |
| 2015 | 2,744 | 12 |
| 2016 | 2,636 | 11 |
| 2017 | 2,398 | 11 |
| 2018 | 2,344 | 8 |
| 2019 | 2,332 | 7 |
| 2020 | 2,028 | 10 |
| 2021 | 2,019 | 12 |
| 2022 | 1,813 | 14 |
| 2023 | 1,679 | 12 |
| 2024 | 1,610 | 13 |
| 2025 | 1,547 | 13 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: صُوفِيَا
- Chinese: 索菲婭 /索菲娅, 索菲亞 /索菲亚
- Czech: Žofie
- Danish: Sofie, Sofia
- Esperanto: Sofia
- Estonian: Viia, Viiu
- Finnish: Sofia
- French: Sophie
- Georgian: სოფიო
- German: Sophia
- Greek: Σοφία
- Hebrew: סופיה
- Hindi: सोफ़िया
- Hungarian: Zsófia
- Italian: Sofia
- Latvian: Sofija
- Norwegian: Sofia, Sofie
- Polish: Zofia
- Portuguese: Sofia
- Russian: Софи́я

## People named Sophia

- Sophia Bush, American actress
- Sophia Lillis, American actress (born 2002)
- Sophia Myles, English actress (born 1980)
- Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom, British princess; daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte (1777-1848)
- Sophia Di Martino, British actress
- Sophia Jex-Blake, British physician and suffragist (1840–1912)
- Sophia Ali, American actress
- Sophia Kianni, American climate activist
- Sophia Wilson, American soccer player
- Sophia, Byzantine empress
- Sophia Hayden Bennett, American architect (1868–1953)
- Princess Sophia of Gloucester, British princess

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.