Sonal
Feminine · “Golden”
Sonal is an Indian girl's name meaning golden, from the Hindi word for gold. Its oldest form is a Sanskrit word that means 'of a good color', and it belongs to one of India's great classical dancers.
How old is the name Sonal?
Sonal first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Sonal alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 600 people named Sonal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sonal most popular?
Sonal peaked in 1975, reaching #2680 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From suvarna to Sonal
The story of Sonal
The Hindi sona, gold, wore down over centuries from the Sanskrit suvarna, 'of a good color', joining su, 'good', and varna, 'color'. Sonal Mansingh, a dancer of the Odissi and Bharatanatyam traditions, performed and taught for decades, received the Padma Vibhushan, one of India's highest honors, and was named to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament. The name came to America with Indian families.
Meaning
'Golden'
Sonal comes from Hindi sona, 'gold', from Sanskrit suvarna.
How the name formed
- suvarna
- sona
- Sonal
Related forms: Sonal · Sonal
Pronouncing Sonal
SOH-nul
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Sonal
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1969
- Most girls named
- 198233 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2680reached in 1975
- Change vs 2011
- 0.0%6 in 2012, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sonal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sonal in Hindi — same name
- Sonal in Gujarati — same name
Sonals among us
people named Sonal are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Sonal sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A settled meaning in a living language.
- Short and easy to say.
- Rare in America, so a Sonal is unlikely to share her name.
- Some will say soh-NAL.
- People may hear Sonia.
- Outside Indian communities it may need explaining.
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Sonal
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Sonals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Sonal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sonal in 2025?
- Sonal is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Sonal with classmates?
- Sonal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sonal? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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