Sophia
Masculine · “Greek "wisdom”
Sophia is given to girls far more often — 439,108 girls against 511 boys since 1880. See Sophia as a girl name
Sophia in the boys' column is a small number attached to a very large name, and the honest reading is mixed. Some entries are clerical — a sex field mistyped on a form — and some are genuine, since Sophia is used for boys in a few traditions and since American naming has crossed the line in both directions before.
How old is the name Sophia?
Sophia first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Sophia alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 500 people named Sophia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sophia most popular?
Sophia peaked in 2004, reaching #2643 nationally. Today it ranks #7194, 4,551 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From σοφία (sophia) to Sophia
The story of Sophia
Sophia became the most-used girls' name in the United States in the early 2010s, and a name at that size generates small counts in every adjacent category — respellings, other sexes, hyphenations. Some of the male entries are certainly registration errors, which the Social Security data cannot distinguish from intent. Others are real: Sofian and Sofiane are men's names in North Africa, Sophia has been used as a middle name for boys in some Catholic families, and American parents have given daughters' names to sons before. The 2004 peak is small enough that no single explanation covers it.
Meaning
Greek "wisdom"
From Greek sophia, wisdom or skill, the root of philosophy — the love of wisdom. In Orthodox Christianity Holy Wisdom is a divine attribute, and the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated to it rather than to a saint. The etymology is settled and the word is still ordinary Greek.
How the name formed
- σοφίαsophia
- Sophia
Related forms: Σοφία · София (Sofiya) · Sofia · صفية (Safiyya)
Pronouncing Sophia
soh-FEE-uh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Greek gives so-FEE-a with the stress in the same place. Some English speakers say SOH-fee-uh with front stress, which is the older English pattern and still heard in Britain.
Nicknames for Sophia
Moderate
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
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 200440 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2643reached in 2004
- Change vs 2023
- +22.2%11 in 2025, from 9
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.
Sophia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Σοφία in Greek — same name
- София (Sofiya) in Russian — same name
- Sofia in Italian — same name
- صفية (Safiyya) in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York.
Sophias among us
people named Sophia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 155,280 born in 2025 was named Sophia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Sophia
- #7194
- Sophia on the 2025 chart
- #908
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Sophia went to 11 boys in 2025, but Sofia is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 908th most-given boys’ name of the year — 6,286 places above the chart.
- Sophia11
- Sofia9
About 1 boy in 85,404 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 155,280 for Sophia itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Clent test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sophia's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Clent climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Clent's path sketches the road Sophia is walking now.
Sophia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sophia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sophia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, brief and about as good as a meaning gets.
- It has a continuous history in Greek, Russian and Western European naming.
- The sound is familiar everywhere and difficult nowhere.
- It is one of the largest girls' names in the world and will be read as female everywhere.
- Some of the male entries in the data are registration errors rather than choices.
- Forms and systems will assume the wrong sex.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Sophia
Masculine · #7194 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sophias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Sophia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Sophia?
- Sophia is the most-used spelling in US records — 11 of the 20 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Sofia.
- How popular is the name Sophia in 2025?
- Sophia ranks #7194 among US boy names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sophia?
- About 1 in every 155,280 US boys born in 2025 was named Sophia — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sophia with classmates?
- Sophia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sophia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Junius#7194 · Orie#7194 · Shade#7194 · Chesley#7194 · Joesph#7194 · Lofton#7194 · Macon#7194 · Benjiman#7194
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sophia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sophia and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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