Girl's name
Sofia
Say it soh-FEE-uh
Greek origin wisdom, especially divine wisdom
3 syllables
Where Sofia is loved, common and rare
Loved in Spain, Switzerland, Italy and eight more places. Common across the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and 17 more places. Rare in Israel and one more place.
1 in 126 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Italy 1stSwitzerland 1stCatalonia 2nd
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 36 of the 40 official lists, among them Italy (1st), Switzerland (1st) and Catalonia (2nd).
Show all 36 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1st 2024 | 4,636 | 1 in 39 |
| Spain | 1st 2024 | 3,325 | rank only |
| Switzerland | 1st 2025 | 389 | 1 in 87 |
| Catalonia region as Sofía | 2nd 2025 | 427 | 1 in 45 |
| Quebec province | 6th 2025 | 367 | about 1 in 71 |
| Ontario province | 8th 2024 | 369 | about 1 in 148 |
| Berlin city | 9th 2023 | 104 | about 1 in 139 |
| The Netherlands | 13th 2025 | 500 | about 1 in 122 |
| Norway | 13th 2025 | 266 | 1 in 82 |
| New South Wales state | 13th 2025 | 245 | rank only |
| England and Wales | 17th 2025 | 1,490 | 1 in 170 |
| Scotland | 17th 2025 | 142 | 1 in 126 |
| Slovenia | 17th 2025 | 82 | about 1 in 81 |
| British Columbia province | 20th 2023 | 75 | about 1 in 159 |
| Ireland | 23rd 2025 | 152 | 1 in 139 |
| Victoria state | 26th 2025 | 183 | rank only |
| Munich city | 26th 2025 | 39 | about 1 in 107 |
| France | 29th 2025 | 1,500 | 1 in 191 |
| Austria | 30th 2025 | 214 | 1 in 167 |
| South Australia state | 30th 2025 | 42 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 32nd 2025 | 49 | 1 in 149 |
| New Zealand | 43rd 2025 | 73 | rank only |
| Cologne city | 43rd 2023 | 26 | about 1 in 236 |
| Queensland state | 44th 2025 | 104 | rank only |
| Sweden | 47th 2025 | 190 | about 1 in 211 |
| Poland | 59th 2025 | 471 | 1 in 254 |
| Israel סופיה | 191st 2024 | 91 | about 1 in 862 |
| Moscow city София | 2nd 2025 | 2,219 | rank only |
| Denmark | 2nd 2025 | 476 | rank only |
| Estonia | 2nd 2025 | 98 | rank only |
| Argentina | 4th 2024 | 6,483 | rank only |
| Finland | 7th 2025 | 211 | rank only |
| Croatia | 19th 2025 | 166 | rank only |
| Bonn city | 22nd 2025 | 17 | about 1 in 177 |
| Leipzig city | 41st 2025 | 11 | about 1 in 239 |
| Rostock city | 166th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 985 |
Rare, below the listed names: Hungary.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Iceland (top 10) and Turkey (top 30).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Moscow publishes names in Cyrillic. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Moscow Civil Registry Office (ZAGS), data.mos.ru (Moscow); Statistics Denmark (DST) (Denmark); Siseministeerium (rahvastikuregister) (Estonia); RENAPER, Dirección Nacional de Población (datos.gob.ar) (Argentina); Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) (Finland); Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije (Matica rođenih) (Croatia); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
A spelling of Sophia, Sofia was shaped by the way many languages adapted the Ancient Greek Σοφία, 'wisdom, especially divine wisdom'. In English it is sometimes an anglicised form of the Spanish Sofía or of similar names such as the Hungarian Zsófia.
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It has three syllables, soh-FEE-uh, with the stress in the middle. Sofía is the accented spelling, and Sophia, Sophie, Sofie, Sonia and Zofia belong to the same family.
Sofia is the leading girls' name in Switzerland, Spain and Italy, and a well-established choice in Quebec and Ontario. It is rising in almost every place where it is recorded, with only one showing a fall, and the French records show it at its highest in 2025.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- soh-FEE-uh, 3 syllables
- Meaning
wisdom, especially divine wisdom
- Origin
- Greek
Counted together here: SOFIA and Sofía.
Etymology
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.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 15 of 34 regions, falling in 1.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 29 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 12 | 17 |
| Scotland | 41 | 43 | 40 | 43 | 25 | 29 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 17 |
| Northern Ireland | 51 | 50 | 42 | 76 | 55 | 55 | 56 | 48 | 70 | 32 |
| Ireland | 42 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 35 | 30 | 38 | 29 | 25 | 23 |
| Ontario | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 8 | |
| British Columbia | 25 | 37 | 39 | 32 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 20 | ||
| New South Wales | 37 | 38 | 40 | 35 | 33 | 23 | 32 | 20 | 19 | 13 |
| Victoria | 46 | 55 | 41 | 50 | 47 | 44 | 36 | 46 | 21 | 26 |
| Queensland | 67 | 76 | 61 | 49 | 76 | 62 | 49 | 53 | 51 | 44 |
| South Australia | 50 | 45 | 79 | 49 | 50 | 27 | 35 | 36 | 30 | 30 |
| New Zealand | 72 | 61 | 79 | 57 | 55 | 58 | 49 | 61 | 43 | 43 |
| Quebec | 13 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| France | 36 | 32 | 36 | 39 | 42 | 40 | 44 | 34 | 33 | 29 |
| The Netherlands | 44 | 34 | 35 | 33 | 37 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 13 | |
| Austria | 42 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 44 | 41 | 36 | 39 | 42 | 30 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Berlin | 40 | 42 | 58 | 41 | 35 | 54 | 15 | 9 | ||
| Munich | 18 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 26 | 22 | 11 | 25 | 26 |
| Cologne | 22 | 27 | 26 | 32 | 27 | 48 | 44 | 43 | ||
| Bonn | 23 | 52 | 33 | 27 | 29 | 33 | 44 | 62 | 17 | 22 |
| Leipzig | 77 | 74 | 100 | 63 | 87 | 89 | 74 | 42 | 36 | 41 |
| Rostock | 75 | 143 | 99 | 97 | 62 | 76 | 38 | 35 | 68 | 166 |
| Norway | 10 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 12 | 13 |
| Sweden | 43 | 45 | 55 | 45 | 52 | 58 | 59 | 53 | 53 | 47 |
| Denmark | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| Finland | 4 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 7 | |||||
| Spain | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Catalonia | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Poland | 106 | 108 | 109 | 99 | 97 | 93 | 73 | 69 | 60 | 59 |
| Slovenia | 35 | 23 | 30 | 25 | 20 | 22 | 15 | 20 | 17 | 17 |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Moscow | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Croatia | 20 | 25 | 19 | |||||||
| Israel | 214 | 161 | 219 | 238 | 181 | 175 | 209 | 220 | 191 | |
| Argentina | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | 1,490 | 588.3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1,626 | 630.3 |
| 2023 | 19 | 1,514 | 590.1 |
| 2022 | 20 | 1,576 | 598.1 |
| 2021 | 23 | 1,671 | 609.8 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1,623 | 604.7 |
| 2019 | 26 | 1,688 | 602.7 |
| 2018 | 29 | 1,728 | 599.4 |
| 2017 | 31 | 1,664 | 556.4 |
| 2016 | 29 | 1,683 | 547.9 |
| 2015 | 31 | 1,640 | 532.6 |
| 2014 | 28 | 1,692 | 551.7 |
| 2013 | 30 | 1,610 | 522.0 |
| 2012 | 43 | 1,336 | 414.8 |
| 2011 | 47 | 1,249 | 388.7 |
| 2010 | 62 | 992 | 309.0 |
| 2009 | 74 | 866 | 276.3 |
| 2008 | 76 | 836 | 264.8 |
| 2007 | 81 | 746 | 243.7 |
| 2006 | 88 | 630 | 210.5 |
| 2005 | 96 | 542 | 188.0 |
| 2004 | 117 | 459 | 160.6 |
| 2003 | 147 | 331 | 118.8 |
| 2002 | 151 | 291 | 108.8 |
| 2001 | 186 | 222 | 82.8 |
| 2000 | 183 | 237 | 86.8 |
| 1999 | 214 | 193 | 68.5 |
| 1998 | 212 | 196 | 67.8 |
| 1997 | 241 | 167 | 57.0 |
| 1996 | 290 | 128 | 43.2 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Sofia in France since 1925 were born in or after 2013. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 2025, at 523.0 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Sofia per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Sofia
1 in 132 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 190 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 127 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 471 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 571 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Sofia. Same first letter as Sofia.
1 in 109 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 70 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 108 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
1 in 1,025 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Sofia.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Aria.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Sofia.
Middle names for Sofia
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials SC
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Grace
3-1 beats · initials SG
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Sofia Olivia
3-4 beats · initials SO · Sofia slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Sofia slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Ruby
3-2 beats · initials SR
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Rose
3-1 beats · initials SR
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Nora
3-2 beats · initials SN
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Sofia Anna
3-2 beats · initials SA · Sofia slides into Anna: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables. Sofia slides into Anna: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Sofia Emma
3-2 beats · initials SE · Sofia slides into Emma: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Sofia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables. Sofia slides into Emma: vowel meets vowel.
Same style as Sofia
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 154 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 71 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 102 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 228 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 271 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 190 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 330 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
1 in 88 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Sofia across countries and decades.
Famous people named Sofia
Sofia Rotaru, Sofía Vergara, Sofia Coppola, Sofia Carson, Sofia Gubaidulina, Sofia Kenin, Sofia Boutella and Sofia Goggia.
Show all 8Show less
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Ukrainian singer, songwriter and actress born 1947
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Colombian-American actress and model (born 1972)
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American filmmaker (born 1971)
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American singer, actress, dancer and songwriter born 1993
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Soviet and Russian composer (1931–2025)
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Russian-American tennis player born 1998
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Algerian actress born 1982
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Italian alpine skier born 1992
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Sofia
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Sofia?
Her best rank is No. 1 in Italy in 2024, about 1 in 39 girls. She is in the published lists of 36 of our 40 regions.
What does Sofia mean?
Wiktionary glosses Sofia as "wisdom, especially divine wisdom".
How do you pronounce Sofia?
soh-FEE-uh, with 3 syllables.
Is Sofia getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 15 of 34 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Sofia?
The deck's top five sisters for Sofia: Maya, Zoe, Chloe, Elena and Sara. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.