NamelingSwipe names

Sophia

Gender
Girl
Say it
so-FEE-a
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#12 for girls
US rank, 2025
#5 for girls
Style
Classic

Sophia is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “wisdom”. In 2025 it ranked 12th for girls in the UK (1,796 babies) and 5th for girls in the US (12,561 babies).

What does Sophia mean?

Greek

“wisdom”

Greek for wisdom; Sophia of Hanover was the ancestor through whom the Hanoverians inherited the British throne.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Sophia a girl's or a boy's name?

Sophia is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,796 girls in the UK and 12,561 girls and 11 boys in the US.

How popular is Sophia in the UK?

Rank in 2025
12th among girls
Babies in 2025
1,796 about 1 in 160 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 27% in five years
Same name in a class
8.7% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 1,796 girls in the UK were named Sophia, making it the 12th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 9th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 3,286 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 13 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Sophia than any year since 2008.

Half of all the girls named Sophia in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 3,494 girls in the UK were given Sophia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1, up from #12 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 13th in England and Wales, 9th in Scotland and 15th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2004 (#63), 2014 (#12) and 2024 (#13).

1996Busiest: 3,286 in 20122025
Sophia in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20251,796#12
20241,915#10
20231,919#11
20222,081#8
20212,321#10
20202,354#9
20192,670#8
20182,688#9
20172,735#12
20162,994#10
20153,099#12
20143,171#12
20133,204#15
20123,286#15
20113,082#17
20102,264#26
20091,855#36
20081,639#40
20071,531#41
20061,211#54
20051,005#63
2004936#65
2003769#75
2002656#87
2001606#93
2000619#93
1999568#105
1998621#95
1997599#96
1996532#99

How popular is Sophia in the US?

Rank in 2025
5th among girls
Babies in 2025
12,561 about 1 in 130 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 10% in five years
Same name in a class
10% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 12,561 girls in the US were named Sophia, making it the 5th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 22,336 girls. 11 boys were also named Sophia in 2025 (7,190th for boys).

Half of all the girls named Sophia in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 20,827 girls in the US were given Sophia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1, up from #5 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 22,336 in 20122025
Sophia in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202512,561#5
202412,126#6
202311,999#5
202212,382#5
202112,585#6
202013,105#4
201913,821#4
201814,013#5
201714,947#5
201616,185#4
201517,454#3
201418,644#3
201321,255#1
201222,336#1
201121,863#1
201020,656#2
200916,951#4
200816,091#7
200717,031#6
200613,503#9
200512,678#12
200410,919#15
20039,687#20
20028,665#27
20017,162#37
20006,564#42
19995,423#53
19984,308#73
19973,640#94
19962,513#125
19951,765#168
19941,614#185
19931,498#196
19921,355#211
19911,263#225
19901,124#250
19891,060#254
19881,166#225
19871,124#238
19861,060#245
19851,098#236
19841,082#235
19831,196#210
19821,161#224
19811,235#211
1980641#366
1979494#423
1978409#476
1977432#457
1976366#496
1975380#486
1974387#465
1973455#429
1972486#405
1971590#385
1970582#402
1969593#385
1968548#392
1967603#367
1966589#376
1965509#414
1964471#452
1963524#424
1962486#438
1961324#546
1960261#622
1959277#595
1958226#659
1957188#729
1956121#913
1955152#779
1954113#904
1953129#808
1952110#877
1951153#705
1950109#841
1949123#778
1948112#820
1947108#841
1946107#796
1945103#734
1944104#747
1943104#758
194281#853
1941107#678
1940105#675
193999#680
193888#731
1937104#666
193698#666
1935101#654
1934107#648
1933103#646
1932132#569
1931133#572
1930152#553
1929169#525
1928195#494
1927240#447
1926234#442
1925289#402
1924357#364
1923369#342
1922390#331
1921489#299
1920545#279
1919604#261
1918629#256
1917698#235
1916697#232
1915692#226
1914548#229
1913429#232
1912397#225
1911272#238
1910271#237
1909256#222
1908276#203
1907265#197
1906247#194
1905237#197
1904230#195
1903213#197
1902256#179
1901221#186
1900259#197
1899238#180
1898240#188
1897278#162
1896278#160
1895259#164
1894276#156
1893247#159
1892241#162
1891220#153
1890245#144
1889251#138
1888251#136
1887192#136
1886218#128
1885185#134
1884170#134
1883159#129
1882179#116
1881122#130
1880138#117

Nicknames for Sophia

Names like Sophia

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Amelia, Ava, Isabella, Phoebe, Aria, Sienna, Olivia, Emilia, Mia, Matilda, Eliza, Maisie

Other spellings of Sophia

Sofia, Sofiia, Soffia, Sofhia

Names related to Sophia

Sophie, Saphia, Sophy, Sophea, Sophiya, Sophi, Zophia, Sophya, Sophee

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, George, Theo, Lucas, Alexander, Sebastian, Penelope, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Zoe, Iris, Lainey, Elena, Atlas

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Sophia: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sophia, updated 20 October 2026.