Sofiya
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 1,134 living Americans carry the first name Sofiya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sofiya today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sofiya births was 2024 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sofiya. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Sofiya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 302,253 Americans
Peak year
2024
80 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,317
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Sofiya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sofiya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 528 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sofiya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sofiya by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sofiya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sofiyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Sofiya, while Massachusetts, Arizona, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sofiya
The name Sofiya originated from the Greek word "sophia", meaning wisdom or knowledge. It gained popularity in Eastern Orthodox Christian cultures, particularly in Russia, Ukraine, and other Slavic nations.
Sofiya traces its roots back to the ancient Greek philosopher Sophia, revered for her wisdom and eloquence. In early Christian tradition, Sophia symbolized the divine wisdom, often personified as a feminine figure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sofiya can be found in the Hagia Sophia, a renowned Byzantine cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, constructed in the 6th century AD. The name Sofiya was associated with this magnificent architectural masterpiece, which was dedicated to the Holy Wisdom.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sofiya. In the 11th century, Princess Sofiya Vitovtovna (1371-1453) was a Grand Duchess of Lithuania and played a significant role in the unification of Belarus and Lithuania.
Another prominent figure was Sofiya Paleologa (1455-1503), a Russian Grand Princess and the wife of Ivan III, who played a crucial role in the development of Russian culture and the consolidation of the Muscovite state.
In the 18th century, Sofiya Alekseyevna (1657-1704), the regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689, made significant contributions to the country's political and cultural landscape.
In the world of literature, Sofiya Tolstaya (1844-1919), the wife of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, was an influential figure in her own right and contributed to various charitable and educational initiatives.
One of the most celebrated bearers of the name was Saint Sofiya the Martyr, a revered figure in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, who was martyred for her unwavering faith in the 2nd century AD.
People
Sofiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sofiya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sofiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sofiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,134 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sofiya going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 302,253 US residents.
Is Sofiya a common name?
We classify Sofiya as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,144 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sofiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Sofiya was 2024, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sofiya is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sofiya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sofiya in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.