Sona
A Sanskrit feminine name meaning "golden" or "beautiful gold".
Name Census estimates that about 1,175 living Americans carry the first name Sona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sona today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sona births was 2024 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sona. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sona with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 291,706 Americans
Peak year
2024
36 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,095
Tracked since 1923
Census
Sona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,858 people with the first name Sona, which placed it at #5,820 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,820
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,858 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sona is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.0%) and Hispanic (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sona described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.1% · 1,633
- Asian and Pacific Islander28.0% · 799
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 152
- Black or African American5.3% · 151
- Two or more races4.0% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Popularity
Sona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sona from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 222 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sona remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sona 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 Sona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sonas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Sona, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 75 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sona
The name Sona has its origins in several ancient languages and cultures. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Sona," which means "golden" or "beautiful." The name has been traced back to the Vedic period in ancient India, dating back to around 1500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Sona is associated with the goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. The name is also found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas, where it is often used to describe the beauty and radiance of celestial beings.
The name Sona has also been used in various regions of the Indian subcontinent, including parts of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It has been popular among Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims alike.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sona comes from the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In the epic, Sona is mentioned as the name of a female character who was known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sona. One of the most famous was Sona Mohapatra, an Indian playback singer and music composer born in 1976. She has received several awards and accolades for her contributions to the Indian music industry.
Another prominent figure named Sona was Sona Avedisian (1914-1989), an Armenian-American artist and sculptor. Her works have been exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.
In the field of literature, Sona Nair (1956-2010) was an Indian author and playwright known for her contributions to Malayalam literature. Her works often explored themes of feminism and social issues.
Sona Hosian (1915-2001) was a Pakistani classical singer and musician who played a significant role in promoting and preserving the traditional music of Pakistan. She was awarded the Pride of Performance, one of the highest civilian honors in Pakistan, for her contributions to the arts.
SonaJobarteh (born 1983) is a Gambian kora player and singer who has gained international recognition for her work in promoting and preserving the traditional music of West Africa. She has performed at numerous festivals and concerts around the world.
People
Sona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sona 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
Sona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sona 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 291,706 US residents.
Is Sona a common name?
We classify Sona as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,403 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sona most popular?
The single biggest year for Sona was 2024, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sona is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,858 people with the name Sona, or 0.95 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,820 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sona in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sona leans strongly female. 2,754 people counted with this name were female (96.4%), compared with 103 male bearers (3.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sona is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.0%) and Hispanic (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sona most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (1,633 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sona 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.
Is Sona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sona in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sona can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Sona?
See how many Americans are named Sona on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.