Sonda
An invented name perhaps derived from "sonde", meaning probe or explorer.
Name Census estimates that about 558 living Americans carry the first name Sonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sonda today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sonda births was 1966 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sonda. 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.
People living today
558
~ 1 in 614,255 Americans
Peak year
1966
43 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1989 SSA rank
#10,686
Tracked since 1937
Census
Sonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 637 people with the first name Sonda, which placed it at #17,359 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
#17,359
National first-name rank
People counted
637
637 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sonda is White at 69.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Sonda 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 Sonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.2% · 441
- Black or African American23.1% · 147
- Two or more races3.1% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
Popularity
Sonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sonda from the 1930s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 281 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sonda 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 Sonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sondas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Sonda, while Tennessee, Louisiana, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sonda
The name Sonda is of Polish origin, derived from the Slavic word "sonda," which means "probe" or "to explore." It first emerged during the Middle Ages in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas now encompassed by modern-day Poland and Ukraine.
The name's linguistic roots can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic language, spoken by the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe in ancient times. The word "sonda" itself is believed to have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root "*sent-," meaning "to go" or "to travel."
Historical records indicate that the name Sonda was borne by several notable figures throughout the centuries. One of the earliest known bearers was Sonda Drohobych, a Ukrainian mathematician, and astronomer who lived from around 1450 to 1494. He is credited with introducing the heliocentric model of the solar system to Eastern Europe, predating the work of Copernicus.
In the 16th century, Sonda Jasielska was a Polish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the economic development of her region. She is remembered for her philanthropic efforts and support of local artisans and craftspeople.
During the 17th century, Sonda Krasińska was a prominent figure in the Polish Renaissance. She was a patron of the arts and a prominent poet whose works influenced the literary culture of her time.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Sonda Stapiński was a Polish military officer who fought in the November Uprising against Russian imperial rule. He became a symbol of resistance and national pride for his bravery on the battlefield.
In more recent history, Sonda Kazimierczak was a Polish engineer and inventor who lived from 1890 to 1962. She is best known for her pioneering work in developing early telecommunications technologies, including the design of one of the first practical television systems.
While the name Sonda was historically more prevalent in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland and Ukraine, it has since spread to other parts of the world, carried by individuals of Polish or Ukrainian descent. However, its use remains relatively uncommon outside of its regions of origin.
People
Sonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sonda 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
Sonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 558 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sonda 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 614,255 US residents.
Is Sonda a common name?
We classify Sonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 717 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Sonda was 1966, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sonda is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 637 people with the name Sonda, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,359 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 Sonda 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 Sonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sonda leans strongly female. 625 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Sonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sonda is White at 69.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Sonda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.2% (441 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 Sonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sonda 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 Sonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sonda 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 Sonda 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 Sonda?
See how many Americans are named Sonda on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.