Sonora
A feminine name derived from Spanish meaning "resonant" or "sonorous".
Name Census estimates that about 1,324 living Americans carry the first name Sonora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sonora today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sonora births was 2023 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sonora. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 258,878 Americans
Peak year
2023
62 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,960
Tracked since 1924
Census
Sonora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,017 people with the first name Sonora, which placed it at #12,287 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
#12,287
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,017 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sonora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sonora is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Black (14.5%). 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 Sonora 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 Sonora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.2% · 572
- Hispanic or Latino18.9% · 192
- Black or African American14.5% · 147
- Two or more races7.6% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 14
Popularity
Sonora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sonora 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 422 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sonora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sonora 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 Sonora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sonoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Sonora, while Oregon, Arizona, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 76 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sonora
The name Sonora is believed to have its origins in the Spanish language. It is derived from the word "sonoro," which means "sonorous" or "resonant." The name is thought to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, during the time of Spanish exploration and colonization of the Americas.
Sonora is a region in northwestern Mexico that borders the Gulf of California. The name "Sonora" was first used to refer to this area, which was known for its rich mineral resources and mining activities. The earliest recorded use of the name Sonora in this context dates back to the early 17th century.
The name Sonora is not commonly found in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it has been used as a given name for both males and females in various parts of the world, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sonora was Sonora Babb, an American author and journalist born in 1862. She wrote several books and articles on social and political issues of her time.
Another notable person with the name Sonora was Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, an American woman born in 1882 who is credited with initiating the modern celebration of Father's Day. She campaigned for the establishment of a day to honor fathers, similar to Mother's Day, and her efforts led to the first Father's Day celebration in 1910.
In the world of art, Sonora Carver was an American artist and sculptor born in 1904. She was known for her works in wood carving and was a member of the Taos Society of Artists.
Sonora Webster Carver, born in 1904, was an American horse trainer and writer. She authored several books on horse training and was considered an expert in her field.
Sonora McKeller, born in 1929, was a Canadian author and poet. She wrote several collections of poetry and was known for her works exploring themes of nature, spirituality, and indigenous cultures.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Sonora, showcasing its use across various fields and cultures.
People
Sonora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sonora 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
Sonora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sonora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,324 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sonora 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 258,878 US residents.
Is Sonora a common name?
We classify Sonora as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,387 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sonora most popular?
The single biggest year for Sonora was 2023, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sonora is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sonora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,017 people with the name Sonora, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,287 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 Sonora 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 Sonora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sonora appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,029 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Sonora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sonora is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Black (14.5%). 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 Sonora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sonora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (572 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 Sonora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sonora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sonora 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 Sonora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sonora 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 Sonora 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 people are called Sonora?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.