Sophea
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "wisdom" or "skill".
Name Census estimates that about 343 living Americans carry the first name Sophea. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Sophea today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sophea births was 2013 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sophea. 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 Sophea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
343
~ 1 in 999,284 Americans
Peak year
2013
26 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,339
Tracked since 1982
Census
Sophea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 922 people with the first name Sophea, which placed it at #13,189 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
#13,189
National first-name rank
People counted
922
922 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sophea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sophea is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Sophea 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 Sophea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.9% · 672
- White14.2% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 81
- Two or more races2.5% · 23
- Black or African American1.6% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Sophea
Sophea leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sophea as a male name
- Ranked #8,339 in 1988
- 5 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1988 (5 births)
Sophea as a female name
- Ranked #13,398 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2013 (26 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sophea leans strongly female. 788 people counted with this name were female (84.5%), compared with 144 male bearers (15.5%).
Popularity
Sophea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sophea from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 165 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sophea 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 Sophea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sopheas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sophea
The name Sophea has its origins in ancient Greece, derived from the Greek word "sophia," meaning wisdom or knowledge. It is believed to have first emerged during the classical period of Greek civilization, around the 5th century BCE.
The earliest recorded use of Sophea as a personal name can be traced back to ancient Greek texts and inscriptions. One notable figure bearing this name was Sophea of Syracuse, a philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BCE. She is credited with contributing to the development of geometry and is mentioned in the writings of ancient scholars such as Proclus.
In the Byzantine era, the name Sophea gained popularity among Eastern Orthodox Christian communities. It was often associated with the concept of divine wisdom and was sometimes given to women who dedicated their lives to religious study or contemplation.
During the Middle Ages, Sophea continued to be used across various regions influenced by Greek culture, including parts of the Byzantine Empire, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. One notable bearer of the name was Sophea Palaiologina, a Byzantine princess who lived in the 14th century and was known for her patronage of the arts and learning.
As the Renaissance period dawned, the name Sophea experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among the intellectual and artistic circles of Europe. This was likely due to the renewed interest in classical Greek culture and the emphasis on wisdom and knowledge during this era.
One of the most famous individuals named Sophea was Sophea Germain, a French mathematician and physicist who lived from 1776 to 1831. She made significant contributions to the fields of number theory and elasticity theory, and her work paved the way for future advancements in these areas.
Another notable figure was Sophea Tolstaya, a Russian noblewoman and writer who lived from 1844 to 1919. She was a close friend and confidante of the famous novelist Leo Tolstoy and played a significant role in preserving his literary legacy.
In the 20th century, the name Sophea continued to be used across various cultures, although its popularity waned in some regions. One prominent bearer was Sophea Wadia, an Indian actress and dancer who lived from 1918 to 2003 and was known for her performances in Bollywood films and classical Indian dance.
While the name Sophea has its roots in ancient Greece, it has been embraced by various cultures throughout history, often associated with wisdom, knowledge, and intellectual pursuits. Its enduring presence serves as a testament to the universal appeal of these virtues across time and civilizations.
People
Sophea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sophea 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
Sophea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sophea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 343 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sophea 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 999,284 US residents.
Is Sophea a common name?
We classify Sophea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sophea most popular?
The single biggest year for Sophea was 2013, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sophea is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sophea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 922 people with the name Sophea, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,189 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 Sophea 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 Sophea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sophea leans strongly female. 788 people counted with this name were female (84.5%), compared with 144 male bearers (15.5%). 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 Sophea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sophea is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Sophea most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sophea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (672 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 Sophea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sophea a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Sophea 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 Sophea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sophea 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 Sophea 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 Sophea?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.