Sofia
Feminine name of Greek origin meaning "wisdom" or "skill".
Our analysis of Social Security Administration records puts the number of living Americans named Sofia at approximately 174,380. That places it at #10 in the national ranking of first names. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sofia today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sofia births was 2015 (9,708 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Sherry (171,865).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sofia. 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 Sofia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Sofia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 178 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Sofia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
174K
~ 1 in 1,966 Americans
Peak year
2015
9,708 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10
Tracked since 1881
Census
Sofia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 151,653 people with the first name Sofia, which placed it at #368 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
#368
National first-name rank
People counted
152K
151,653 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
50.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
65.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sofia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sofia is Hispanic at 65.7%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Sofia 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 Sofia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino65.7% · 99,619
- White26.4% · 39,990
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 5,313
- Two or more races2.7% · 4,156
- Black or African American1.5% · 2,298
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 277
Gender
Gender distribution for Sofia
Out of the 178,628 babies given the name Sofia since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Sofia as a male name
- Ranked #13,908 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (17 births)
Sofia as a female name
- Ranked #10 in 2024
- 8,094 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (9,699 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sofia appears almost entirely female. Of the 151,654 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Sofia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sofia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 82,469 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sofia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sofia 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 Sofia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sofias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Sofia, while Wyoming, Vermont, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,447 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sofia
Sofia is a feminine given name that has its origins in the Greek language. It is derived from the word "sophia," which means "wisdom" or "skill." The name's roots can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was associated with the concept of philosophy and intellectual pursuits.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sofia can be found in ancient Greek texts and historical records. One notable example is the Greek philosopher Sophia of Miletus, who lived in the 6th century BC and is considered one of the earliest female philosophers in history.
In the Christian tradition, the name gained significance and popularity due to its association with the concept of divine wisdom, as represented by the personification of Sophia in various texts and theological writings. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible, for instance, portrays Sophia as the embodiment of God's wisdom.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sofia. One of the earliest was Sofia of Kyiv, a princess of the Kyivan Rus' who lived in the 11th century and played a significant role in the spread of Christianity in Eastern Europe.
In the 15th century, Sofia Paleologan was the Grand Princess of Moscow and the wife of Ivan III, the Grand Prince of Moscow. Her marriage helped to strengthen the ties between the Byzantine Empire and the emerging Russian state.
Another prominent figure was Sofia Barat, a French nun who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1800. She dedicated her life to the education of women and the promotion of social justice.
In the realm of literature, Sofia Tolstaya, the wife of the famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, was a notable figure in her own right. She played a crucial role in transcribing and preserving her husband's literary works.
The name Sofia also holds historical significance in the Byzantine Empire, where several empresses and princesses bore the name, including Sofia Palaiologan, who was the wife of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the name Sofia, showcasing its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and time periods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Sofia
People
Sofia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sofia 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
Sofia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sofia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 174,380 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sofia 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 1,966 US residents.
Is Sofia a common name?
We classify Sofia as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 178,628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sofia most popular?
The single biggest year for Sofia was 2015, when 9,708 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sofia is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sofia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 151,653 people with the name Sofia, or 50.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #368 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 Sofia 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 Sofia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sofia appears almost entirely female. Of the 151,654 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Sofia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sofia is Hispanic at 65.7%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Sofia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Sofia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.7% (99,619 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 Sofia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sofia a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Sofia 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 Sofia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sofia 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 Sofia 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 Sofia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.