Sofie
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 4,529 living Americans carry the first name Sofie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sofie today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sofie births was 2012 (254 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sofie. 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 Sofie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Sofie is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 75,680 Americans
Peak year
2012
254 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,461
Tracked since 1896
Census
Sofie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,474 people with the first name Sofie, which placed it at #4,246 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
#4,246
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,474 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sofie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sofie is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Sofie 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 Sofie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.4% · 2,970
- Hispanic or Latino17.7% · 792
- Two or more races6.6% · 294
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 288
- Black or African American2.3% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 29
Popularity
Sofie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sofie from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,985 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sofie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sofie 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 Sofie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sofies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Sofie, while South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 86 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sofie
The name Sofie has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the word "sophia," which means wisdom or knowledge. It can be traced back to ancient Greek culture and philosophy, where wisdom and intellect were highly revered.
Sofie is a variant spelling of the more common name Sophia, which has been used throughout history in various forms. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be found in the Bible's Book of Wisdom, also known as the Wisdom of Solomon, where Sophia personifies divine wisdom.
In ancient Greece, Sophia was associated with the goddess Athena, the patron of wisdom, courage, and civilization. The Greek philosopher Socrates was known for his pursuit of wisdom, and his student Plato wrote extensively about the concept of Sophia in his dialogues.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sophia gained popularity among Christians, particularly in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions. Saint Sophia, a revered martyr from the 2nd century, is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sofie or its variations. One of the earliest recorded examples is Sofie of Thuringia (1224-1275), a German princess and landgravine who founded several monasteries and hospitals.
In the 16th century, Sofie Brahe (1556-1643), a Danish astronomer and horticulturist, made significant contributions to the study of plants and participated in astronomical observations with her brother, the renowned astronomer Tycho Brahe.
Sofie Gengembre Anderson (1823-1903), a French-born English artist and women's rights advocate, is known for her portraits and her involvement in the women's suffrage movement.
Sofie Dossi (born 1991) is a contemporary American contortionist and aerialist, known for her appearances on various talent shows and her impressive flexibility and acrobatic skills.
Sofie Carsten Nielsen (born 1975) is a Danish politician and leader of the Social Liberal Party, who has served as a member of the Danish Parliament since 2011.
The name Sofie has maintained its popularity throughout the centuries, symbolizing wisdom, intelligence, and a connection to the rich cultural heritage of ancient Greece and the philosophical pursuit of knowledge.
People
Sofie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sofie 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
Sofie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sofie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,529 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sofie 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 75,680 US residents.
Is Sofie a common name?
We classify Sofie as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,862 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sofie most popular?
The single biggest year for Sofie was 2012, when 254 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sofie is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sofie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,474 people with the name Sofie, or 1.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,246 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 Sofie 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 Sofie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sofie appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,477 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Sofie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sofie is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Sofie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sofie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (2,970 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 Sofie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sofie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sofie 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 Sofie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sofie 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 Sofie 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 Sofie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.