ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1906 First Year 2026 Last Year 1968 Peak Year #180 Peak Rank 40K Total Count 115 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Sonja What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Sonja is a name with multiple cultural origins: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian. Origin data from [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/). ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * German * Dutch * Swedish * Norwegian * Danish * Icelandic * Finnish * Slovene * Serbian * Croatian * Macedonian 📖 ## The Story of Sonja The earliest SSA record of Sonja as a baby girl name dates back to 1906, when 6 babies received it. 1968 was its biggest year on record, with 1,339 newborns named Sonja — #222 in the national rankings. About 28% of every Sonja on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Sonja ranks #3,260 for baby girls with 49 births, falling sharply (-29%). All told, over 40K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1900s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Sonja Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Sonja. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Soffía * [Sofia](/sofia) * [Sofie](/sofie) * [Sofija](/sofija) * [Sohvi](/sohvi) * [Sonje](/sonje) * [Sophia](/sophia) * [Sophie](/sophie) * Zofija 🎶 ## Names that sound like Sonja Phonetically similar names — useful when Sonja is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Sonia](/sonia) * [Sonya](/sonya) * [Sanya](/sanya) * [Sunya](/sunya) * Sinew * [Sona](/sona) * Sanyo * Sinu * Signo * Sanwa * Soia * Sinha Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Sonja What does the name Sonja mean? Sonja is a name with multiple cultural origins: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian. What is the origin of the name Sonja? Sonja has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian. How popular is Sonja in 2026? In 2026, Sonja ranks #3,260 among girls' names in the U.S., with 49 babies given the name that year. When was Sonja most popular? Sonja reached its peak popularity in 1968, ranking #180 that year with 1,339 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Sonja most popular? Sonja has historically been most popular in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Utah. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Sonja. Is Sonja a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Sonja is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Sonja? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Sonja include Fiona, Maci, Cierra. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Sonja? Common variants and related forms of Sonja include Soffía, Sofia, Sofie, Sofija, Sohvi, Sonje. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names [👧FionaPeak #180](/fiona)[👧MaciPeak #180](/maci)[👧CierraPeak #180](/cierra)[👧KinleyPeak #180](/kinley)[👧LenoraPeak #181](/lenora)[👧AdelaidePeak #179](/adelaide)[👧JohannaPeak #179](/johanna)[👧LettiePeak #181](/lettie) ## About the name Sonja Sonja is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1906 and has accumulated 40K births in the dataset. Sonja's peak popularity came in 1968 when it ranked #180\. Use the chart and map above to compare Sonja's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1968 → ](/year/1968) * [ Names of the 1960s → ](/decade/1960s) * [ Names starting with "S" → ](/letter/s) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.