girls' name ★ peaked 2012

Sophia

Meaning wisdom Gender Girl Rank 2025 #5 Trend → Stable

Chiefly from Latin Sophia, from Ancient Greek Σοφία (Sophía), from σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”), especially in reference to holy or divine wisdom under the influence of…

Rank 2025
#5
among girls · ↑1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
12,572
named Sophia · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 128
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2012
22,354 babies
All-time total
439,619
#82 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Sophia popularity over time

439,619 babies have been named Sophia since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,865 – 1,865 187 – #116
1890s 2,522 – 2,522 252 +35% #144
1900s 2,460 – 2,460 246 -2% #180
1910s 5,237 5 5,242 524 +113% #225
1920s 3,277 – 3,277 328 -37% #279
1930s 1,117 5 1,122 112 -66% #554
1940s 1,054 – 1,054 105 -6% #680
1950s 1,578 – 1,578 158 +50% #595
1960s 4,908 11 4,919 492 +212% #367
1970s 4,581 5 4,586 459 -7% #385
1980s 10,823 52 10,875 1,088 +137% #210
1990s 24,503 34 24,537 2,454 +126% #53
2000s 119,251 151 119,402 11,940 +387% #4
2010s 181,174 195 181,369 18,137 +52% #1
2020s (to 2025) 74,758 53 74,811 12,469 -31% #4

Where Sophia is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 12,421 7.73 #6
2027 12,304 7.66 #6
2028 12,205 7.59 #6
2029 12,122 7.54 #6
2030 12,051 7.50 #6

Where Sophia is most popular

Girls named Sophia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 7.60 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Sophia born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Delaware 214 18.9 +148%
Rhode Island 222 17.7 +133%
Wyoming 74 17.4 +128%
Vermont 79 16.3 +114%
District of Columbia 167 14.1 +85%
Hawaii 160 14.0 +84%
New Mexico 337 13.9 +82%
Alaska 114 13.2 +74%
New Hampshire 241 13.1 +72%
Nevada 596 12.8 +69%
Connecticut 742 12.8 +68%
Massachusetts 1,469 12.1 +60%
New Jersey 2,099 11.6 +53%
Maine 171 11.1 +45%
Arizona 1,535 10.9 +44%
Florida 4,661 10.9 +43%
West Virginia 285 10.9 +43%
Montana 145 10.7 +41%
Illinois 2,373 10.4 +36%
California 8,514 10.1 +33%
Pennsylvania 2,387 10.1 +33%
Oregon 656 10.1 +33%
New York 3,955 9.99 +31%
North Dakota 130 9.89 +30%
Maryland 1,030 9.72 +28%
Nebraska 346 9.63 +27%
Colorado 1,068 9.57 +26%
Virginia 1,628 9.55 +26%
Washington 1,318 9.12 +20%
South Dakota 130 9.11 +20%
Michigan 1,654 9.08 +19%
Idaho 302 9.03 +19%
Kansas 519 9.00 +18%
Ohio 2,090 8.81 +16%
Wisconsin 886 8.60 +13%
Texas 6,906 8.59 +13%
Missouri 1,030 8.55 +12%
Indiana 1,188 8.46 +11%
North Carolina 1,922 8.44 +11%
Iowa 493 8.44 +11%
Kentucky 720 8.42 +11%
Oklahoma 618 8.40 +11%
Minnesota 893 8.28 +9%
South Carolina 681 7.58 ≈ national
Arkansas 393 7.44 ≈ national
Utah 578 6.94 -9%
Tennessee 1,078 6.80 -10%
Georgia 1,543 6.79 -11%
Louisiana 535 6.11 -20%
Alabama 560 5.96 -22%
Mississippi 218 4.66 -39%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Sophia

Sophia is a top-10 name for girls in the United States, ranked #5 in 2025 with 12,561 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 439,619 American babies have been named Sophia. Its peak came in 2012, when 22,354 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Sophia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Sophia?

The median living Sophia is about 13 years old; half are between 8 and 19. An estimated 419 thousand people named Sophia are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Sophia year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 12,561 #5 11 #7,606
2024 12,126 #6 – –
2023 11,999 #5 9 #8,827
2022 12,382 #5 12 #7,198
2021 12,585 #6 10 #8,078
2020 13,105 #4 11 #7,431
2019 13,821 #4 16 #5,765
2018 14,013 #5 16 #5,742
2017 14,947 #5 19 #5,083
2016 16,185 #4 18 #5,286
2015 17,454 #3 14 #6,265
2014 18,644 #3 19 #5,034
2013 21,255 #1 26 #3,947
2012 22,336 #1 18 #5,215
2011 21,863 #1 23 #4,335
2010 20,656 #2 26 #3,974
2009 16,951 #4 9 #8,899
2008 16,091 #7 12 #7,120
2007 17,031 #6 18 #5,181
2006 13,503 #9 22 #4,349
2005 12,678 #12 16 #5,244
2004 10,919 #15 40 #2,686
2003 9,687 #20 13 #5,834
2002 8,665 #27 6 #10,483
2001 7,162 #37 9 #7,429
2000 6,564 #42 6 #10,178
1995 1,765 #168 – –
1990 1,124 #251 5 #9,322
1985 1,098 #236 9 #4,645
1980 641 #366 – –
1975 380 #487 5 #6,220
1970 582 #402 – –
1965 509 #416 – –
1960 261 #623 – –
1955 152 #782 – –
1950 109 #849 – –
1945 103 #736 – –
1940 105 #680 – –
1935 101 #658 – –
1930 152 #554 – –
1925 289 #403 – –
1920 545 #279 – –
1915 692 #227 – –
1910 271 #237 – –
1905 237 #198 – –
1900 259 #197 – –
1895 259 #164 – –
1890 245 #144 – –
1885 185 #134 – –
1880 138 #118 – –

Famous people named Sophia

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Sophia Bush Sophia Bush American actress (born 1982) Contemporary
  2. 2 Sophia Loren Sophia Loren Italian actress (born 1934) Contemporary
  3. 3 Sophia Lillis Sophia Lillis American actress (born 2002) Contemporary
  4. 4 Sophia Myles Sophia Myles English actress b. 1980 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Sophia of Hanover Sophia of Hanover Electress of Hanover from 1692 to 1698 1630–1714 · 17th century
  6. 6 Sophia of Prussia Sophia of Prussia Queen of Greece (1913–1917; 1920–1922) 1870–1932 · 19th century
  7. 7 Sophia Dorothea of Celle Sophia Dorothea of Celle Electoral Princess of Hanover 1666–1726 · 17th century
  8. 8 Sophia Tolstaya Sophia Tolstaya Russian diarist and copyist (1844–1919) 19th century
  9. 9 Sophia Duleep Singh Sophia Duleep Singh British suffragette (1876–1948) 19th century
  10. 10 Sophia Dorothea of Hanover Sophia Dorothea of Hanover Queen in Prussia from 1713 to 1740 1687–1757 · 17th century
  11. 11 Sophia of Nassau Sophia of Nassau Queen of Sweden and Norway 1836–1913 · 19th century
  12. 12 Sophia Palaiologina Sophia Palaiologina Grand Princess of Moscow from 1472 to 1503 1455–1503 · Medieval
  13. 13 Sophia Charlotte of Hanover Sophia Charlotte of Hanover Duchess/Queen in Prussia from 1701 to 1705 1668–1705 · 17th century
  14. 14 Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia Russian tsarevna (1657–1704) 17th century
  15. 15 Sophia Magdalena of Denmark Sophia Magdalena of Denmark Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 1746–1813 · 18th century
  16. 16 Sophia Perovskaya Sophia Perovskaya Russian revolutionary 1853–1881 · 19th century
  17. 17 Sophia of Halshany Sophia of Halshany Queen of Poland from 1422 to 1434 b. 1405 · Medieval
  18. 18 Sophia Albertina, Abbess of Quedlinburg Sophia Albertina, Abbess of Quedlinburg Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg 1753–1829 · 18th century
  19. 19 Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen Portuguese poet and writer (1919–2004) Contemporary
  20. 20 Sophia Sophia Byzantine empress (c. 530 – c./aft. 601) Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Sophia, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Sophia?

The median living Sophia is about 13 years old. Half of all living Sophias are between 8 and 19 years old.

How many people named Sophia are alive today?

An estimated 419 thousand people named Sophia are alive in the United States, based on 439,619 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Sophia mean?

Chiefly from Latin Sophia, from Ancient Greek Σοφία (Sophía), from σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”), especially in reference to holy or divine wisdom under the influence of Biblical Hebrew חוכמה (khokhmá), to the early martyr St. Sophia,…

How popular is the name Sophia in 2025?

Sophia ranked #5 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 12,561 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Sophia?

439,619 babies have been named Sophia in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Sophia most popular?

Sophia peaked in 2012, when 22,354 newborns received the name.

Is Sophia a boy or girl name?

Sophia is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Sophia rising or falling?

Sophia is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Sophia become more popular?

Sophia looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 12,051 girls named Sophia in 2030, ranking around #6. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Sophia?

Well-known people named Sophia include Sophia Bush (actor), Sophia Loren (actor), Sophia Lillis (actor).

Names like Sophia

Names that sound and feel close to Sophia: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Sophia with similar names → More names starting with S →