Meaning and history
Sophia means “wisdom” in Greek and was the name of an early, probably mythical saint said to have died of grief after her three daughters were martyred under the emperor Hadrian; the legends likely grew from a medieval misunderstanding of Hagia Sophia, meaning “Holy Wisdom,” the name of a large basilica in Constantinople. The name was common among continental European royalty in the Middle Ages and became popular in Britain through the German House of Hanover in the 18th century. It also appears in Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749) and Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield (1766). In the United States it remained only moderately used until the 1990s, then rose sharply and was the most popular girls’ name from 2011 to 2013. A notable bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934–).
20062006: 13,503 births, rank #9
2007: 17,031 births, rank #6
2008: 16,091 births, rank #7
2009: 16,951 births, rank #4
2010: 20,656 births, rank #2
20112011: 21,863 births, rank #1
2012: 22,336 births, rank #1
2013: 21,255 births, rank #1
2014: 18,644 births, rank #3
2015: 17,454 births, rank #3
20162016: 16,185 births, rank #4
2017: 14,947 births, rank #5
2018: 14,013 births, rank #5
2019: 13,821 births, rank #4
2020: 13,105 births, rank #4
20212021: 12,585 births, rank #6
2022: 12,382 births, rank #5
2023: 11,999 births, rank #5
2024: 12,126 births, rank #6
20252025: 12,561 births, rank #5
Sophia climbed to #1 for girls from 2011 through 2013. It has nevertheless remained in the top 10 through 2025, when it ranked #5. Its highest annual birth count came in 2012, with 22,336 births.