Recorded 1905–2025 · United States
Sonya was most popular in 1967, when 2,987 American babies were given the name — ranking #216 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,530, with 100 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 65,954 people named Sonya.
Sonya first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1905, which makes it about 120 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 119 of the 121 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 65,954 American births named Sonya between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 59,165 are estimated to be alive today.
100 American babies were named Sonya in 2025, ranking #3,530 that year.
Sonya is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 105 births a year, against 176 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -40% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Sonya is a girl’s name — 99.7% of the 65,954 Americans given it were girls and 0.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 59,165 Americans named Sonya are alive today — 90% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 55 years old, and half are between 45 and 60.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Sonya on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org