Sonia
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Russian (the usual UK spelling of the name which is spelled Sonya in the US). Borrowed from Russian Со́ня (Sónja), pet form of Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sophia”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Sonia (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Sonia has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2002. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 13 |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | 17 |
| 2003 | 13 |
| 2004 | 12 |
| 2005 | 8 |
| 2006 | 12 |
| 2007 | 11 |
| 2008 | 14 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2010 | 16 |
| 2011 | 9 |
| 2012 | 14 |
| 2013 | 13 |
| 2014 | 14 |
| 2015 | 10 |
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 15 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 11 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 840 |
| 2000 | 861 |
| 2001 | 866 |
| 2002 | 893 |
| 2003 | 909 |
| 2004 | 944 |
| 2005 | 958 |
| 2006 | 979 |
| 2007 | 1,006 |
| 2008 | 1,048 |
| 2009 | 1,091 |
| 2010 | 1,111 |
| 2011 | 1,147 |
| 2012 | 1,162 |
| 2013 | 1,203 |
| 2014 | 1,237 |
| 2015 | 1,279 |
| 2016 | 1,315 |
| 2017 | 1,343 |
| 2018 | 1,379 |
| 2019 | 1,404 |
| 2020 | 1,419 |
Sonia in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Sonia.Hi! My name is Sonia.
- Sonia ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Sonia called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Sonia i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Sonia this afternoon.
- Sonias mamma är lärare.Sonia's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Sonias mamma is Sonia's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Sonia
How do you pronounce Sonia in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Sonia in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Sonia mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Russian (the usual UK spelling of the name which is spelled Sonya in the US). Borrowed from Russian Со́ня (Sónja), pet form of Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sophia”).
How popular is Sonia in Sweden?
11 babies were named Sonia in 2022. In 2020, 1,419 people in Sweden had Sonia as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2002 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.