The baby name Sophia ranks among the most popular choices for girls worldwide. But did it all start with a big ol’ misunderstanding?
Thanks to Sophie for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
CLASSIC SOPHIA
Despite flirting with obscurity in the 1940s and 50s, Sophia feels nearly as enduring as Katherine, Mary, Elizabeth, or Anne.
It entered the US Top Ten in 2006, and held the #1 spot from 2011 through 2013. Factor in Top 20 Sofia and Top 100 Sophie, and it’s easy to imagine this is a generation-defining name. And yet, that doesn’t diminish the sense that the baby name Sophia will endure.
After all, it appears in royal families beginning in the 1300s; is used as a character name in eighteenth century literature; and belongs to twentieth century notables like Sofia Loren.
HOLY SOPHIA
Not only does the baby name Sophia come with all that history, but it also offers a great meaning: wisdom. It survives in our vocabulary today. Think of the word philosophy – philo (love) plus sophos (wisdom).
A feminine name with a strong meaning – feels like an unbeatable combination, right?
That’s the source of the error, too.
We list Saint Sophia among the earliest martyrs, usually dating to the second century, but sometimes later. Her story goes like this: she had three daughters: Faith, Hope, and Charity, their names inspired by St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. They converted to Christianity, back when such beliefs carried a death sentence. The sisters were tortured to death, while Sophia died of her grief.
Early martyrologies prove difficult to verify and often mix legend with fact.
But here’s the twist.
In 360, a basilica in Istanbul was named Hagia Sophia – holy wisdom. For more than eleven centuries it served as a Christian church, and then became a mosque for five centuries more. (Today it is a museum.)
Along the way, it was assumed that the structure was dedicated to Saint Sophia.
At the same time, we know that early Christian women often took theological virtue names like Sophia or Fides (faith). It’s easy to imagine, just a few centuries later, reading these and assuming they’d been given names in commemoration of a saint.
But by the sixth century, the veneration of the mother and daughters was spreading.
Pilgrims to the Holy Land learned their names. The pious – and powerful – Queen Theodelinda of the Lombards was gifted some of Sophia’s relics by the pope, spreading the story farther.
ACROSS TIME
German and Austrian nobles may have been the first to embrace the name. It spread across Europe. The most famous royal of the moment might be the Countess of Wessex, born Sophie Rhys-Jones. The former Queen of Spain is also Sofia; as is her granddaughter, Infanta Sofia, second in line to the throne.
Sophia Jex-Blake advocated for women’s access to university educations in the UK, and became the first practicing female doctor in Scotland. And the nineteenth century also gave us Sofya Kovalevskaya, a Russian mathematician who became the first woman appointed to a full professorship in Northern Europe.
In the 1980s, Sophia became – appropriately enough – the most senior of the Golden Girls. Sophia, mom to Dorothy, was known for her blunt, merciless one-liners. (Fun fact: Estelle Getty, who played Sophia, was actually one year younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter.) If a little old lady sounds like a deal-breaker, consider this: Sophia wasn’t a grandmother; she was a great-grandmother, supposedly eighty years young when the series debuted. That makes Sophia prime for rediscovery. It’s likely that many who came of age when the Golden Girls still aired on prime time eventually gave the name to their daughters.
More recently, you might think of actor Sofia Vergara and director Sofia Coppola.
ON THE MAP
A number of places bear the name Sophia, too. Bulgarian capital Sofia started out as Serdica and Sredets. But as early as the 1300s, it took the name of Saint Sofia Church. The church site dates to the fourth century, and the current building was constructed in the 600s.
Speaking of maps, it’s worth noting that the name is sometimes pronounced with a long ‘i’ sound rather than an ‘ee’ sound. But today, that’s quite rare.
BY THE NUMBERS
A picture emerges of Sophia: a name widely used across cultures and over time, with a great meaning and plenty of appealing associations. It sounds vintage and sophisticated.
So it’s surprising to realize that the baby name Sophia never appeared in the US Top 100 until 1997.
Sofia spent years in obscurity, barely cracking the Top 1000 much of the time. It gained in use beginning in the 1970s, and entered the Top 100 in 2003, just a few years after Sophia.
It’s actually Sophie – the French form – that enjoyed more popularity around the 1910s, though it, too spent many years hibernating. Sophie followed Sophia and Sofia into the Top 100 in 2007, but remains the least popular of the three. That reverses the trends of a century ago.
One key to the baby name Sophia’s success? It cross cultures seamlessly. Combine the ‘ph’ and ‘f’ spellings, and the name is popular throughout Europe, as well as the English- and the Spanish-speaking worlds. Like Isabella, the name’s ability to work in English and Spanish makes it particularly popular with many bilingual families.
Despite this wild run of popularity, Sophia feels more classic than trendy. Yes, a lot of girls share the name. But it’s easy to see how it appeals to so many families.
Would you consider the baby name Sophia for a daughter? Do you prefer Sophia, Sofia, or Sophie?
First published on August 23, 2011, this post was revised substantially and re-published on June 24, 2020.
Too popular for my own taste (in our circles, there are countless girls with the names Sophia or Olivia), but the meaning is wonderful. I much prefer the Sofia spelling, however. Somehow, it adds intrigue to me!
Abby, I grew up with a Mackenzie and am in my mid-thirties! It is such a super cool name – I have been amazed how popular it’s gotten. I believe she was named after her uncle.
I love Sophia but didn’t put it on my list because of the popularity. I know a little girl about 10ish and they call her “Phia.” Love that!
So what other possibilities were there for the family with Sophie and Sadie expecting a third little girl? I put their data — begin with S, end with -ie, 2 syllables — in BNW’s NameFinder, allowing any style and from very popular to rare: here are the possibilities:
* Sallie (girl)
* Shaylie (girl)
* Shelbie (girl)
* Sherrie (girl)
* Skylie (girl)
* Sookie (girl)
* Stacie (girl)
* Sukie (girl)
* Susie (girl)
* Sylvie (girl)
But if you want a 2-syllable, S…ie name that’s at least somewhat popular, only Sadie and Sophie — already used for the first 2 girls — come up. That’s probably why they adapted Sydney to match the older girls’ names. Changing “must end with -ie” to “must end with -y” and still in the very popular to somewhat popular range, there are only two possibilities: * Shelby (girl) * Sydney (girl)
The popularity of these 3 names is very compatible, per 2010 stats:
Sophie – #59
Sadie – #118
Sydney -# 60 — make one small spelling change and voila! Sydnie – S….ie — perfect match!
(Sylvie isn’t in the Top 1000 at all and doesn’t have the popular, current, all-American girl feel about it that the other three names have.)
I think they needed something to go in there to match the others. But I don’t know the whole story. Maybe they liked Sydney on its own and changed it to match the others.
It seems extreme – I can see thinking “oh, we need another S name” or even “we need another two-syllable S name” but the ends-in-ie feels like a serious constraint.
Of the three, I actually like Sydney the best. But the spelling is…interesting. You know me, though. I’m from the school of traditional spelling is best. I can’t help it. It probably has something to do with my attitude about grammar.
‘Back in the day’ I knew sisters named Susan and Sidne (pronounced as Sidney). This was when Susan was a very popular name and no one had ever heard of a girl called Sidney with any spelling. I suspected that the parents wanted to match their first daughter’s name and Sidne, also beginning with S, 5 letters, 2 syllables was the best they could do. I wonder how long it took one of the parents to come up with Sidne.
I think think Sophie, Sadie and Sydnie are fine for parents who wanted matchy names for their daughters, but too bad they didn’t think of Sylvie: Sophie, Sylvie and — which of the other two to pick? I’d prefer another French name. Ok, I’m going to add a 3rd syllable and call her Stephanie: Sophie, Sylvie and Stephanie. I really like that trio!
I know a trio of sisters (born in the last 6 years) called Sophie, Sadie, and Sydnie. All S names and all end with IE.
I wonder if they liked Sophie and Sadie and then felt trapped?
What a lot of comments! Sophia feels almost as familiar to me as Sarah since it’s one non-Indian name worn by quite a number of my Indian friends growing up. I prefer the so-FIE-ah pronunciation personally, in part because it’s less likely to come out sounding like soff-ya (which I don’t like and which seemed to be the fate of most of my friends). I don’t like Sophie — waaaay too cutesy for my taste — but I certainly don’t cringe when I hear Sophia on the playground like I do with Addison.
Sophia is #18 where I live, the same as Georgia. And yet I’ve never met a baby/child Sophia, and have met dozens and dozens of Georgias! The mysteries of the popularity charts.
Could ALL the Sophias be masquerading as Sophies (#4)?
It’s funny that’s it’s supposedly so overused, and yet I would love to meet one – such a pretty name.
I love love love this name! I don’t really mind that it’s so popular (since when is that automatically a bad thing anyway?) My number one name for a future daughter at the moment is Sophia Grace.
I guess I’m alone in this, but I’ve always despised the sound of Sophia/Sofia [that is, the European pronunciation; the Georgian English one is worse]. All I can think of is Sophia Petrillo and other frail, waddling old ladies. Sophie isn’t much better. [The French pronunciation of so-FEE is tolerable.] I knew a horrible woman named Sonya as a child, so she’s soured that name for me too.
I loved Sophia because of its meaning, “wisdom.” I can imagine it on a little girl, but it’s rather hard for me to imagine it on a lady. Probably because I have yet to meet a lady named Sophia. 🙂
My step-daughter’s name is a Sonia variant, so Sophia is off the table for me.
None of my friends or family have a Sophia/Sofia — so I don’t know any personally, but it seems like whenever we go to a family-friendly event, there are Sophies everywhere. It’s like Mason… I really have to struggle to come up with anyone with the name, but it seems like they’re everywhere. Maybe the names have become so “typical” I don’t register them anymore.
A friend of mine has a niece named Sophie, and there’s a little Sophia in our neighborhood. But you’re right – I don’t really know as many as I’d expect. (I know a few who are Polish women, my age or older, but that doesn’t quite count.) I do know a Mason – a friend of mine has one!
I really like Sophia (although I like the sparser Sofia spelling), and my fracophile self like Sophie, as well. I know the SSA lists show how popular this is in country as a whole, but I don’t know any young Sophia/Sophies from this neck of the woods, nor have I heard of any. It doesn’t seem to be as popular as all the random syllable/letter names, unfortuately. I would rather meet a little Sophie or Sophia than another Brynley/Briley/Brooklyn.
Sophia is #4 in Nebraska, with 116 girls given that name, Sophie #62 with 28 births, and Sofia is #108 with 20 births. Altogether, there are 164 Sophia/Sophies in the whole state.
Where did you find the total number of Sophia/Sophie’s in Nebraska? In our nearby state Sophia ranked 3rd in 2010 and Sophie, 58. I’ve heard the name called out in supermarkets, etc., and there’s one Sophie (given name) among the 3rd graders at my grandson’s school. I’m always pleased to meet/see another Sophie or Sophia. There can never be too many Sophies! 😉
Isn’t it interesting how much the national SSA popularity differs from the individual states? I live in Texas but both our families are still in Oklahoma, so those two state lists factor heavily in my judgement of whether a name is “popular.” I love finding gems where the name is far less popular in the state than nationally. It will likely rise in the future but it’s nice to feel ahead of the curve!
Catherine the Great was born Sophie, It should be noted that Sophie is an independent name that has become a nickname for Sophia, and Sophie gets translated as Sophia in some sources about Catherine. Ekaterina was the name she took after marrying into the Russian royal house.
Really? I’ve never heard that before, and very personally interesting: my daughter Catherine is the mother of our Sophie!
Love, love love Sophie but not so the heavier Sophia. I know, I know, I hear about it all the time! 🙂 Such a pretty name with a great meaning. Looks lovely written too. Despite popularity, Sophie’s one I’ll never tire of hearing.
I really like Sophie too. I’m surprised Sylvie hasn’t picked up as an alternative.
Me too. I like Sylvie a lot, but not as much as Sophie. (As for Sylvia, not so much.)
Me too, Sylvie’s a solid love for me. She’ll never be “too popular” for me! 🙂
Love Sophie/Sophia/Sofia… But Hagia Sophia is located in Istanbul, Turkey, not Sofya, Bulgaria. The name of the city could well have been inspired by the monument, though.
Thanks, Lauren – absolute slip on my part, corrected above!
Haha, I was really confused by that but too lazy to look it up.
I think one of the nicest coincidences is to receive a lovely name that WILL be popular in another decade or so. Television characters get this experience all the time, of course. 🙂
My daughters two younger girls have this name ‘gift’: Emma, born in 1989 (Emma ranked 149 that year) and Sophia, born in 1995 (Sophia ranked 168). Both girls have LOVED having names that were rare in their age group (Emma was the only Emma in her grade all through school) but very popular by the time they were teenagers.
Abby, do you mean that adult characters are given popular current baby names? I’ve noticed that, too.
Exactly. Like Abby on ER – no way was she named Abby. (Okay, she could’ve been. But probably not.) There are hundreds of examples like that. On the other hand, I once met a Mackenzie who was about my age – which would make her mid-30s today – and it was an impossibly cool name.
Ha, ha. My 13 year-old Sophia is highly annoyed that there are tons are preschool Sophias running around. I tell her she will appreciate it in middle age when everyone will assume she is younger than she is.
Oh, and I once had a boss, now in her 60s, named Megan. She introduced herself as “the oldest Megan in the US.”
HA! I understand how Sophia feels. Everyone I know has a daughter called Abby! You’re exactly right, though – I think having a younger name isn’t a bad thing.
My fourth granddaughter is named Sophia but called mostly Sophie until she started middle school where some of her new teachers started calling her Sophia. She liked that and now uses both names. Our Sophia/Sophie is one of the luckiest girls by that name in the US because she was born in 1995 when the name was far from a top name, ranking at #168 (Sophie was way down at 380) so that she’s not been Sophia L or Sophie L in her schools, but for all through elementary school the *only* Sophie in her school; there have only been one or two other Sophias in her grade since then. Our Sophia/Sophie is one of the prettiest girls you could meet (and I *am* being objective 😉 ), with a pretty face and a mop of blond naturally curly hair (which she mostly straightens at 15.5, of course) and most important of all, a kind and sweet personality. Everyone loves her, and I’m guessing there are younger girls named Sophia whose parents were prompted to use the name because of her. Does she like her name? She loves it!
Patricia, my cousin Haley has had that same experience. She was born in 1984, when Haley ranked #252. Growing up, we only had 1 other Haley in our entire school! Now my cousin is an elementary school teacher and she says that she’s always got lots of little student Haleys/Haileys/etc runnging around 😉
Sophia is a really beautiful name, no wonder so many parents are flocking to her! My sister and her Russian born husband want to ttc soon, and Sofia is their top pick for a girl. I personally favor the Arabic pronunciation, Saffiya, with the nn Safi.
If you don’t mind your daughter being Sophia lastinitial, she’s a great (internationa to boot) choice 🙂
If we ever had a Sophia – a real possibility, since it is my MIL’s middle and her first doesn’t translate – she’d be a Sosy or a Sosie.
Sosie is cute, but maybe not once she goes to school. Our Sophie has occasionally been called Sosie as a ‘baby-talk’ version of Sophie.
I LOVE the name Sophia/Sophie but since I have a Stephanie, that rules it out for me.
My daughter named her fourth daughter Sophia “Sophie” after she heard the name of a little French girl named Sophie, the younger sister of Stephanie (granddaughter of a French friend) who spent a summer month with our family when she was just 13. French Sophie’s full name is Sophie Marie Antoinette after her maternal grandmother; isn’t that a grand name? Her family liked using names that started with the same letter (3rd child is brother Stanislas; they broke the pattern with #4 Guillaume, named after his grandfather). I’ve always thought that the names Stephanie (St
My sister is a Sophie, unfortunately she’s quite a scatty one, which has lead to the nickname Dopey. Sophie is more popular here in England&Wales where she ranks at #2 to Sophia’s #27 and Sofia’s #62. Sophie was actually #1 here in 1996.
Whilst I prefer Sophia because she sounds a little less cutesy, I could never use her because of that daft sister of mine. Especially because we nicknamed her Dopey.
Sophia as ‘Wisdom’ was personified as a deity by the Greeks and went on to feature prominently in Gnosticism. These may be the true, historic origins of the early saint(s) of the name.
I like that backstory far more than the gory story of the poor sainted mother!
Also, it is so very common, I guess because it is so pretty. A pregnant woman I met at the pool this weekend is expecting an Owen, and has a Sophia. I had nothing to say to that. “Oh, Sophia. Obviously your daughter is Sophia. I guess she also could’ve been Emma or Madison. ” But one doesn’t say such things…
I’ve met a young family with a Sophie and Owen too; the names sound great together!
My husband’s grandmother was Sophia with the long I.
Also, for us children of the 1970s, one of the more popular Sophia’s was golden: Sophia Petrillo, of The Golden Girls.
How could I forget the Golden Girl? Great addition – and it prompted me to look at the stats for Sophia in light of the show’s run. In 1985, the GG debuted and Sophia was at #236. She was #366 in 1980, and gaining, but she actually fell after GG debuted. Interesting … by 1992, Sophia ranked #211, and the show went off the air. In 1993, she entered the Top 200 and has climbed every year since. It suggests that Sophia was on MANY parents short lists, but at least some went another direction thanks to the GG factor. Wonder if that has ever happened with other names?
I think an old lady wearing a name would turn people off. But years later, she’s mostly forgotten, I guess.
It is an undeniably attractive name – soft, elegant, pretty and sophisticated (not pun intended, lol) – but its sheer popularity at the moment here in the UK, as in the US, discounts it as a viable choice for me! Lofty English footballer Peter Crouch and his model girlfriend Abbey Clancey welcomed their little Sophia into the world a few months back, too.
The ‘traditional’ British pronunciation is so-FYE-uh (as with Maria ‘ma-RYE-uh’) — and Sophy was the standard diminutive — popularised by the Georgian royals. Any Georgian British period drama should correctly pronounce the name like this. The European pronunciation became more of an influence during the Victorian period and has now taken over but you can still hear it with British actress Sophia Miles and the song ‘Sophia’ by Nerina Pallot. I have come across many a British name board where parents are debating the FEE or FYE pronunciation.
When I taught, I had two Sophia’s in my class – one pronounced the traditional British way, the other the ‘European’. Out and about now, though, I mostly hear ‘so-FEE-uh’, which I think is a bit of a shame. Demonstrates well how pronunciation changes, though (as do Maria and Ralph too!).
Of course, Sophie is the favorite version in the UK at present, so I hear that most of all!
That’s interesting – reminds me of Nina and Ina. There really was something happening with personal names and the eye/ee sound in fairly the last century or two. As for other pronunciations, in Polish, it is ZAWF yah, though I’ve heard some Polish-Americans come up with a hybrid pronunciation for when they’re speaking English: zo FEE yeh or ZO fee yeh.